A cultural bonanza by the church

BANGALORE: “I am not opposed to Kannada language, as people had said about me in recent times. As per the beliefs of Christianity we should not be hurting the religious sentiments of others,” stated Archbishop Bernard Moras.Inaugurating the Kannada Rajyotsava celebrations organised by St Anthony’s Church on Tuesday, he said, “Kannada is an important language and we have to follow the language being residents of Karnataka. We have called upon the churches across the State to hoist the State flag on Tuesday.”Around 20 people, belonging to the Christian community who have contributed to the society in different ways were felicitated on the occasion.  M Nurduswamy, Nurgappa, C Francis, Jokim, Johnson, S Francis Kumar, Anthony Swamy, Thomas, Devraj, Prakash Arogya Swamy, Francis Nandagaon, Jhan Sebastin and Raphel S were among the awardees.Meanwhile, about 20 students from the Christian community who have secured above 80 per cent in the SSLC and the PUC were also felicitated.Later, students from different schools participated in the various cultural activities organised for the day. More than 200 students were present. Besides, vicar general, Fr P Francis and Fr L Arunappa, rector general of St Mary’s Church, Shivajinagar were also part of the celebration.