Beyond Belief

MANGALORE, KARNATAKA - 13th November 2009

Every so often something comes along that unites almost all people in communal disbelief. September 2008 saw one of those occasions, when a bunch of Hindu fundamentalists turned up at at a small chapel here in Mangalore armed with swords, iron bars and wooden clubs, and proceeded to smash the place - and anything and everything inside - to pieces. Those unfamiliar with the events should read the Enquiry Report, which gives a full account that I won't repeat here (and also explains the significance of certain things if you're a non-Catholic), but a brief summary is found on Wikipedia -

A group of youth from Hindu nationalist organization went inside the chapel of Adoration Monastery of the Sisters of St-Clare in Milagres and, in a quick succession, desecrated a crucifix, the tabernacle and the Eucharist, the monstrance, the oil lamps, the vases on the altar and a few statues of saints.

Up to 10 churches or prayer halls were attacked the same day across Mangalore, and the following days saw mass protests from Catholics in the area. At the Monastery, the battered and beaten crucifix, itself a heritage work of rare art, was left as it was for all to see - and subsequently has been placed in its own glass case outside the Chapel.

Yesterday we visited the monastery - a small, modest place hidden away from the busy Falnir Road; accessed from a tiny lane too small for vehicles to pass, noticeable only from a small sign off the main road. The monastery itself is private for cloistered nuns, but as a "Perpetual Adoration Monastery", the linked public chapel is always open, with the Blessed Sacrament always on display (see Enquiry Report for explanation of the significance of the Blessed Sacrament).

As you enter your eyes are drawn to a corner of the small lobby area, outside the entrance to the Chapel. Whether though instinct or conscious thought, you cannot help but shake your head as you approach; the shock of seeing the battered, broken pieces of the Crucifix slowly sinking in as you move closer. The Crucifix, alongside is smashed Monstrance, is encased in a glass display; the glass marked simply with "14/09/2008, 10.20am", and the words "Thus, I Loved You".

As I'm still unable to get my photos from the computer to the net, but this photo of the Crucifix is found on Manglorean.com.

I'd seen the photos like these over the internet from England last year when it all kicked off but, like so many things you experience through life, the chilling, spine-tingling effect of seeing it first hand invokes feelings that can never be felt through a photograph on a screen. Leaving religion, creed, and anything else aside, you are forced to sit back and wonder what sort of mindset could possibly possess someone (or several people) to do something so shocking.

But, at the same time, seeing it out on display as it is - a constant reminder for all to see - has the same symbolic resonance as seeing the US flag fluttering above the rubble at Ground Zero, or the bullet holes left littered on the glass of the still-bustling Leopold Cafe in Mumbai. You can safely say that some things will never die.