09/27/2004, 00.00
INDIA
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We are happy to bear witness that God is love and forgiveness, wounded nuns say

The Sisters of Mother Teresa have already been attacked in many parts of the world.

Kolkata (AsiaNews) – The Sisters of Mother Teresa attacked in Kerala said that they "were happy for the opportunity to bear witness that God is love and forgiveness," this according to Sister Cristine who spoke to AsiaNews by phone from Kolkata on behalf of the Sister Missionaries of Charity.

On Saturday, Hindu fundamentalists attacked the four sisters and two priests from Mother Teresa's missionaries as they were entering a village in Kerala's Kozhikode district. The four nuns were bruised, cut and hospitalised but eventually released.

"The Sisters forgave those who hurt them," Sister Cristine said. "What happened won't end their commitment to the poor and the needy," she added. "They said so themselves."

One of the nuns attacked, Sister Shallet, was hit on the head. She said she was dragged from the vehicle in which they were travelling. "They hit us with rods and threatened to kill us if we entered the village."

The Mother Superior, Sister Kusumam, who was also hit on the head, stated that the nuns did not want to press charges against the perpetrators of the violent act, "but we would like to know why they did this to us."

The attackers have accused the nuns of converting Hindus in the village they were visiting. However, the nuns said they visit Hindu and Muslim homes to bring help, not convert anyone. "Does helping a family mean converting them?" asked Sister Shallet.

In Kolkata, Sisters reacted to the attack against their fellow nuns by praying. "When we heard the news our first reaction was to pray, to pray for our wounded sisters and pray for those who wounded them," Sister Cristine said.

"The Sisters of Mother Teresa fulfill their mission in difficult places and situations," said Sister Nirmala, who is Mother Teresa's successor and Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity.

In the last few years, nuns wearing the typical sari have been attacked in various countries. Some have been killed for their unselfish commitment to the poor.

In 1998 Srs Tilia and Anetta, from India, and Sister Michaela, from the Philippines, were killed in Hodeida (Yemen) as they visited the homes of the sick and dying. "When I went to see them," Sister Nirmala recalls asking "them whether they wanted to keep the foundation open or not. They said they wanted it to stay open. Two young sisters who wanted to be transferred begged to stay. The poor living in our houses in Yemen also asked us not to transfer any nun."

In 1999 six Sisters were kidnapped and held hostage in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Three were immediately killed: Sister Maria, from India, Sister Carmeline, from Kenya, and Sister Swewa, from Bangladesh. Sister Nirmala remembers that "the fourth sister, Sister Hindu, also from India, forgave her attacker after being attacked. She died two weeks later from her injuries."

A brother of the Missionaries of Charity, Luke Puttaniyil, was killed in Novada (in the northern Indian state of Bihar) whilst delivering food and medicines to the city of Patna. He was 46-year-old, from Kerala, and had joined the Brother Missionaries of Charity the year before.

Today, there are more than 4,000 Sister Missionaries of Charity, both active and contemplative, from 80 countries. They are present in 130 countries operating 697 houses, 222 in India alone.

In India there are 24 million Christians (2.3 per cent of the population), 16 million of whom are Catholics.

More than 30 per cent of all charitable organisations In India are run by Christians, especially those dedicated to the poor, the elderly, the homeless and those living with leprosy. (LF)

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