Kathmandu (AsiaNews) - Marking Holy Week, the Catholic community of Nepal is praying for the work of the Constituent Assembly. Starting from Palm Sunday the faithful, candles in hand, began to visit the Cathedral of the Assumption of Lalitpur and other churches in the country.
Fr. Ignitious Rai, pastor of the Cathedral of the Assumption, tells AsiaNews: "If the laity follow us and trust in God, we will be able to spread the Kingdom of God in Nepal in a short time, making it a peaceful and prosperous country" .
Although the Catholic community of Nepal is not large (about 0.5% of the population), this prayer initiative was supported by a number of people belonging to different religions, who joined in the community’s prayers.
Msgr. Paul Simick, apostolic vicar of Nepal, suggested this special prayer intention: "Our country is writing a new secular constitution but the leaders are still struggling to find a solution to the various disputes. So, as we celebrate Easter this year, we pray for the new secular constitution and for peace in the country. " Addressing a crowd of hundreds of people, the bishop added: "May God forgive lawmakers and politicians for their past mistakes and God bless them giving him the wisdom to write a constitution in this second term."
After over 240 years of a Hindu absolutist monarchy, Nepal formally After 240 years of absolute monarchy Hindu, in 2007, Nepal elected the first Constituent Assembly, which was to have enacted a charter by 2010. This assembly was dissolved in 2012 due to disagreements on issues such as federalism, the electoral system and judiciary and the form of government. Since November 2013, a second Assembly has been trying to agree on the promulgation of a secular constitution, which guarantees religious freedom and the right of citizens and "groups" to practice their faith.
Last January, however, the Assembly failed to come to agreement on the draft of the new Charter. The political and economic instability of recent years - linked to the struggles for power between secular parties - has strengthened Hindu pro-monarchist movements, who have tried in every way to curb the rise of conversions taking place since the end of the reign.
Chirendra Satyal, Catholic journalist, tells AsiaNews: "People were frustrated to see that the politicians have failed to enact a constitution in the first term and are still divided on constitutional issues. This leads people to anger, but we hope that politicians will listen to the common prayers of all citizens. "