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Catholic Church supports separate Gorkha homeland

Church leaders have expressed solidarity with ethnic Gorkha people who are on an indefinite strike protesting for a separate homeland in the Darjeeling area of eastern India. Since June 8 Darjeeling district in West Bengal state has witnessed violent clashes between local people and the police. Street protests, stone throwing by the public as well […]

Msgr Menamparampil warns against the obscurantist danger hanging over India

Outlawed fundamentalist groups have the support of political and religious leaders, and are not punished for violence against minorities. The economy excludes the most vulnerable groups in society. “Vegetarian terrorism” is unleashed against killing cattle. The retired abp Menamparampil said in an interview: “The details of the incident are widely known. What we notice also […]

Bhopal archdiocese highlights Christian issues

The Archdiocese of Bhopal organized a peaceful sit-in to highlight various problems Christians face in Madhya Pradesh state as well as in India. Representatives of various Churches on June 20 spoke on topics related to Christians at the meeting held at Ambedkar park in Bhopal’s Tulsi Nagar area. The program began with a prayer. The […]

Malaysian bishop searches roots in Kerala

Bishop Sebastian Francis of Penang in Malaysia says his maiden visit to India’s Trichur archdiocese would help him rediscover his ancestral roots. Bishop Francis, who was given a rousing welcome in the Kerala archdiocese, told reporters that his grandparents had emigrated to Malaysia (then Malaya) in 1890s when the British ruled the two countries. The […]

Missing Indian priest found dead in Scotland

A Catholic priest, who went missing in Scotland three days ago, has been found dead, an Indian news portal reported on June 24. According to unconfirmed reports in deepika.com, the body of Father Martin Xavier Vazhachira was found on a beach closer to his residence. The 33-year-old priest, a native of the southern Indian state of Kerala […]

Rebel Indonesian priests seek Vatican help over bishop

Rebel priests in Indonesia’s Ruteng Diocese have appealed to the Vatican to intervene and resolve a bitter dispute with their bishop, whom they accuse of misappro-priating more than US$100,000 in church funds. Representatives of the priests, accompa-nied by a bishops’ conference official met Archbishop Antonio Guido Filipazzi, the outgoing apostolic nuncio in Indonesia on June […]

Vatican concerns over bishop detained in China

The Vatican expressed “grave concern” today for a Chinese bishop who it says was “forcibly removed” from his office several weeks ago and whose whereabouts are unknown. The matter is the latest episode in a wider, decades old dispute between the Vatican and China’s communist authorities over papal authority to appoint bishops. Shao was appointed […]

Religious leaders seek justice for suspected Tamil rebels

Buddhist, Christian and Muslim clergy are calling for the release of suspected Tamil separatists held for years under Sri Lanka’s controversial anti-terrorism laws. The prisoners are believed to have been arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act issued during Sri Lanka’s 26-year civil war. The law gives the mili-tary sweeping powers to detain and arrest […]