Thursday, July 06, 2006

Prayer for Nuns Arrested in India


Four nuns were arrested in India for visiting aids patients:

On June 25, four members of the Missionaries of Charity in India -- best known as the organization formerly led by Mother Teresa -- were visiting AIDS patients in a hospital in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh when they were accosted by Hindu militants. As many as fifty members of Dharma Parirakshana Samithi accused the nuns of trying to convert the patients to Christianity. According to Asia News, Sister Maria Julia, Sister Chriselda, Sister Emma Felesia and Sister Reena Francis, were detained while their bags were searched for literature. Some militants in the crowd threatened to remove their distinctive blue and white saris and replace them with saffron-coloured clothes, a symbol of Hinduism. Some hospital managers, who were accompanied by militant BJP members, coerced the patients into accusing the nuns of attempting to convert them. Based on these testimonies, the four were taken to the local police station where they were charged. These charges were later dropped after intervention from the Archbishop of Hyderabad. An inquiry into the incident has been started.
This is the second story I've seen on militant Hindus (that just seems like it should be an oxymoron). Please pray that they will stop persecuting the Christians and that God's word would take hold there. Please pray that these women will be able to visit the patients without being accosted.