FR. MOYALAN, A LIGHT FOR THE PEOPLE

Bandel, 7/9/2008 - A large gathering of clergy, religious, and lay people gathered in the Marian Basilica of Bandel, on July 4, 2008 to celebrate the funeral of Fr. Johnson Moyalan. Fr. Johnson had been murdered in the early hours of July 1st, allegedly by a Hindu militant group, after they had broken into the residence of the Salesians at Sirsia, Nepal, about 9 miles from the India-Nepal border.

Archbishop Lucas Sirkar of Calcutta presided at the funeral Mass. Concelebrants included Most Rev. Anthony Sharma, S.J., the Apostolic Vicar of Nepal, Fr. Thomas Ellicherail, the Salesian Provincial Superior of the Calcutta Province, and more than 50 other priests. Bishop Sharma, in his homily, spoke of the great loss suffered by the Church in Nepal at the killing of Fr. Johnson, who he said was truly "a man sent by God" for the people, and that the blood he has shed may indeed become the seed of Christianity in Nepal. He spoke in glowing terms of the inimitable person Fr. Johnson was, and the outstanding ministries he was engaged in for the people of Nepal.

Fr. Ellicherail said that Fr. Johnson was great witness of Jesus Christ among the people and that he was true to his own name of Prakash, spreading light into the lives of the people he worked for. The condolence message sent by the Secretary of State of Vatican, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., which was read at the funeral, the Cardinal Bertone stated: "Commending the soul of Fr. Johnson Prakash to the infinite mercy of Almighty God, the Holy Father enjoins all to renounce the ways of violence and to follow the path of Peace and Reconciliation".
 
All five of Fr. Johnson’s brothers atttended the funeral, as did a brother-in-law. Fr. Johnson, aged 60, was born in Ollur, Kerala. He professed vows as as a Salesian in 1967 and was ordained in 1977. At the time of his death, Fr. Johnson, known popularly by his adopted name John Prakash, was the Principal of the the Don Bosco school, and was also engaged in a large scale socio-developmental Project for some tribals, the poor and the low-castes of Morang district of Nepal.

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