Good Friday prayers at Vatican to remember persecuted Christians in India

Persecuted Christians in India will be remembered on Good Friday Way of the Cross ceremony at Rome's Colosseum, the Vatican said.

Archbishop of Guwahati, Thomas Menamparambil has been asked to compose the prayers, which will be used by Pope Benedict XVI on the evening ceremony.

Also known as Via Crucis - the ceremony commemorates Jesus' final hours, including his crucifixion.

Archbishop Thomas Menamparambil of Guwahati, India, has been given the task of writing the meditations for this year's Via Crucis which will focus on "evil in the world, on pain and on the various forms of suffering," the Vatican said.

Menamparambil "will refer to Christians who suffer persecution in India and in other countries, as well to the violence that destroys ethnic and religious groups, and to conflicts fuelled by economic interests," the Vatican said in a statement.

The Vatican noted that for the "second consecutive year, the Pope wishes to draw attention to the continent of Asia." Last year, the Way of the Cross prayers were composed by Hong Kong's Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun which focused on the persecution of Christians in China.

Archbishop Menamparambil will be the first Indian and second Asian to prepare the meditation prayers, where '14 stages' of Jesus Christ are meditated upon.

The 72-year-old Archbishop said he composed the prayers with an Indian touch by blending the concepts of Mahatma's ahimsa and nishkama karma.

"Ahimsa as a concept is much deeper than non-violence, revealing fullness of its meaning in Jesus as he confronts violence with serenity and strength," he explained

"In my prayers I have tried to be perfectly Christian and also perfectly Indian and Asian," he added.

Following the violence on Christians in Orissa and Karnataka, the Vatican strongly denounced the attacks and appealed to the Indian government to provide adequate security to the minorities.

It expressed solidarity with local churches and the religious orders involved, and said "these actions are an affront to dignity, peoples' freedom, and peaceful civil coexistence."