Carmelite Priest Brutally Martyred in India

Fr. Thomas Pandippallyil was assassinated on his way to a village to celebrate Sunday mass. He had been severely tortured with his eyes pulled from their sockets.

Father Thomas is a martyr: he sacrificed his life for the poor and marginalised. But he did not die in vain, because his body and his blood enrich the Church in India, particularly the Church in Andhra Pradesh”.

Those are the words of Msgr. Marampudi Joji, archbishop of Hyderabad and secretary of the bishops’ conference of Andhra Pradesh (a state in South East India), commenting the barbarous killing of the Carmelite priest Thomas Pandippallyil, 38, assassinated on the night of August 16th.

This newest martyrdom reflects an emergence of militant Hindu extremism with a particular hostility toward Catholics and other Christians.

No comments: