Nihil Obstat granted by Congregation for the Cause of Saints in Rome to Servant of God Kanteshwar Digal and Companions
The tribal-dominated Kandhamal district is eastern Odisha is known for anti-Christian riots. A Christian house was set on fire by Hindu activists in Lodamila village on Sept. 22, 2021. (Photo: supplied)
Catholics in an eastern Indian archdiocese that witnessed the worst-ever anti-Christian riots in 2008 have thanked the Vatican for allowing them to start the beatification process of 35 martyrs from the indigenous tribal community.
Archbishop John Barwa of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar hailed the Vatican’s move in an Oct. 25 circular addressed to his Catholics, the majority of them tribal people.
The prelate informed them that the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints has granted the Nihil Obstat (no objection) to commencing the beatification of the martyrs named Kanteshwar Digal and Companions.
“Indeed, this is a momentous occasion in the life of our archdiocese and the Church in Odisha state and India at large,” he said.
Barwa said that “the life of Servant of God Kanteshwar Digal and Companions has been a source of great inspiration” to the Christians in the nation.
The 24 men and 11 women, all tribal Catholics, remained unwavering in their faith during the 2008 Kandhamal riots.
The unabated violence, which commenced on Aug. 23, 2008, in India’s eastern tribal belt, lasted for more than seven weeks. It left around 100 people dead, some 300 churches destroyed and rendered more than 56,000 people homeless.
Digal, a family man and a catechist in the parish of Sankarakhole, was killed at the age of 53 on Sept. 25, 2008. His body was thrown into a river.
The others also perished in the extreme violence that included mass killings, and widespread arson targeting churches and homes of tribal Christians, who were forced to seek refuge in the forests to escape the attackers instigated by hardline Hindu nationalists.
Archbishop John Barwa said the martyrs “left an indelible mark on our spiritual journey” through their ultimate sacrifice.
The Oct. 2 decision from the Vatican was communicated to Indian Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli on Oct. 15.
Barwa who sought the formal nod for the beatification process on May 31 got to know of the Vatican’s decision through a communication on Oct. 18.
Father Dibakar Parichha, attached to Cuttack-Bhubaneswar archdiocese said that Catholics “are grateful to the Vatican for its speedy approval.”
The Vatican nod will soothe the feelings of all Indian Christians who were “shaken by the worst-ever inhuman persecution” they faced in the Hindu-majority nation.
“It is indeed a joyous moment for all of us, but more than that, it is a great message for all of us to be firm on our faith,” Parichha, who has been helping the victims of Kandhamal riots, told UCA News on Oct. 26.
The people of Kandhamal are “real heroes,” he said, “because even after losing their near and dear ones they kept their faith alive and the result is here.”
The archdiocese will now start the beatification process by collecting testimonies before submitting them for approval to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.
Many who witnessed or later researched what happened in Kandhamal in 2008 have described it as a “catastrophe” and an “organized anti-Christian violence in two millennia of Christianity in India, fetching the obscure jungle tract a place in the annals of history.”
The remote district in Odisha state surrounded by idyllic jungles went up in flames after the murder of 81-year-old Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati by alleged Maoist rebels on the night of the Hindu feast of Janmashtami to celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna.
The murder was promptly dubbed as a “Christian conspiracy” and Christians were given an ultimatum to renounce their faith. Four Christians, including an illiterate 13-year-old boy, were picked up by the Hindu activists. They were beaten up and dumped in a police station.
Hindu groups later accused them of killing the monk and blamed Christians for hatching a conspiracy against Hindus.
The hate and anger generated by the leaders led to mob lynchings and burning in the Christian villages.
Despite the brutal persecution amid a hostile atmosphere, hardly any Christian has recanted Christian faith during the past 15 years.
On the contrary, even those who brutalized Christians are now flocking to the churches they tried to banish from Kandhamal, including disciples of the slain Swami, reports say.