A Church leader has urged the Indian government to help more poor Christians benefit from state welfare schemes by simplifying bureaucratic regulations.

Cumbersome procedures and time-consuming paper work have prevented many poor Christians from utilizing federal and state government schemes, ranging from loans for education to income generating programs, said Bishop Thomas Dabre of Poona.

The prelate was speaking at program organized by the Christian Legal Association in Pune on Sep. 5, titled Empowering the Poor Christians

He noted that the federal government has a series of education and employment programs for religious minorities such as Muslims and Christians.

The Church wants dalit Christians, former “untouchables” in the caste system who converted to Christianity, to be given their quotas of places in schools and government jobs on par with their Hindu counterparts, he said.

“We will approach the Maharashtra state government to simplify procedures," he said,

The Christian Legal Association “will now urge the government to accept letters of recommendation from the bishop” so that poor Christians can utilize government loans as well as grants, said its president, Vijayan Bhaskaran.

The Catholic lawyer told ucanews.com that his association is planning a rally on Oct. 1, under diocesan leadership, to stress Christians’ demands.

Vijayan Bhaskaran, Catholic lawyer and president of Christian Legal Association, told UCA News, Sep. 6 that some people, who became Christians, could not benefit from the schemes because they could not produce certificates proving their religion before conversion.

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