"No conscience can be enslaved, religious freedom is the basis for true freedom."
So says the card. Telesphore Toppo, recently appointed president of the Indian Bishops' Conference for Latin-rite bishops.
Commenting
on the message of Pope Benedict XVI to diplomats, the prelate
emphasizes the responsibility of governments to ensure full rights for
all citizens to profess, practice and propagate their faith.
"The right to religious freedom is a fundamental right
guaranteed by Article 25 of our Constitution. No society - said card.
Toppo - can be called “Free’, if religious freedom is denied to its
citizens. Can anyone dictate to the Dalits and Tribals what Religion
they should follow?- Absolutely not, each person is free to choose.
Denial of religious freedom ultimately and tragically results in the
dehumanizing of all – denying the very person- his dignity and respect-
and ultimately the dehumanising of society, wherein the 'other' is
denied all claims of. 'humaneness'”
Cardinal Toppo expressed concern about the current
situation of his country: "Today, some fundamentalists are trying to
restrict religious freedom in India", defining the anti-Christian pogrom
in Kandhamal "unwarranted, that no person of good will can ever
accept."
For the prelate, India can not be a true democratic
republic without religious freedom, through which over the centuries the
tribal population – to which the cardinal belongs - has experienced a
profound transformation. In all areas: educational, social, economic and
development.
The tribal Church is young, points out card. Toppo: "Becase
of Religious Freedom, nearly 150 years ago, my illiterate Tribal
ancestors who ‘opted’ and made a free choice, fuelled by social and
educational work of the early missionaries and Faith in Jesus has freed
and transformed me and my people, making us aware of our dignity and
helped our integration into society. My story, - said the prelate - that
of tribal Christians, proves that the Church promotes a development
that begins and ends with the affirmation of the integrity of the human
person created in the image of God and endowed by God with dignity and
inalienable rights".
SIC: AN/INT'L