Several Catholic dioceses in northern Italy have suspended Mass and other activities to help contain the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by coronavirus. The northern regions of Italy saw a dramatic uptick in coronavirus cases over the weekend, prompting some regions to suspend all events or gatherings of any form, in public or private. In response to the outbreak, dioceses in the area have taken various measures, including cancelling Masses and asking Catholics to receive the Eucharist only in the hand. Italian officials have also imposed quarantine restrictions on several towns in the Lombardy and Veneto regions, where most of the infections have occurred. The number of coronavirus cases in Italy has reached 152. Three people have died in what is the highest number of cases in Europe.
Daily Archives: March 2, 2020
Trump praised for raising issue of religious freedom in India
An organisation of Indian-American Christians has thanked US President Donald Trump for raising the issue of religious freedom and the plight of minorities during his talk with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying political tranquillity is fundamental to economic progress.
The Federation of Indian American Christian organisations in North America (FIACONA) said it “truly hopes” that the Indian government would respond positively to the concern expressed by the president that would be in the best interest of the country. Asked specifically about allegations that Muslims are being subjected to discrimination and there have been rising cases of hate crime in India, Trump in New Delhi on February 25 said: “We did discuss that and specifically Muslims. We also discussed Christians.”
“I had a very powerful answer from the Prime Minister. We talked about religious liberty for a long period of time in front of lot of people. I had a very very powerful answer I think,” he said.
Reacting to the remarks of Trump, president of FIACONA Koshy George said: “Although we lack any substance from their discussions, we are encouraged to see that the president took the opportunity to include the issue of religious freedom as a priority item at these important bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Modi.”
Despite the best efforts to showcase India in a positive light, the world is also watching the ongoing violence “as a result of the policies enunciated by the current BJP regime,” said John Prabhudoss, chairman of the FIACONA.
“Political tranquillity is fundamental to economic progress, and by promoting the policies that drive the country towards majoritarianism and intolerance, the Modi regime may be jeopardizing the prosperity of its ordinary citizens,” he said.
“We call upon the Prime Minister to uphold India’s constitution that guarantees freedom of conscience and religious freedom to every Indian,” Prabhudoss said.
Vatican drops ‘caste tag” of India’s new saint
As India prepares to welcome its newest saint, a controversy over his name and its relationship with the Hindu caste system has come to the fore.
A Vatican decree announced a miracle had been approved for Blessed Devasahayam, clearing the way for his canonization.
However, when Devasahayam was declared a Blessed in 2012, the name used was Devasahayam Pillai.
The discrepancy is due to protests that Devasahayam allegedly never used Pillai – which signified his caste – after his conversion from Hinduism in 1745.
After his conversion, Devasahayam suffered severe harassment and persecution – including beatings and imprisonment – until he was finally shot and killed in 1752. His body is now at Saint Francis Xavier Cathedral in the Diocese of Kottar.
American bishop amazed at India’s vibrant Catholicism
Earlier this year, Bishop J. Mark Spalding of Nashville visited India to express his thanks and gratitude to the families and religious order superiors of the 11 Indian priests living and serving in his diocese.
“Since I’ve been bishop, every priest from India has invited me to go to their home country and experience India and see their Catholic homeland,” Bishop Spalding said. “Out of respect for their good work and service in the diocese, I made the decision to go.”
“I wanted to visit with the families of the priests serving in the Diocese of Nashville and thank them for their sharing of their son, their brother, their uncle,” the bishop told the Tennessee Register, Nashville’s diocesan newspaper.
He also wanted to visit with the superiors of the religious orders of the Indian priests in Nashville. Six of the priests are members of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate, four are members of the Missionaries of St Francis de Sales, and one is a Franciscan.
“The presence of all our foreign-born priests allows us to do a lot of things in a lot of ministries,” Bishop Spalding said, including having them in the two diocesan high schools as well as serving as chaplains for various ministries and Catholic Organizations, he said.
“Three, I wanted to see Catholic India,” Bishop Spalding said.
His visit on January 15-29 took him to the State of Kerala, which has the largest Catholic population in India and is where St Thomas the Apostle landed when he first brought Christianity to the country.
Catholics make up little less over 1 percent of India’s total population, but 22 percent of the population in Kerala, explained Father Thomas Kalam, a Carmelite of Mary Immaculate, who is associate pastor of Our Lady of the Lake Church in Hendersonville, Tennessee. He helped Bishop Spalding by arranging his itinerary for the trip and served as his guide.
Forum asks bishops, superiors to oppose divisive citizenship laws
An advocacy group for progressive Catholic religious nuns, brothers and priests in India has asked top Church bodies to oppose openly laws that try to divide citizens in the country.
“The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR) are divisive, discriminatory and draconian,” the Forum for Justice and Peace, known as Forum, stated on Feb. 24 at the end of their 14th national convention in Varanasi. Around 50 members of the 500-strong group of priests and nuns working among grass-roots groups met on Feb. 22-24 at Vishwa Jyoti Gurukal to address the theme, ‘Prophetic Response to the Signs of the Times.”
The group describes the citizenship laws as unconstitutional and “obviously part of a larger strategy” to establish a fascist state based on the ‘Hindutva’ ideology. It says the controversial laws have caused discontent forcing hundreds of thousands of women, men and youth to protest all over the country. The CAA, the group says, uses religion that goes against the “secular fabric” of the country.
