From The States

Malaysian prelate with Indian roots named cardinal

Although no Indian is among the 21 new cardinals named by Pope Francis on July 9, the country has a link with one of two Asians. Bishop Sebastian Francis Mechery of Penang is the new cardinal from Malaysia. The other Asian is Jesuit Bishop Stephen Chow Sau-yan of Hong Kong. Bishop Mechery was born on […]

New bishop appointed for Meghalaya’s Jowai diocese

Pope Francis on July 8 appointed Father Ferdinand Dkhar, as the bishop of Jowai in the northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya. The 59-year-old bishop elect is currently the administrator of the diocese of Jowai. Bishop elect Dkhar was born February 26, 1962, in Longkaluh, a parish under the diocese.

Mob assaults principal for “Christian prayer” in Pune school calendar

A mob has attacked the principal of a private high school in the western Indian city of Pune. The incident took place on July 4 when a group of parents, accompanied by the members Bajrang Dal, assaulted the principal of the D Y Patil High School for allegedly singing a school prayer with the phrase […]

Next door saint of marginalized, disadvantaged

We meet many people in our day-to-day lives, known and unknown. But many do not realize the goodness of the people we come across. They may be saints who are making changes in the lives and others. In the fast-moving world, people have no time to sit and talk with others; they have shut their […]

Commission for new martyrs revives Odisha Christians’ hope

Christians in the eastern Indian state of Odisha seem elated that Pope Francis has created a commission for new martyrs. They hope the new commission would address their demand that the Church recognize as martyrs their people killed during the 2008 anti-Christian violence in Odisha’s Kandhamal district. “The Vatican move is a welcome step in […]

Professor’s hand chopping case: Court finds six guilty

A court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on July 12 pronounced 6 of the 11 accused guilty, 13 years after they chopped of the hand of T J Joseph, a college professor in the southern Indian state of Kerala. The special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) here on July 13 awarded life […]

Christians in Pakistan risk greater persecution from blasphemy laws, while living in poverty

Two Christian Pakistani teenagers, one 18 and another 14, were arrested in their homes in Lahore in May 2023 on charges of blasphemy after a policeman claimed he heard them being disrespectful of the Prophet Muhammad. Among Muslim-majority countries, Pakistan has the strictest blasphemy laws. People jailed under these laws risk a sentence of life in prison and worse still, even death. […]

Indian nun arrested for ‘offending’ religion released on bail