Fight against caste system in India unites Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox

January 25, 2012. (Romereports.com) There is one week a year where Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox pray together for the same cause. It's known as the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Over the course of the week, Christians from several denominations highlight their similarities, rather than their differences.

This year, organizers included a group of university students from India. They integrated their concern for the “dalit,” or the untouchables, the lowest caste in society which often suffers discrimination, and who make up a large portion of Christians in India.


MSGR. BRIAN FARELL
Secretary, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
“India is one of those places that division and injustice is very visible. Every year we have a reason to go for ecumenical dialog to India, and it takes a long time to understand of the separation between social classes, religious groups, and the consequences suffering that this division in society brings.”

For Brian Farell, the Year of Faith is an opportunity to promote ecumenism because it emphasizes going back to the roots of Christianity. He says the New Evangelization will only be possible if all Christians are united.

MSGR. BRIAN FARELL
Secretary, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
“This prayer must be one that the World believes. Well, of course, if we are not one, it can be much more difficult, if not impossible, for the World to believe the Christian message.”

This year's theme, “What does God require of us?” looked to initiate dialogue between the Christian denominations to overcome divisions. The goal is for a self-assessment of whether they discriminate each other, the way other castes discriminate against dalits in India.

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