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CHURCH PROJECT HELPS INDIAN VILLAGERS ENJOY DRINKING WATER

Despite being surrounded by water, Varghese Mollykutty used to row a boat four kilometres along a narrow canal to a public water source to fetch a few pots of drinkable water for her family. She and her husband and two children live on a tiny island village, Kuttanad, a unique marshy delta in India’s southern […]

INDIAN INNOVATOR SHOWS ‘ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES’ FOR CHANGE

He was born in the mountains, up in the northern Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir, where the air was then still fresh and the trees were green. Up there, in the small,
remote village of Ulaytokpo
in Ladakh, Sonam Wangchuk
went to school with other tribal children. Education was difficult, he recalled, because minorities were discriminated against, […]

UNIFORM CIVIL CODE UNDESIRABLE: LAW COMMISSION

The Law Commission has suggested certain changes in marriage and
divorce laws that should be uniformly
accepted in the personal laws of all
religions, while holding that the
uniform civil code “is neither necessary
nor desirable at this stage” in the
country. The Commission, headed by
former Supreme Court judge Justice B.S. Chauhan whose tenure ended on August 31, has come out […]

RANCHI JESUIT CALLS TREASON CHARGE ‘FABRICATED’

Indian Jesuit Father Stanislaus Lourdusamy says a treason charge linking him with militant Maoists is a fabrication being used to discredit his work for prisoners and tribal people. The 82-year-old Jesuit, popularly known as Stan Swamy, was charged along with eight other rights activists on Aug. 28 for alleged links to a banned Maoist group […]

CATHOLIC PRIEST SURPRISES MUSLIMS SPEAKING AT KERALA MOSQUE

For a change, a Catholic priest in Kerala chose a mosque to deliver his sermon. Father Joseph (Sanu) Puthussery on August 31 visited the Juma Masjid at Vechoor in Kottayam district during Jum’ah (Friday prayers) and delivered a thanksgiving speech at the masjid prayer hall. The Muslims had fed the flood victims who had taken […]

FINDING SPIRITUAL COMMON GROUND BETWEEN INDIA’S RELIGIONS

“Recent events in India have damaged the country’s image as a vibrant, plural and successful democracy.” That is the opening line of former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran’s recent article in which he expresses his “growing concern over the rising polarisation and communalism of our social and political discourse.” Saran pointed out: “We pride ourselves in […]

CHURCH DONATES MOTHER MARY’S ORNAMENTS TO FLOOD RELIEF

The authorities of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Church at Manjummel has decided to donate two gold ornaments used to adorn Mother Mary to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF). The necklaces weighing 25 sovereigns made using the gold offering by the devotees over 100 years. The necklaces used to adorn the statue of […]

FORMER CHRISTIAN CONFERENCE OF ASIA OFFICIAL DIES

Bishop John Victor Samuel, a renowned ecumenical leader from Pakistan, died on August 29. His son Ajmal Samuel announced that his father died “after a long and brave fight following a stroke last year.” Bishop Samuel was 87. Bishop Samuel is survived by his wife, Shirin Samuel, three children and their families.