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New bishop of Ranchi to strengthen the faith of everyone and support those in need

“I will work to strengthen everyone’s faith,” said Msgr Felix Toppo, whom Pope Francis appointed on June 24 as the new Archbishop of Ranchi, Jharkhand, replacing Msgr Telesphore P. Toppo, who resigned after 34 years at the head of the archdiocese. “In Jharkhand the faith of Catholics and Christians in general is very strong,” Msgr […]

Abetting gang rape charges against priest ‘fabricated’

Police in India’s Jharkhand State have arrested a Jesuit priest on charges of aiding and abetting the abduction and gang rape of five social activists, but church officials say the charges are fabricated. Father Alphonse Aind, principal of Jesuit-run Stockmann Memorial Middle School in remote Kochang village in Khunti Diocese, was sent to custody on […]

Paralysed man from Kerala is an inspiration to many

Hailing from Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram, a man named Thaha stands tall in life, in spite of being paralysed. Thaha never succumbed to self-pity, but instead braved the odds and made a living for himself using social media as his tool. This specially-abled man has been making umbrellas for the last five years, and with the help […]

Legislator sleeps at crematorium to bust ghost myth

A legislator in Andhra Pradesh spent night at a crematorium to convince scared construction workers that there are no ghosts or spirits. Nimmala Rama Naidu, a first time member of the legislative assembly of the southern Indian state, had dinner at the crematorium in Palakollu in the West Godavari district before spending the night there […]

Pope appoints apostolic administrator for Syro-Malabar major archdiocese

While Cardinal George Alencherry still retains the title of major archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly, Pope Francis named an apostolic administrator to run the Indian archdiocese. The Pope appointed 71-year-old Bishop Jacob Manathodath of Palghat to be the apostolic administrator “sede plena,” or effective head, of the archdiocese, said a Vatican press release […]

India’s Mizoram snubs Yoga Day as ‘anti-Christian’

World Yoga Day proved a big hit across India on June 21 as Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the nation to revel in and promote its culture but it was largely ignored in Christian-dominated Mizoram State. While many Catholics in other parts of the country joined the mass group exercises organized that on June 21, some religious […]

Arunachal chief minister promises to repeal anti-conversion law 

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on June 28 announced that his government would repeal the anti-conversion law the north-eastern Indian state passed 40 years ago. “The anti-conversion law could undermine secularism and is probably targeted towards Christians,” said Khandu while assuring he would introduce steps to repeal the draconian law in the next assembly […]

Jharkhand’s move to weaken land rights meets opposition

The amendment allows the state government to alter a five-year-old federal law that aims to protect the rights of farmers and indigenous people when acquiring their land for state development purposes. Protests and sit-in-demonstrations have been held in several locations around the state following media reports that President Ram Nath Kovind had agreed to the […]