Archbishop denounces intolerance

SHILLONG: In the wake of the attack on Christians, the Archbishop of Shillong Archdiocese Dominic Jala on Saturday stressed the need of peace and harmony among all sections of people while denouncing intolerance.
With just a day left for the Christmas celebrations, the Archbishop conveyed the message of oneness.
According to the Archbishop, there is tension in many parts of Asia, Europe and Africa and Christmas is the time to reinforce the message of harmony and peaceful co-existence.
“We have to get out of the spirit of intolerance and look beyond our boundaries of religion, colours and races and focus on human beings as the children of a common God,” the Archbishop said.
To a question on attack on Christians in certain parts of the country, the Archbishop said, “No matter which religious group a person belongs to, there should not be any room for intolerance”.
“In some parts of our country, there are forces that the government may not be able to control or it could be that certain governments may be tacitly looking at situations and this creates a possibility for destructive and disruptive forces who want to create enmity and division. Particularly as Christians we feel with those who have to suffer because of the rise in incidents of intolerance towards those who want to practise their religion and those who want to even celebrate Christmas. We would like to see the possibility for everyone to celebrate the message that they live, the message that is enshrined in their own religion,” he added.
The Archbishop said all religions have the force to build a world that is peaceful and good, and religious and political leaders should not surrender their energy to people who are destructive but rather they should use all that is possible to create a world in which all can live.
The Archbishop also said Christmas is a time to think about the poor and the needy and to seek the intervention of God for equal opportunities to all.