The minuscule church in Nepal is rejoicing after the Constituent Assembly of Nepal rejected by a two-thirds majority the motion to return the fledgling democracy into a Hindu nation state.
"It is a joy for us to know that secularism has [been] passed in the constitution. It is a step forward for the Church in Nepal," Father Silas Bogati (pictured), vicar general of the Vicariate of Nepal, told thetablet.co.uk.
"The fact that secularism had been retained is a joyful surprise," hailed Chirendra Satyal, secretary of the ecumenism and dialogue wing of the Catholic church, a convert from the Nepal's royal family priests.
In the run up to the finalisation of the constitution, the church had pleaded for declaring Nepal a secular nation while the vociferous Hindu nationalist lobby had led a shrill campaign for declaring Nepal as a Hindu nation state.
However, the rejection of the demand for preserving the Himalayan nation - that was a Hindu monarchy until the Maoist uprising brought it down in 2006 - has come with its share of woes for the church.
While angry Hindu nationalist protesters clashed with security forces at the Parliament gates soon after the crucial vote, bombs were found in two Protestant churches in Japa district. Four policemen were injured in a bomb blast in one of the churches when they tried to defuse the bomb - that also damaged the church.
As a result, the visit of Cardinal Fernando Filoni, the Vatican's Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, was called off at the 11th hour. Cardinal Filoni was due to fly to Kathmandu yesterday from Kolkata for a four-day pastoral visit to see the church's relief work in the quake-hit nation.
The Nepalese government advised the Vatican against the visit, according to reports.
"We were excited and had done preparations for Cardinal Filoni's visit. But it has been postponed for now," said Father Bogati spokesman for the Catholic church in Nepal that numbers less than 10,000 among 30 million people in the former Hindu kingdom.
Mr Satyal admitted that members of the church in Nepal "are all quite relieved actually...it would have given a chance for the media to [continue to] taunt us for bringing in top Vatican official to influence politics" at the crucial time.
Meanwhile, the US and India have called for security forces to exercise restraint in responding to protests over the new constitution and for citizens to avoid violence. A statement from the US State Department said the new constitution should have the broadest possible support and reflect fundamental rights such as gender equality and basic freedoms.
"We urge citizens to engage through peaceful, non-violent means, and call on the Nepali security forces to exercise restraint in responding to protests," the statement said.
"Horrific violence has once again shaken Nepal's soul," the Indian Ministry of External Affairs added in a statement. "Whether the victims are Nepali citizens or government officials, the blood spilt in all the incidents was Nepalese."
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