Modi concerned about rape, attacks on churches as Indian Christians say they feel vulnerable

An Indian man prays as Christians and others hold a candle light vigil to condemn the gang rape of a nun at a Christian missionary school in eastern India outside the Sacred Heart cathedral in New Delhi, India, Monday, March 16, 2015. According to police a nun in her 70s was gang-raped by a group of bandits when she tried to prevent them from committing a robbery in the Convent of Jesus and Mary School in West Bengal state's Nadia district. The attack early Saturday is the latest crime to focus attention on the scourge of sexual violence in India. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das) (The Associated Press)

NEW DELHI – Prime Minister Narendra Modi says he is "deeply concerned" about the rape of a nun and the destruction of a church in India, but Christian say his words do little to dispel the fear in their community since his rightwing Hindu government came to power.

A Christian leader, John Dayal, said Tuesday that Christians in the country were feeling deeply vulnerable.

Over the weekend an elderly nun was gang-raped in eastern India. The men who attacked the Convent of Jesus and Mary School in West Bengal state also ransacked the chapel and destroyed holy items.

A day later, a church in the northern Haryana state was destroyed, and reports said the vandals planted a flag with the name of the Hindu god Rama.