Police have confirmed the murder of seven tribal people, at least one of them Christian, four days after they were reported missing from their village in eastern India’s Jharkhand State. The seven, who opposed the Pathalgadi movement for autonomy, were kidnapped on Jan. 19, reportedly by rivals, and murdered, official Murari Lal Meena told media on Jan. 23.
Daily Archives: February 9, 2020
Youth engage in Salesian social projects around world
Starting mid-January, 1,157 young people will have an opportunity to give back through civil service volunteering. Salesians per il Sociale (Salesians for Social) coordinates the Universal Civil Service in Italy and other countries, which enables youth to have these life-changing volunteer experiences.
Bengaluru church desecrated, archbishop calls for reparation
Abp. Peter Machado of Bangalore on January 21 urged Catholics in his archdiocese to observe a day of reparation after miscreants desecrated sacred Hosts in a church. “I am not only terribly shocked and greatly grieved that desecration was done to the Eucharistic Lord in that church,” the archbishop said in a press note.
Rights violations in Chile: Archbishop’s installation interrupted
During the Jan. 11 installation Mass of CelestinoAós as the new archbishop of Santiago, Chile, a small number of protesters opened backpacks near the front of the church and dumped tear gas canisters on the floor.
An Instagram post by portadasoñada, which describes itself as “an independent and self-managed media outlet” included a video of the incident, which it said was intended to “denounce in the face the highest Catholic authority in the country for his silence and complicity with the government.”
The United Nations has warned of evidence of numerous human rights violations committed by police and military personnel in Chile since October. These include excessive and unnecessary use of force, sometimes resulting in injury or death, as well as torture, rape, and arbitrary detention.
Demonstrations against the government began in mid-October in Santiago over a now-suspended increase in subway fares. Other regions joined in the protests, expanding their grievances to inequality and the cost of healthcare.
In Iceland, composer and Polish Carmelite sisters turn saints’ poetry into music
A community of 12 Polish Carmelite sisters in Hafnarfjördur, Iceland, opened 2020 with big goals in sight: This year, they will release two CDs created with the help of distinguished Icelandic composer and pianist Jónas Sen. A former keyboardist for Björk, Sen is a prominent music critic and also the author of a notable biography on Icelandic pianist and mystic Halldór Haraldsson published in 2017.
The Carmelite convent is based in Hafnarfjördur, the third-largest town in Iceland, known for its lively annual Viking festival. Located an estimated 7.5 miles outside Reykjavik, the small community of Polish sisters celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2019. The sisters enjoy meditating on Carmelite mystical poetry and singing, according to Sister Miriam of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face.
‘Grave situation’ as Wuhan virus infections soar
As the spread of the Chinese respiratory coronavirus (2019-nCoV) continues to accelerate, a global pandemic and ensuing massive humanitarian tragedy are threatening the country and surrounding territories.
The virus has spread to almost every province in mainland China, while Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand are the worst affected outside the mainland, whose Spring Festival holiday has been extended by three days to March 2 to delay travel by up to 500 million people.
China’s President Xi Jinping held a politburo meeting on Jan. 25 to discuss steps to contain the epidemic, saying on state television that the outbreak is accelerating and that the country is facing a “grave situation,” Voice of America reported.
At the time of writing, 81 deaths had been confirmed with 2,827 more infected and over 30,000 people in China alone under watch; the number has jumped each day over the past 10 days and is expected to continue the same trajectory. At least 44 cases have been confirmed offshore including in Thailand, Singapore, the United States and Australia as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang travelled to Wuhan to visit hospitals.
Goa Church holds public protest against CAA
Hundreds of people from various religions attended a protest meet organized by the Church against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population register (NPR) in Margao, Goa’s commercial capital.
“It is our common conviction that these measures are unconstitutional and therefore, unacceptable. The government must listen to the voice of the people and withdraw the act,” Father Savio Fernandes, executive secretary of the Council of Social Justice and Peace, one of the organizers explained the purpose of the January 24 protest.
The Goa unit of the National Confederation for Human Rights and the Concerned Citizens for Democracy collaborated with the Church group.
Speakers were unanimous that the main purpose of the federal government in enacting the citizenship law was to divide the people of India. “We thank our government for helping us to come together as one family irrespective of our religion,” they said.
Founder of Protestant movement returns to Catholic Church
The founder of a prominent non-denominational movement in India has returned to the Catholic faith of his baptism, after more than a decade as a Pentecostal pastor and traveling preacher.
Sajith Joseph, 36, was confirmed Dec. 21, 2019 at St Mary’s Cathedral in Punalur in the southern Indian State of Kerala. His family and nearly 50 other members of his movement were received into, or came back to, the Catholic Church the same day.
Joseph is the leader of Grace Community Global, which he founded in Kerala in 2011.
The group will now be under the jurisdiction of Bishop Selvister Ponnumuthan of Punalur as a Catholic association, with the permission of the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life, which is responsible for international associations of the faithful. Joseph’s Facebook page describes Grace Community Global as “an ecumenical movement of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church.”
The group has around 2 million followers in 30 countries, and reaches many people through its televangelism programs.
Fr Prasad Theruvath, OCD, was asked to act as chaplain to the group; he has served as the secretary of the Kerala bishops’ commission for inter-church dialogue.
Fr Theruvath told CNA that a process of sorting out how the members of Grace Community Global want to proceed has begun. Most of the members are Protestant, but the group is also followed by Oriental Orthodox Christians, as well as Hindus and Muslims.
Salesians educate 300 poor children in Rajasthan villages
The Don Bosco Development Society is providing education in 10 villages in the State of Rajasthan, for 300 extremely poor and disadvantaged children, including children of farmers and workers in quarries. The educational project is supported by the van Ameringen Foundation, which provides funds for innovative and practical programs for early intervention. Don Bosco Development Society provides hope and support for those who have few resources and little hope for the future. Father Rolvin D’Mello, executive director of Don Bosco Development Society, has expressed great enthusiasm for the project, which is helping children grow and study.
Kerala Church welcomes state check on religious education
A church official in the southern Indian State of Kerala has welcomed a direction from the state’s High Court for privately run schools not to impart religious education without government permission. The court ruled on whether schools unaided by the state can promote a particular religion to the exclusion of other religions in elementary schools.
“It is a welcome order and the government needs to know what kind of religious education is being imparted in a private school,” said Father Varghese Vallikkatt, deputy secretary-general of the regional body of Catholic bishops in Kerala.
The court had considered a petition from Hidaya Educational and Charitable Trust, a Muslim body that runs several schools in the state. It challenged the state shutting down one of its schools on grounds that it promoted exclusive religious instruction and admitted only Muslim students, violating India’s secular principles.