Orissa violence and the Church

One of the injured priests, Fr Thomas Chellen, director of the Pastoral Centre at Konjamendi, was assaulted by a mob on 25 August. "They poured kerosene on my head and one held a matchbox in his hands to light the fire. But thanks to divine providence, in the end, they did not do that," he said from his hospital bed.

The priest said he witnessed his assistant nun being raped in front of him. The pastoral centre, which could accommodate 200 people, had been torched the previous day.

On Monday Prime Minister Manmohan Singh broke his silence over the violence, calling it a "national disgrace" and asked the Orissa Chief Minister Navin Patnaik to stamp out the anti-Christian rioting and punish those responsible for murder and arson. "The central Government has taken a very serious notice of the happenings in Orissa," an official statement said.

The Prime Minister also offered a package of assistance to the families of people who have lost their lives and those rendered destitute. The package, drawing on the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund, included support for the homeless and funds for repair of houses damaged, including orphanages. Mr Singh said Mr Patnaik had given an assurance of "firm action" to deal with the situation.

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India wrote to the president and Government of India, appealing for the protection for victims of the violence, and demanding a full inquiry. A fifth of Kandhamal's population of around 500,000 are Christians and half the Christian population is Catholic. Read it all