Murder of Priest Shocks India

"Fr Thomas is a martyr," he said. "He sacrificed his life for the poor and marginalised. But he did not die in vain, because his body and his blood enrich the Church in India, particularly the Church in Andhra Pradesh."

LONDON (The Catholic Herald) - The Catholic Church in India is in shock after attackers pulled a priest from a motorcycle and gouged out his eyes before beating and stabbing him to death.

Hindu radicals are suspected of murdering Fr Thomas Pandippallyil, 38, because of his work with people deemed "untouchable" under India's religious-based caste system.

The priest's arms and legs were broken, and his body bore 18 stab wounds, some on the palms of his hands which, police say, showed he tried to defend himself against the attack. His eyes were poked out with a "sharp object".

Tensions have been mounting between Christians and Hindus who accuse them of "prosyletising" among the poor.

The Carmelite of Mary Immaculate was ambushed on Saturday evening in the south-eastern state of Andhra Pradesh as he rode alone from the towns of Lingampet to Yellareddy, about 200 miles northwest of the state capital Hyderabad, to celebrate Mass.

His body was discovered the next morning in the middle of a deserted road near the village of Balampilly four miles from his bike after nuns in Yellareddy, who were expecting him for Mass, raised the alarm when he failed to turn up.

Fr Pandippallyil was the chaplain and vice principal of a Church-run secondary school in Yellareddy. He also directed a mission centre in the Chanda province.

His murder prompted Archbishop Marampudi Joji of Hyderabad to condemn what he described as the growing climate of "violence against Catholics" in the country.

He said the "barbarous" killing had "traumatised" Indian Catholics, leaving them shocked and deeply saddened.

"Fr Thomas is a martyr," he said. "He sacrificed his life for the poor and marginalised. But he did not die in vain, because his body and his blood enrich the Church in India, particularly the Church in Andhra Pradesh."

Archbishop Joji denied accusations of proselytism and forced conversions.

He said: "Priests and nuns have for decades been at the service of the least fortunate in India, and this makes them targets of forces of evil who do not want the marginalised and impoverished to become empowered."

The funeral of Fr Pandippallyil was due to take place on Wednesday in the Carmelite provincial house in Balampilly.

Fr Alex Thannippara, the provincial, said the priest stopped at a Franciscan Clarist Congregation convent in Lingampet for dinner and left around 9.45 pm. His body was found less than 10 miles from Lingampet. A police dog team and forensic experts visited the crime scene, but heavy rain had washed away all clues, Fr Thannippara said.

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Fr George Moolayil said the murder was planned meticulously because the priest received a call on his mobile phone just before leaving the convent. The caller asked if the priest would be returning to his residence. Nuns in Yellareddy also received a call asking about his whereabouts. When a nun replied that the priest had been in an accident, the caller wanted to know if it was an accident or a murder. The nun asked who was on the line but the caller hung up.

Violence against Christians, who make up less than three per cent of the population of India, has rocketed in the last 10 years. In the 30 years up to 1996 there were a recorded 38 attacks but there are now nearly 100 a year, ranging from the rape of nuns, to murders and the burning of churches.

Many Christians believe that the attacks are partly fuelled by resentment and jealousy of their improving lifestyles and social status.

Rates of literacy among both Christian men and women are higher than among Hindu men and women and in the various indices that are used internationally to determine social and economic development, such as infant mortality rate, maternal mortality rate, and death rate, Christians score better than their Hindu counterparts.