The Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) has expressed deep alarm over the escalating hostility and violence faced by minority communities in the country, warning that India is witnessing a dangerous climate, which is “gripped by fear and pain.”
In a press briefing led by Archbishop Anil J.T. Couto, CBCI Secretary General, in New Delhi, the Church body expressed concern that minorities are being rendered increasingly vulnerable to “rising attacks by communal elements” amid “the disturbing apathy of those entrusted with enforcing the law and upholding constitutional values.”
Highlighting a serious instance of incitement, the CBCI cited a speech by BJP MLA Gopichand Padalkar in Kupwad, Sangli (Maharashtra) on June 17, 2025, where he allegedly said, “Whoever beats the first priest will get five lakhs, the second four lakhs, and the third three lakhs.”
The CBCI noted that the statement was “neither vague nor ambiguous” and clearly amounted to incitement to religiously motivated violence.
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