The head of the Latin church in the Kerala capital has told the Good Friday gathering that attacks against Christians in the country witnessed a sharp rise after 2014 and rued inadequate interventions by the authorities to stop these atrocities.

“Christians face extremely cruel attacks by dark forces in several parts of the country, especially north India and Manipur. While there were 147 attacks against Christians in the country in 2014, it rose to 687 in 2023. Yet, there are no effective interventions from the authorities against this,” archbishop Thomas J. Netto of the Latin Archdiocese of Trivandrum said in his Good Friday address at St Joseph’s Cathedral.

He urged the Christian community to stay united and “understand the importance of taking a stand against evil forces responsible for these attacks”.

“We also need to utilise the opportunities to express our opinions against this,” he said, indirectly hinting at the upcoming Lok Sabha elections when the community can express itself by casting their votes.

“As Christians, we have to be united in our journey to ensure the protection of minority rights, communal harmony and freedom of speech enshrined in the Indian Constitution.”

However, he reminded Christians that they were not alone in their journey. “We need to travel along with our brethren who endure similar pain. We need to resist and defeat the narrow-mindedness that gives rise to legislation like the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act).”

The recently notified CAA has drawn sharp criticism as it facilitates the grant of Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim refugees from neighbouring countries.

The archbishop from one of the most powerful churches in Kerala urged the community to “identify the efforts underway to create communal divisions in a secular democratic system”.

“Secularism, freedom, equality and brotherhood that is upheld by the Constitution must be protected at all times,” he said.

He further noted how the rich were getting richer in the changed economic environment in the country and blamed it on “the mindset of dominance”.

“The mindset of dominance is really helping the exploiters. The nation’s wealth is being concentrated in the hands of a few. Because of this, the working class that forms the majority, such as fisherfolk, tribals, farmers, construction workers and others remain poor. Such disparity in wealth is not good for a democratic society,” he said.

His words come weeks ahead of the Lok Sabha election in Kerala on April 26.

Netto’s words carry weight in the state where a good chunk of the Christian population belongs to the Latin denomination.

While a few bishops had made noises that appealed to the BJP and its brand of politics, the outbreak of violence in Manipur ushered in a drastic change in their positions.