Nepal / Church rejoices as ‘Hindu nation’ demand is rejected by two-thirds majority

The Church in Nepal is expressing relief and delight after the country’s Constituent Assembly on 14 September rejected by a two-thirds majority the demand for the fledgling democracy to be declared a “Hindu nation” in the constitution to be enacted on 20 September, writes Anto Akkara.

“It is a joy for us to know that secularism has passed in the constitution,” Fr Silas Bogati, vicar general of the Vicariate of Nepal, told The Tablet on Wednesday. Angry Hindu nationalist protesters clashed with security forces at the parliament gates soon after the vote, and bombs were found in two Protestant churches in Jhapa District. Nepal has 10,000 Catholics in a population of 30 million.

A visit to Nepal by Cardinal Fernando Filoni, prefect of Propaganda Fide, was called off. In Kolkata, Cardinal Filoni, visiting the tomb of Blessed Mother Teresa, said, “Mother Teresa was a great evangeliser, but she was first evangelised by the poor.”