Conversion: need to look within, Delhi Archbishop gives a call

Conversion: need to look within, Delhi Archbishop gives a call

New Delhi, October 31 : At a time when religious conversions are being cited for the attacks on Christians in Orissa and other parts of the country, a significant move has been initiated within the Catholic Church for some “soul-searching”, with a call being made for a panel to look into the issue of induced or forced conversions.

The National United Christian Forum has written letters to prominent community bodies like the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) and the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI), asking for such a panel. While the NCCI is the apex forum of Protestant and Orthodox churches in India, the EFI consists of the Pentecostal church.

The National United Christian Forum has asked the them to nominate five members each to form a panel to look into the question of conversion and other issues faced by the community, at a time when Hindutva forces are attacking the Church on the same.

The Forum has suggested that the panel should examine whether there is anything “unchristian” in the activities of various churches. The Forum is itself of the view that forced conversions and offering incentives for the same are certainly unchristian.

“Conversion is a life-long process. If somebody voluntarily comes forward to embrace Christ, there is nothing wrong. Nobody can come between an individual and God. But forced conversion is certainly wrong. Even offering incentives for this purpose is not right,” Archbishop of Delhi Vincent M Concessao, a Catholic priest who is also the president of the Forum, told The Indian Express.

Expressing regret that some of the independent denominations and churches working in India were not accountable, Rev Concessao said they needed to get back to scriptures.

At the same time, Concessao said the Hindutva forces had succeeded in giving a wrong meaning to conversion and making that an excuse for violence. He said the National United Christian Forum planned to expose their “gameplan”.

“The Hindutvawadis are not Hindus, they may claim they are Hindus. Their ideology is imported and is against the spirit of the Constitution. They have no roots here,” he said.

In the context of the violence in Orissa, he said “this is an opportunity to wake up. We need to have a dialogue among ourselves, we need to make Christianity known on the one hand and expose Hindutva ideology and their strategy on the other”.

The forum’s move is line with the stand taken by the...

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