INDIA Assam, Three tourists accused of conversion. Bishop Moolachira: “slander” against Christians

They expelled three Swedes who attended a religious meeting. They would have violated the terms of the visa. They also had to pay a fine of 500 dollars each. Event organizers: They had the permits. The three are already back in their country.

Guwahati () – “The incident leaves a bitter aftertaste. It seems like an attempt to please the majority and slander Christians,” Msgr. John Moolachira, Archbishop of Guwahati (Assam), told when the local police announced the expulsion from the country of three Swedish tourists accused of proselytism.

They allegedly violated the terms of their tourist visa by attending a United Churches Fellowship and Bless Assam Mission Network event in the Naharkatiya area. According to the Indian press, the defendants delivered sermons for the purpose of converting some locals to Christianity. The police fined them $500 each and all three have now returned to Sweden.

The organizers of the meeting clarify that they had obtained the necessary permits from the district authorities.

Bishop Moolachira, who is in Bangkok for the meeting of the Federation of Bishops’ Conferences of Asia, explained that the fact that tourists attend religious services does not mean that they are attempts at conversion: “I am sorry for the people expelled and by the organizers of the religious event, who have found themselves in a very embarrassing situation”.