St. Mary’s Malankara Catholic Church was desecrated on Monday. It is the first attack against a Syro-Malankar community in Pune, Maharashtra. A ceremony to purify the building was held yesterday. Anti-Christian violence is also recorded in Kerala.

8/17/2011 India (AsiaNews) – St Mary’s Malankara Catholic Church in Pune’s Warje Malwadi neighbourhood was attacked on Monday. Overnight, someone entered the building and desecrated it: insulting graffiti were scribbled on the walls, religious paintings were defaced and part of the tabernacle was set on fire. Copies of the Bible and prayer books were ripped, pages strewn across the floor.

This is the first incident of its kind involving Pune’s Syro-Malankar community. Traditionally, the community has lived in peace with other religious groups, providing education, social and medical services to all.

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More than 3,000 attacks have been recorded against Indian Catholic churches in the past few years. Last Saturday, the glass protecting an image of Christ in St Anthony’s Catholic Church in Vashicherry, Alapuzhka, in Kerala, was also smashed, the second attack this month.

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