THRISSUR, India — As India continued to experience violent protests against a controversial citizenship law, Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai said citizenship should never be based on a person’s religion.
“The ongoing controversy and demonstrations and counterdemonstrations concerning the Citizenship Amendment Act (are) a cause of great anxiety for all citizens and could harm the country,” Cardinal Gracias, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, said in a statement emailed to Catholic News Service Dec. 27.
At least 24 people have died throughout India since Dec. 4 in protests against the act, which has since been signed into law.
The law permits Hindus, Christians and other religious minorities who are in the country illegally to become citizens if they can show they were persecuted because of their religion in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
It does not apply to Muslims. The law had been pushed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has espoused staunch nationalist views, and the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party, which runs the government.
Cardinal Gracias, a member of Pope Francis’ Council of Cardinals, cautioned that “there is a danger that there could be a polarization of our peoples along religious lines, which is very harmful for the country.”
“There is no harm in backtracking, changing course if this is necessary for the good of the country and our people,” the cardinal added. “The time of Christmas is a time for peace, justice and unity. These values which our Lord brought to humankind in Bethlehem should be paramount in our hearts and minds at this time.”
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