From The States

Jesus came to spread peace, unity: Goa chief minister

Chief Minister of Goa Pramod Pandurang Sawant joined government officials and civil service officers to celebrate Christmas at Pilar Pilgrim Centre in the western Indian state. “Jesus came into the world to spread the message of peace, love and unity,” Sawant told the participants of the Festive Christmas High Tea on December 25 at the […]

Hundreds of students drive Rohingya out of temporary shelter in Aceh

Hundreds of students in the province of Aceh, western Indonesia, invaded a shelter on December 27 that temporarily housed more than a hundred Rohingya refugees, driving them out in what is but the latest incident due to local hostility towards the refugees, who belong to a persecuted stateless Muslim minority from Myanmar. Since mid-November, more […]

Outrage over parish council’s “barbaric” punishment to questioning youth

A Kerala parish council’s “barbaric” punishment to a youth during Christmas midnight Mass has triggered condemnation in the southern Indian state. “Today I heard the news that the young man was brought to his knees to apologize. The sting of the action still hasn’t gone away, and the shame of it coming from a religious […]

87 tribal Christians buried months after Manipur riots

Thousands of Christians paid their last respects to 87 indigenous Christians during a mass funeral on Dec. 20, eight months after sectarian violence rocked India’s hilly state of Manipur. The victims from the Kuki and Zomi communities were buried in separate places in Churachandpur district, where the strife started on May 3, claiming 200 lives. […]

Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists come together in Natore for Christmas, the feast of harmony

Christmas was marked by interfaith harmony and sharing with members of different religions united to celebrate the joy of the birth of Jesus in Natore, a district in Rajshahi Division, experiencing moments of intense participation in the name of rebirth, new beginnings, forgiveness, and peace in a country that once experienced sectarian tensions. Trees adorned […]

Latin rite bishops launch strategic planning for Indian Church

India’s Latin rite Church is pre-paring its people to face modern challenges. For this, it has launched a training program on strategic planning training for the 14 regions of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India. A training program was held December 6-7 at Navinta Retreat Centre in New Delhi’s Okhala.

Indian priest calls for ‘paradigm shift’ in light of anti-Christian harassment

In the wake of a mass indictment of 42 people in India over charges of fraudulent conversion of members of poor and tribal communities to Christianity, a Catholic expert is warning that recent elections in several Indian states, which saw strong gains for the Hindu nationalist party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, may make the […]

Critics call new loyalty oath in troubled Syro-Malabar diocese ‘vengeful’

In the latest escalation in a long-running dispute within India’s Syro-Malabar Church, the administrator of its largest diocese has required all candidates for the priesthood to take a loyalty oath swearing to celebrate the Mass only in the manner prescribed by Church authorities. Archbishop Andrews Thazhath issued the new oath in a Nov. 23 letter, […]

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Pope: Red Cross’ humanitarian work shows that fraternity is possible

New Vatican document lists ‘grave violations’ of human dignity