In a historic effort to unite many diverse Christian groups, 45 church leaders formally launched the National Federation of Churches (NFCI) in Bengaluru last week. The participants included archbishops, bishops, some self-styled archbishops, heads of a few independent evangelical and pentecostal churches, and their delegates.
The timing was described by its architects as urgent, even inevitable, as churches face violent attacks on pastors and faithful; stringent anti-conversion laws in 12 states; and attempts to seize Church properties through amendments to the FCRA [Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act] and the proposed Christian Welfare and Property Board.
In reality, the solitary panic button was the FCRA regulation being used in its most ruthless form—allowing the government to confiscate properties and other assets bought or built with money received from foreign donors if the government cancelled registration, did not renew it for another five-year term, or if the church or NGO ceased to function.
The proposal to appoint a centrally governed "designated authority" to oversee these assets—much as it had proposed for Muslims through the Waqf Board amendments, which the Catholic Church in Kerala had ironically enthusiastically supported—set the cat among the pigeons.