Govt must provide 'atmosphere of security': Bhopal Archbishop

Archbishop of Bhopal and head of the Catholic community in Madhya Pradesh Dr Leo Cornelio today said the government must ensure that the minority community feels secure.
His remarks come in the wake of incidents of violence against the minority communities in the state in the last one year.
"No organisation has any right to take law into its own hands. They have the freedom to do their own work but have no right to harm others," Cornelio said, speaking after the two-day meeting of Catholic Conference of Madhya Pradesh here.
"The government should provide an atmosphere of security to the minority community," he said.

Dismissing the allegation that people are converted to Christianity under the guise of social work, he said, "The truth is that in the last 30 years there is a decrease in the Christian population in the country."
Nine dioceses -- Bhopal, Indore, Satna, Sagar, Khandwa, Jhabua, Ujjain, Gwalior and Jabalpur -- come under the 'Madhya Pradesh Catholic Region'.

The Archbishop informed that the Pope Francis recently appointed Joseph Kodakallil and Basil Bhuria as the bishops of Satna and Jhabua, respectively. Kodakallil will take charge on September 15, while Bhuria will take charge on October 10.
Communal forces and anti-social elements were trying to divide the society on the basis of religion, caste, colour and language, he said.

"We need to come together and face these challenges. We need to protect the society from these divisive and unconstitutional elements to keep up the unity and sovereignty of our country," Cornelio added.