NEW DELHI (UCAN) -- At least 14 people have died in continuing anti-Christian attacks in Orissa, eastern India, as Church leaders seek federal intervention to stop the violence.

"There is no letup in the violence," Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) spokesperson Father Babu Joseph told UCA News on Aug. 28. He said a delegation of Catholic and Protestant leaders would meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and request him to send federal armed forces to help "end violence, reach help to people and restore peace" in the state.

"As of now at least 14 people, most of them Christians, have died," said Divine Word Father Joseph, adding that "the situation continues to be tense." He described Christians there as "living in fear and anxiety."

The bishops issued on Aug. 27 evening a list of Christian properties that arsonists have attacked and burned. They listed 41 churches, four convents and 11 other Christian institutions as well as 17 houses. "But that list is incomplete. Even the previous night at least a convent and a house were torched," Father Joseph said, adding that Church leaders are "making all efforts" to get help to the Christians in the state, most of whom are "economically and socially poor."

Church people report that thousands of Christian have fled their homes in villages and now live in the forest, fearing violence. Those in the forest, most of them women and children, are without food, water and basic needs.

Media reports say the Orissa state government issued police "shoot on sight" orders on Aug. 27, allowing them to use lethal force to disperse mobs.

"The law-enforcing agencies have not been able to contain the violent elements that are still at large," charged the Indian bishops in their Aug. 27 statement. "There appears to be a sense of helplessness among the Christian community that has borne the brunt of the communal frenzy created by some fundamentalist organizations," they said.

Hindu radicals took to violence after a Hindu religious leader, Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, and five of his associates were killed on Aug. 23 in the state's Kandhamal district. Maoists reportedly claimed responsibility for the killings, but some Hindu groups have alleged Christians masterminded the killing, a charge all Christian Churches and denominations have denied.

The worst-affected area is Kandhamal district, where the 85-year Hindu leader was based. The swami had for several decades opposed conversions to Christianity.

In separate statements, Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil of Ernakulam-Angamaly and Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Bombay, CBCI president and first vice-president, respectively, deplored the killing of the Hindu leader and appealed for peace in the state, where Christians form only 2.4 percent of 36.8 million people and Hindus 94.4 percent.

Church groups across India are conducting prayers, protests and campaigns expressing solidarity with Christians in Orissa.

Catholics of Delhi archdiocese began a 48-hour sit-in, led by Archbishop Vincent Concessao of Delhi and other Christian leaders, in front of the archdiocese's Sacred Heart Cathedral on Aug. 27.

All the dioceses in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh sent a letter by e-mail to officials of the federal and Orissa state governments, demanding immediate deployment of the army and a high-level probe into the killing of the Hindu leader and the ensuing violence.

Catholic educational institutions across India have decided to close on Aug. 29 to protest the continuing violence against Christians in Orissa. The 160 Catholic dioceses and 239 Religious congregations in the country together run about 20,275 educational institutions serving more than 10 million students. About 60 percent of these institutions are in villages and serve poor, marginalized rural people.

The Church will also observe Sept. 7 as a day of prayer and fasting for Christians in the eastern Indian state, the CBCI announced at a press conference in New Delhi on Aug. 26.

This is the second major instance of anti-Christian violence in Orissa within the past nine months, and in the same areas. Anti-Christian violence erupted in Kandhamal district and spread during the past Christmas season, when Hindu mobs attacked and destroyed Christian churches and institutions, and burned about 400 houses. On July 8, mobs of Hindu radicals cut trees to block roads and again attacked Christian institutions. The damage then was limited to a few areas in Kandhamal district.

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