Pain of Manipur violence echoes in Calcutta’s St Thomas’ Church

 Archbishop of Imphal, Reverend Dominic Lumonhad, conveys his message to the Catholic Association of Bengal that organised a ‘praying for peace in Manipur’ service

The “praying for peace in Manipur” service at St. Thomas’ Church in Calcutta on Sunday evening. The prayer service was organised by the Catholic Association of Bengal.: Sanat Kr Sinha

Jhinuk Mazumdar, TT,  Calcutta, 03.07.23 : The agony of Manipur rang out at the St. Thomas’ Church on Middleton Row on Sunday.

“Manipur is going through unprecedented social unrest since May 3, 2023. It is so painful to see thousands of people, uprooted from their homes, leaving everything behind, languishing in camps, lost in helplessness, with no future in sight,” read the message from the archbishop of Imphal, Reverend Dominic Lumon.

The archbishop had conveyed his message to the Catholic Association of Bengal that organised at the church a “praying for peace in Manipur” service.

“The government and law enforcing agency are doing their best to contain the conflict... people of good will attend to those suffering in the camps with relief materials,” the message said. “Various groups of people are praying for an end to conflict and return to normalcy.”

“I am happy to know that there will be Mass and a candlelight procession to Mother Teresa’s statue ...in solidarity with and to pray for the people of Manipur who are passing through a distressing time.... I am grateful to you for your generous gesture of solidarity with the people of Manipur and praying for its people during these distressing times,” read the message.

After the one-hour prayer meeting on Sunday evening, a candlelight procession was taken out from the church to Mother Teresa’s statue outside Allen Park. The archbishop’s message was read out again there.

The Mass at the St. Thomas’ Church was led by Father Moloy D’ Costa, the dean, Calcutta deanery, under the archdiocese of Calcutta.

“All of us prayed for peace, peace within, peace in the family, peace in the society, peace in the state, peace in the country, peace on the universe. Peace is disturbed in Manipur and we want that peace to be restored,” Father D’Costa told The Telegraph later.

“We have not come forward for one particular community but for peace in Manipur to come back,” said Angelina Mantosh Jasnani, the president of the Catholic Association of Bengal. “We are in touch with the priests in Manipur and we are pained to hear about the plight of the people there. The archbishop of Imphal in a message to us has said that he is touched by the initiative taken. He has told us that this is what is required,” she added.