On May 23, a bomb killed
two Christians and wounded 15 others at the Assumption Catholic Church,
in Kathmandu, Nepal, according to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts.During
a mass attended by more than 250 people, a young man and woman entered
the church and placed a bag on the floor. “A few minutes later a bomb
exploded sending shrapnel and nails flying into the congregation,” VOM
contacts said. A 15 year-old girl was killed instantly and a
30-year-old newlywed visiting his family from India, died on the way to
the hospital. Fifteen others were injured including one of the priests.
Three remain critical. A second bomb was later disarmed by police
before it detonated.
Meanwhile, the Nepal Defense Army, a Hindu fundamentalist group
with ties to Indian Hindu extremist groups has taken responsibility for
the attack. This is the same group that mutilated and murdered a
Catholic priest in 2008 in Nepal and made death threats to believers
and Christian leaders in Nepal. In the past the group has also taken
responsibility for bomb attacks on other Christian Churches. “Their
leader states that their goal is to return Nepal to a Hindu State and
to rid Nepal of the Christians,” VOM contacts added.
The Voice of the Martyrs actively supports persecuted believers in
Nepal. VOM encourages believers by printing and distributing Bibles,
evangelistic tracts and books like Triumphant Church, He Lived among Us
and Tortured for Christ. VOM encourages you to pray for the families of
the deceased. Ask God to heal those who were injured and to protect
believers in Nepal. Ask God to use the testimonies of believers to draw
others into fellowship with him.
