India: Archbishop calls for peace in Manipur

A Catholic archbishop in northern India, whose diocese is under attack, has issued an urgent appeal for prayers “to transform the minds of the people who are led by hatred and intolerance.”

In a letter to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Archbishop Dominic Lumon of Imphal, in Manipur State, said that “the need [in the area] is enormous” and that “the Church and the community have suffered great losses.” Thousands of people have been displaced by what Archbishop Lumon calls acts of “ethnic cleansing” by the Meitei and Kuki tribes. Last month, ACN reported that more than 300 churches and other Christian buildings were destroyed.

Archbishop Lumon added that his community has been “cut off from the rest of the world” for the last three months, because of an “Internet and social media ban imposed by the government ever since communal violence erupted in the state.” Any Church-led interventions, he said, “must go slow and be carefully executed, as there are many hurdles and blocks caused by the political turmoil and sporadic violence. Mutual suspicion and animosity are mounting every day.”

The local Catholic Church is providing humanitarian aid, including essential goods, hygiene kits, psychological and physical care, and educational assistance for children. The Church is also meeting with faith-based organizations currently appealing to political authorities.

Archbishop Lumon said, “What we need most are your prayers. The power of prayer can transform the minds of the people who are led by hatred and intolerance. We need to pray for our political leaders, our decision-makers, and men and women of good will, so that they may offer amicable solutions. Let there be peace, harmony, and common brotherhood, and may those who have been deprived of their rights and dignity get their justice.”

—Amy Balog