The statue of Jesus Christ was vandalized in Parel suburb of India’s financial capital Mumbai on June 7. (Photo: Screengrab)
Catholics in India’s financial capital Mumbai (formerly Bombay), have condemned vandalism and desecration of a roadside statue of Jesus Christ, while calling for strict action against the perpetrators and protection of all places of worship in the city.
Unidentified miscreants vandalized the statue at the city’s Parel suburb on June 7. The incident sparked outrage among local Catholics and officials from Bombay Archdiocese, the nation’s largest Catholic jurisdiction.
“This insane act has deeply hurt the religious sentiments of our parishioners, who gathered around this statue, located on the roadside outside the church, for prayers and veneration,” Father Francis Noronha, parish priest of Holy Cross Church in Parel, told UCA News.
Father Nigel Barrett, spokesperson of the Bombay Archdiocese, expressed concern over the incident.
“The Archdiocese of Bombay wishes to place on record its deep concern and unequivocal condemnation of the recent acts of deliberate vandalism against sacred Christian sites within the city of Mumbai,” he said in a June 9 statement.
He said these are not isolated acts of mischief, but “targeted attacks on the religious sentiments of an entire community and a direct assault on the spirit of peaceful coexistence that has long defined this great city.”
The latest incident came less than a month after a roadside Cross near the 16th-century St John the Baptist Church in Andheri East suburb was vandalized twice on May 13-14. This prompted police to intervene and secure the protection of about 15 roadside Crosses in the area.
Freestanding statues and crosses at roadsides, junctions, seafronts, or public squares are a common sight in Mumbai and are associated with the Catholic communities descended from the Portuguese era in the 16th centuries.
More than objects of devotion, they are seen as markers of history and community identity, as generations of villagers prayed before them for protection against plagues and for safe travel by sea and land.
Bombay Archdiocese demanded a thorough investigation and urged police to bring the perpetrators to justice.
It also urged the government to treat these acts with the seriousness they deserve under the law and to ensure the safety and protection of all places of worship across the state.
“We wish to make it clear that the Catholic community of Mumbai will not be intimidated and our faith is not diminished by the breaking of stone and concrete,” its statement said, adding that “We will continue to pray, to serve, and to stand in solidarity with all people of goodwill.”
The archdiocese has appealed to all citizens of Mumbai to protect and honor pluralism and tolerance that are the bedrock of our shared life together.
“An attack on one community’s sacred spaces is an attack on the idea of Mumbai itself,” Barret noted.
Godfrey Pimenta, a Catholic lawyer and trustee of Mumbai-based Watchdog Foundation, condemned the attack and said the foundation had filed a complaint with the police on June 8
“Any act of desecration directed against a religious symbol is not merely an act of vandalism but a serious assault on the religious sentiments of an entire community,” Pimenta said, adding that such incidents have the potential to disturb communal harmony and create unnecessary tension in society.
He termed the pattern of attacks on “deep symbols of our faith” within a month “very alarming.”
“We are witnessing a disturbing pattern whereby statues, crosses and other religious symbols associated with the Christian community are being repeatedly targeted and vandalized at various locations,” Melwyn Fernandes, general secretary of the Association of Concerned Christians, an ecumenical body in Mumbai, said.
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