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Syro-Malabar Melbourne diocese gets a new bishop

Pope Francis has appointed Father John Panamthottathil of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI) congregation as the new bishop of St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Diocese of Melbourne, Australia. The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the eparchy of Saint Thomas the Apostle of Melbourne, Australia, presented by Bishop Bosco Puthur, who completed […]

Priest, nun die in separate accidents

A 73-year-old Dominican nun and a 36-year-old diocesan priest have died in tragic accidents at two different pa-rts of India. Father Melvin Abraham Pallithazhathu of Bijnor diocese died January 19 when his vehicle fell into a gorge of 500 feet deep at Joshimath in the Chamoli district of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. He […]

Asian Catholic responses to an evangelical presence

In this week of prayer for Christian unity, we are called to pay attention to the diversity of Christians as well as to their mutual relations. We explore here some of the ways through which Asian Catholics respond to the presence of evangelical Christians. Evangelical churches, which stress that one has to be “born again” to […]

Syro-Malabar synod fails to resolve violent row over the Mass

In what amounts to the latest failure to resolve an almost 25 year-old liturgical feud, a six-day meeting of bishops of the Syro-Malabar church concluded Saturday without any new consensus on how Mass ought to be celebrated. Centered in the southern Indian state of Kerala, the Syro-Malabar Church has more than four million followers worldwide, […]

Hindu mob attacks Catholic NGO staff on Indian train

A Catholic priest sought police protection for his non-governmental organization (NGO) in western India a few days after his staff members were attacked by Hindu nationalists on a running train alleging they were missionaries involved in conversion activities. Seven teachers of a Catholic NGO working in Dhule district in the western state of Maharashtra were assaulted […]

Tribal factor at play ahead of crucial elections in India

For the first time, tribal people in India are a much sought-after community as nine Indian states face elections this year, ahead of the crucial general election next year when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will seek a third term. Tribal people can tilt the balance in seven of the nine states going to the polls […]

Indian parishioners stage stir to reopen Cathedral

Some 300 Catholics demonstrated demanding the reopening of a cathedral in southern India on Jan. 26, more than a month after police closed it following a violent clash between rival Catholics over a longstanding liturgy dispute. Police sealed the St Mary’s Cathedral Basilica in Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese in the Eastern rite Syro-Malabar Church in Kerala last Christmas eve. […]