By TCN News,
Mumbai: Hundreds of Christians took part in the annual Good Friday Walking Pilgrimage to denounce the persecution of Christian community members by communal elements in various states like Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Chattisgarh and Maharashtra. By enacting various biblical scenes they demonstrators empathized with the victims.
The Christian Revival Oriented Social Service (CROSS) has been organizing the ritual walk for over two decades. The theme of this year’s walk was Persecution through Anti-Christian Attacks. This was in view of the mounting and continued persecution of Christians by communal elements that still remain unchecked by the various state governments.
The walk started from Sacred Heart Church in Santacruz West and passed through Mumbai streets including Vakola, Kalina and Kurla.
Speaking on the occasion, Joseph Dias, founder of The CROSS, who started the religious service over decades ago, said: “It gives us an opportunity to take the selfish focus off ourselves and pray for others, including our own unfortunate fellows, in situations of basic human rights violations, let aside abuse of our fundamental rights, guaranteed by the Constitution.”
“At every edition, we pray for certain life situations that victimized Christians go through and express solidarity with them. This year, our prayers and suffering go out not just the victims of persecution but also their families with women and children, who are worse affected by the brunt and like Jesus are bearing their crosses. Thousands facing conviction, under various Anti-Conversion Acts and other such legislation; hundreds are languishing in jails on trumped up false charges; homes, property and businesses destroyed – with no end in sight, rather the atrocities are increasing and new communal flashpoints erupting, every other day. These are facts, we have documented”, The CROSS founder-president concluded.