A Car for a Parish in Nepal
Friday, January 11, 2013

Success Story

In 2007, following centuries of a strongly Hindu absolutist monarchy, Nepal became a secular state. Nonetheless, it continues to be strongly influenced by the Hindu establishment, and Hinduism is still regarded de facto as the state religion. Hindus are forbidden by law to convert to Christianity, and non-Hindus are not even permitted to establish their own cemeteries, a situation that obliges Christians and members of other religions to resort to emergency measures, such as burying several of their dead in one grave, for example. But despite these restrictions, there are still some 8,000 Catholics living in this mountainous country, which lies between India and China.

The Church of the Assumption of Our Lady in the capital, Kathmandu, was the first ever Catholic church in Nepal, when it was consecrated in 1995 by Cardinal Josef  Tomko, the then Prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. Many of the Catholic faithful, however, live scattered throughout the Valley of Kathmandu, and the cathedral parish accordingly has a number of mission stations, some of which are extremely remote. As a result, there is an urgent
need for a robust vehicle that can cope with the rough roads and with difficult off-road conditions as well. However, the previous vehicle, which was already several years old when the parish took it over, was finally deemed beyond repair.

The parish appealed to ACN for help, and we responded with $29,300. Now the parish priest of the Assumption parish, Father Robin Rai, has written to ACN to thank us: "The Parish of the Assumption of Our Lady and all its faithful are deeply grateful to ACN and to all its benefactors. I thank you and all at ACN for this wonderful gift, which is a true blessing for us, and I assure you of our grateful prayers."