The Catholic Church in India has observed a “Day of Mourning” in memory of millions of babies aborted across the world. As the country marked the 50th year of its Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, on Aug. 10, church leaders said it had led to the killing of millions of babies in the wombs of their mothers and called for an end to such a practice as life is a precious gift of God and must be protected.
Cardinal Oswald Gracias, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), in a message said that “millions of abortions have taken place in our country after that legislation and there is no sign of the slowing down of this anti-life trend.” In 2015 alone, at least 15.6 million babies were aborted in India, he said.
“We held special Eucharistic celebrations in honor of the departed souls of the unborn babies in our churches,” said Father Jacob G. Palackappilly, deputy secretary-general of the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council.

The Kerala High Court on August 12 said that Cardinal George Alencherry must face trial in the land deal case. The court upheld the verdict of a district sessions court that on August 24, 2019, asked the cardinal and two others to stand trial in the case. The court has dismissed six petitions submitted by Cardinal Alencherry. Both the High Court and the district court observed prima facie evidence of Cardinal Alencherry’s involvement in the land deal. Although eight cases were registered against the cardinal, the district court served summons in only six cases.

Jesuits in Goa have mourned the death of Father Gregory Naik, their first provincial who explored the western Indian state’s colonial history and its connection with the Society of Jesus. Father Naik died August 9 at Xavier Residence in Alto Porvorim, on the northern outskirts of the state capital of Panaji. He was 88.

India’s tribal people recalled the long struggles to preserve their indigenous identity, culture and land while pledging to continue them on the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. The sacrifice made by late Jesuit priest Stan Swamy for the cause of “jal, jangal and jamin” (water, forest and land) was remembered by Father Irudhaya Jothi, director of Xavier Institute for Development Education in Tripura at a gathering of tribal people in the northeastern state.

Catholic bishops in Kerala warn that the drastic fall in the birth rate among Christians threatens the community’s existence in the southern Indian state. The Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC) that met August 2-6 expressed grave concern over the dangerously low birth rate among Christians who once accounted for one fourth of the state’s population.
The bishops justified the decision of Pala, Idukki and Thamarassery dioceses to reward families with four or more children. Pastoral letters were read in many churches in the state two weeks ago reminding believers about their “family duty and obligation.”

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and Vishwa Hindu Parishad are at loggerheads in the western Indian state of Gujarat, known as the original laboratory of Hindutva. Interestingly, the reason for the quarrel is a church, which has become a bone of contention between the ideological partners of the Hindutva project that seeks to define India in terms of Hindu values.
It all began with a story carried last month by a Gujarati daily news-paper about a church constructed in Amba Jungle village with the “bless-ings” of Hiraben Mahala, a BJP member of the Kaprada taluka pancha-yat (a block-level administrative division) in the southern tribal district of Valsad.