On my way back to Niigata from Wakayama yesterday afternoon, I took a bus from Shin-Osaka train station to the Osaka airport. Nothing to do in the bus, so I picked up my cell phone to check my e-mails. Hiding among piles of junk mails, there was one important, though sad and frightening, information from one of my Caritas friends in Nepal.
As it has been on the news, a bomb exploded in a Catholic Church in Kathmandu, Nepal on Saturday morning killing 2 people and injured number of members who were attending morning Mass. The e-mail was from the one who were among the congregation on that morning as a member of church choir with his wife.
Just to understand the situation better, let me quote from another e-mail which I received this afternoon from Fr.Silas Bogati with his permission, the director of Caritas Nepal, who was presiding over the very Eucharist which was attacked. Let us remember in our prayer our brothers and sisters who are going through this difficult situation. Also kindly remember 2 people who lost their lives while attending the Eucharist. (Fr.Bogati is at extreme right in the photo above.)
Dear Friends, I am writing to you regarding a sad incident that occurred in our Church.I was celebrating Mass on 23rd of May at the Assumption Church at 9:00 am 15 minutes after the Mass there was a loud explosion. A lady had planted a bomb, which exploded and killed two people and injured dozen of people some are still in critical condition. We could never imagine that some one could carry out such a cowardly act and kill and injure so many people.
We have received so far good cooperation and help from the government. The new Prime Minister, Mr. Madhav Kumar Nepal who was not even sworn -in came on Sunday morning to see the damaged Church and visited the injured at the hospitals. Some political party and their leaders have expressed solidarity and support. Human Rights people have also condemned this attack on minority worship place and they ill continue to take up our case wherever needed.
Other Church communities are also supporting us actively we are also planning annual religious group rally on coming Sunday. We had a prayer meeting yesterday on Sunday all different Churches and Religions were represented. In Nepal we been having good religious harmony and some extremist group is trying to disturb this existing harmony. This incident is owned up by a Hindu group. The same group killed a Salesian Priest last year. Their goal is to change Nepal back to a Hindu State as in past.
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