Mangalore, Feb 20: Thousands of people belonging to the Christian community and secular organizations participated in a mega silent protest rally, which was held in Mangalore on Feb 20, Sunday. It was organized by the Catholic Diocese of Mangalore to protest against, oppose, and reject the Justice B. K. Somashekara Commission report and to demand a CBI inquiry into the church attacks of 2008.
The protest march was lead by Bishop Dr. Aloysius Paul D’Souza of Mangalore diocese along with Bishop Emeritus Dr C L Furtado and Bishop Dr. John S Sadananda of the CSI Karnataka Southern Diocese, Bishop Dr. Lawrence Mukkuzhy of the Catholic Syro-Malabar diocese of Beltangady and Dr. Geevarghese Mar Divannasious of the Syro-Malankara diocese of Puttur
The Karnataka Missions Network, Christian organizations like Campus Crusade for Christ, Operation Mobilization Bookstall, Good News Book Centre, Bharatiya Kraista Okkoota, All India Catholic Union - Karnataka State Unit, Catholic Association of South Kanara and International Federation of Karnataka Christian Associations (IFKCA), came together in the silent protest march in a show of strength and solidarity.
Other organizations like Udupi Jilla Alpasankhyatara Vedike, People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), DK District Committee of PM’s 15-point programme for minority welfare, Muslim Vartakara Sangha - Mangalore, Karnataka Komu Sauharda Vedike, Muslim Okkoota - Udupi and the local unit of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) expressed their solidarity with the Christians in the protest against Somashekara commission and supported the demand of CBI enquiry
The participants tied black ribbons around their mouths, carried black flags, and wore black. The rally commenced at Jyothi Circle at 3:00 p.m. and ended at Nehru Maidan where leaders such as Br. Walter J. Maben, Mariamma Thomas, and Bishop of Mangalore Diocese Rev. Dr. Aloysius Paul D’Souza addressed the gathering and demanded a CBI enquiry into the church attacks of 2008 and immediate withdrawal of cases registered against Christian youth.
Addressing the gathering, Bishop Dr. Aloysius Paul D’Souza said that the gathering is just like the crowd that that had assembled to listen to Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. He said that the members of the Christian community have gathered in the heart of the city to ask for justice and protest against the injustice that has been done to them.
Stating that the Justice B. K. Somashekara Commission report has hurt the Christian sentiment, he demanded a CBI investigation into the attack and immediate withdrawal of all the cases registered against Christian youth.
He said that although Christians are a minority community, they cannot be subdued by attacks on their places of worship or cheated with false reports. He said that although the culprits have desecrated the Holy Communion, broken the crucifix, and attacked churches, they cannot destroy the Christian faith in Jesus. He added that the community is not threatened by the attacks, but only pained.