Cardinal Gracias: Church must ‘shed prejudice’ against women’s leadership
One of the six members of Pope Francis’ advisory Council of Cardinals has acknowledged a bias among the members of the Catholic Church’s all-male hierarchy against giving women more leadership roles, saying he and his peers must “shed this prejudice.”
In an NCR interview, Indian Cardinal Oswald Gracias called himself a “convert” to the cause of women seeking more opportunities for responsibility in the global institution.
Mentioning women through-out the world “who are doing so much” for the church, the cardinal said women “want an apostolate, want to work for evangelization, want to give leadership in the church parish community.”
“We have not applied our mind to it,” said Gracias, adding: “I admit there’s been a prejudice against giving them greater responsibility, and we must shed this prejudice.”
“I hope we are able to examine carefully, discuss carefully how they can have greater responsibility,” the cardinal continued, before quickly correcting his choice of words.
Christian leaders in New Delhi ask churches to open doors to riot victims
Christian leaders in New Delhi have condemned the communal violence in the Indian capital and asked churches to open their doors to victims of the riots.
The violence that started Feb. 23 in several areas of northeast Delhi has left 27 people dead and more than 200 injured in the deadliest episode of unrest in the capital in three decades, reported ucanews. com.
“At this trying moment, when communal riots have suddenly gripped Delhi, let us come forward with our prayers and every possible effort to bring relief to the affected people in terms of shelter, food and clothing,” said an appeal letter from Archbishop Anil Couto of Delhi.
In his letter to parish priests, Couto said churches should open their premises “for this noble cause in the Lenten season. Please convey this to our people and organize them for action.”
The three days of violence were the worst unrest since the 1992 nationwide riots following the demolition of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya, and possibly since the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 after the assassination of then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, media reports said.
The clashes broke out after groups favouring the Citizenship Amendment Act clashed with groups protesting it. The act, passed on Dec. 11, 2019 aims to grant Indian citizenship to persecuted minorities from Muslim-majority Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan while blocking naturalization of Muslims.
Muslims see their exclusion from the law that makes religion the basis of citizenship as yet another attempt by the Narendra Modi government to marginalize them, ucanews.com reported.
Coupled with the National Register of Citizens, the community fears the moves are intended to strip millions of Indian Muslims of citizenship. People from other disadvantaged caste and gender identities as well as women are vulnerable to the national register.
“Humanity has been knocked down one more time, our houses burned, our kindred killed, our peace destroyed, and future betrayed,” said a Feb. 26 statement from the National Council of Churches in India, the forum of Protestant and Orthodox Churches in India.
Indian Christians face 10 attacks in last 3 days, 9 over weekend
Even as India prepared to welcome the American President Donald J Trump, who on his two-day visit to India reportedly plans to discuss, among other things, the issue of religious freedom in India with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Religious Liberty Commission (RLC) of the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) registered nine incidents of hate crime and violence on Indian Christians over the weekend.
From Feb 21 to 23, the RLC recorded nine incidents targeting Christians and their congregations including disruption of worship services, intimidation from police machinery and mob violence. Such incidents around weekends and especially on Sunday have become a regular phenomenon for Christians in many parts of India, Reverend Vijayesh Lal, national director of Religious Liberty Commission of EFI, said in a press note.
One incident was also reported from Chhattisgarh on Feb 20 evening taking the total number of incidents to ten in the last three days.
“India known for peaceful co-existence of all religions”: Vice President
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Feb 16 said India is known for unity in diversity, pluralistic ethos and peaceful co-existence of all religions.
This ethos should be nurtured and there should be no discrimination based on gender or differences between people, he said at an event in Kolkata.
Naidu said India wants good relations with all its neighbors and advocates for a climate of peace and progress. He said the world community should take a pledge to fight against any force that promotes terrorism. “We want to have good relations with all our neighbours. Let us take a stand… we must all seek to create an atmosphere where peace can flourish,” Naidu said.
In an apparent reference to Pakistan, Naidu said that “you can change your friends, but cannot change your neighbours.” “Peace is the prerequisite for progress. India has always believed in the concept of “Vasudaiva Kutumbakam” (the world is a family),” he added.
Spiritual leaders hold prayer rally in Delhi
Leaders of various religions came together on February 26 evening to pray for peace in the national capital where sectarian violence has claimed at least 28 lives in four days.
The leaders met at Sacred Heart Cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese. They appealed to the citizens for peace and non-violence and follow the path of loving each other.
One-minute silence was observed for those who lost their lives in clashes in Delhi’s north-eastern areas, bordering Uttar Pradesh State.
Spiritual leader present included chief Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi of Islam, chairman of Gurudwara Bangla Sahib Parmajit Singh Chandok, Jain guru Acharya Lokesh Muni, Swami Parmanand and Delhi Abp Anil J. Couto.
The gathering was informed that Sikh gurudwaras and churches are open round the clock for all the riot victims. “Anybody can come and take shelter in the house of God,” the organizers said.
Gurudwara Bangla Sahib near the cathedral has been sending ‘Langars’ (community kitchen serving free meals), ambulance facilities and relief materials to the riot-affected areas.
“This is the spirit of India and no amount of hatred can alter the spirit,” a participant remarked.