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BJP increases seats in Kerala local body elections

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seems to make slow but steady inroads into Kerala, an unassailable bastion for the saffron party so far, results of the recently held local body elections indicate. Although the BJP failed to perform as expected in the Kerala civic elect-ions, it has significantly improved its 2015 tally, reports the Times […]

Why is India denying prisoners spectacles and straws?

But in recent weeks, jail authorities in India have been called out for being especially cruel to prisoners, particularly the govern-ment’s critics who are described as “human rights defenders” by international rights groups. Earlier this month, the Bombay High Court reminded officials of Mumbai’s Taloja jail that they needed to show some “humanity” while dealing […]

PM to help sort out Kerala church issues

With differences between Orthodox and Jacobite factions in widening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will talk to both groups to find a lasting solution to some issues, said Mizoram Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai. The governor, also hailing from Kerala, said he had briefed the Prime Minister about all issues and sought his intervention to help […]

Dalit Christians hold protest march in southern India

Dalit Christians in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu have held a protest in march against discrimination faced by Dalits in 45 Catholic parishes of Pondicherry-Cuddalore Arch diocese. Protesters submitted a memorandum to parish priests on Dec. 20 and requested them to forward it to Archbishop Giambattista Diquattro, India’s apostolic nuncio. “The memorandum contains Dalit Christians’ long-standing common […]

Meat issue: Goa Church writes to chief minister

The Church in Goa has urged the state chief minister to urgently intervene to resolve meat shortage that has severely affected people’s protein intake and tourism industry. The Council for Social Justice and Peace (CSJP) wrote to Pramod Sawant that the western Indian state started experiencing the shortage after neighboring Karnataka State passed a bill […]

YOUCAT India gets new national director

The Conference of Catholic Bishops of India has appointed Maria Francis from the Archdiocese of Bangalore as the new national director of YOUCAT India. She will coordinate the ministries of the Youcat India Missionary Movement and will guide its members in India. Youcat, short for Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church, also styled as YOUCAT, […]

A bleak winter for the Church in India

The Church in India has never been under such stress as in the Christmas season of 2020. Starved of finances under a harsh law that regulates inter-national donations and the near absence of worshippers in the Covid-19 curfew, the Church cutting across denominations is pummelled by accusations from political foes and the seething anger of […]

Baghdad declares Christmas a national holiday – Card Sako’s ‘joy and satisfaction’

Iraq’s Chamber of Deputies voted on a bill sanctioning Christmas as a “national holiday with an annual frequency” for all citizens. Welcoming the news as a source of great “joy and satisfaction” and confirmation of the importance of “the Christian presence” for the whole country, Chaldean patriarch, Card Louis Raphael Sako explains: “Parliament voted on […]