A court has appointed two retired judges to administer the finances and all temporal goods of the crisis-ridden Church of South India (CSI), asking them to oversee the formation of a new synod, the Church’s top decision-making body. Justices R Balasu-bramanian and V Bharathidasan reached the CSI headquarters in Chennai, the capital of southern Tamil Nadu state, on April 18 and took over the administration of the church, which has 24 dioceses in India and Sri Lanka. The Madras High Court, based in Chennai, appointed the judges on April 12 following admini-strative disputes. The court-appointed administrators will continue until a fresh synod is elected, the court said. The court asked the administrators “to ensure that the elections for all the Diocesan Councils are con-ducted and representatives of the Synod are also elected by the respective Diocesan Councils and a special meeting of the Synod is convened at the earliest possible opportunity to elect new office bearers of the Synod.” In 2022, the laity moved the high court against former moderator Bishop Dharmaraj Rasalam. The high court removed him from the mo-derator post in September last year. The petitioners have accused him and the Synod under him of arbitrarily amending the Church’s constitution and being involved in corruption and other irregulari-ties. The petitioners said ten cri-minal cases were pending against the moderator, and his continuance in the office would not be appro-priate. They expressed their ina-bility to remove him from office because the Church lacked a law to remove a moderator. The CSI was formed in 1947 after India’s independence from Britain as a union of all Protestant denominations.
Daily Archives: May 1, 2024
Voters Abstain From Polls In India’s Christian-majority State
People in six districts of the Christian-majority Nagaland state in India’s northeast refused to vote in the ongoing national election to stress their demand for a separate state. The Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO), comprising seven tribal bodies in Nagaland, had urged people in six districts not to vote in the polls on April 19. “The demand by the ENPO is genuine,” said Paul Magh of the North Eastern Regional Youth Commission. The ENPO influences Kiphire, Longleng, Mon, Noklak, Shamator and Tuensang districts, which have nearly half a million voters. Magh told UCA News on April 22 that the voters believed that the demand for a separate state was justified as the government did not do justice to them in terms of development. He said ENPO had held talks with the government to chalk out a unique arrangement called ‘Frontier Naga Territory’ within the state with a separate legislature and financial powers. “They believe if they were given a separate state, their life would be better,” said Magh, a Catholic lay leader. Ahead of the polls, the ENPO declared a “public emergency” in six districts and prohibited candidates from campaigning. Chumben Murry of the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party and Supongmeren Jamir of the Congress party were the candidates in Nagaland’s lone parlia-mentary constituency. However, overall voter turnout in the state, comprising 16 districts, stood at 56 percent compared with 83.08 percent in the 2019 polls. Starting April 19, India’s general elections will be conducted in seven phases. The results will be declared on June 4. The demand for autonomy for six districts figured prominently at last year’s assembly polls in February.
Sipri: Never Before Has Arms Expenditure Been So High In Asia
In 2023, the greatest growth of the last decade was recorded in terms of global military spending, which reached its historic high for a total sum of 2.4 trillion dollars driven by Asia-Pacific tensions (Taiwan ) and the conflict between Israel and Hamas (as well as Iran).
This is the data from the latest report published on April 22 by Sipri (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute), from which another interesting fact also emerges: the greatest increases at a geographical level concerned Asia, the Middle East and partly the Europe due to the war between Russia and Ukraine which has been dragging on for over two years.
“Total military spending is at an all-time high” senior researcher Sipri Nan Tian underlines to AFP, according to which “we have witnessed an increase in spending in all five geographical regions.”
In numerical terms, the in-crease in military spending is 6.8% and represents “the most significant on an annual basis since 2009” as the expert adds. “[This increase] is a reflection of the deterioration – he adds – of peace and security in the world,” also because “there is no region in which the situation has improved.” At country level, among the top five for military spending in the annual Sipri report are: United States, China, Russia, India and Saudi Arabia.
Japanese Woman Is Baptized After Witnessing How Her Catholic Husband Lived With Faith His Cancer
Junko Kusanagi is a Japanese woman who for 49 years lived without having a significant experience that would lead her to have a deep faith. However, the illness of her husband, who is Catholic, led her to consider faith more than ever as a necessary element in her life. Junko says she attended a Catholic school and university, but never took much interest in the faith. When she was about to marry her current husband, he revealed to her that he was Catholic, and she mentions that perhaps if she had not had a previous experience with Catholicism, she would likely have reacted more hostilely to this statement. However, her previous contact with Catholicism allowed her to not have such a repulsive reaction to her husband’s faith.
Sometime later, when they had their son, Junko’s husband expressed his desire to have him baptized as a Catholic, to which she was at first a bit hesitant to do so. She decided to consult with her husband’s sister who told her that she had always felt God’s presence in her life because she had been baptized as a child, and this motivated Junko to accept the baptism of her son. The baptism took place and Junko remembers her husband telling her that he was very happy because even if something happened to them, their son would be in good hands because God would be with him. Junko mentions that her life went smoothly until October 2022 when her husband told her that he had just been diagnosed with cancer. At that time, she became so worried about the future of her husband and family that she went into shock.
In contrast, her husband was very composed, which impressed her. She asked him how he could be so calm, to which he replied, “I’m fine. God is always here”.
From that moment on she discovered something she had never seen in the person of her husband, a faith that she had interpreted simply as something that made her husband a “calm and ordinary” person, but at that moment she realized that his faith was so great even to be fearless, even though the future was uncertain. This began to make her rethink her position on faith. Upon realizing this situation and together with the desire to walk alongside her husband in this difficulty, she decided that she wanted to be baptized. She discussed this with her husband who was glad that he had become ill because it brought her to a deepening of the faith, he had always believed in.
Thus, Junko began her journey to the Church and among other things she is grateful to the parish community are the accompaniment and the availability to be with her and accompany her in this difficult time. Since they had moved house, she had no friends with whom she could talk or feel accompanied, but in the church community there is always someone to listen to her. Junko was baptized at the Easter Vigil at the Sekimac church.
Colombo, Still No Justice On The Fifth Anniversary Of The Easter Attacks
On the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the Easter attacks, the Catholic Church of Sri Lanka has organized various religious celebrations and is preparing to name martyrs the faithful killed in the attacks which targeted three churches and two hotels. According to the most recent investigation into the tragedy, over 300 people, including 40 foreigners and 45 children, lost their lives on 21 April 2019, the worst massacre to occur in Sri Lanka since the civil war.
Lahore, Forced Conversions: Attempted Poisoning Of A 13-year-old Christian
Yet another attempt at forced conversion has occurred in Pa-kistan against a 13-year-old Chri-stian boy, forced to ingest a toxic substance after refusing to em-brace Islam.
The episode occurred in the city of Lahore on April 13: Saim had left home to go get a haircut, but was stopped by a Muslim se-curity guard who noticed that the boy had a cross around his neck. The guard, named Qadar Khan, snatched the necklace and forced Saim to recite an Islamic prayer, but the boy refused, saying he was Christian. The man then forced Saim to ingest a toxic substance in an attempt to poison him.
It was the young man’s parents who found their son’s body unconscious after several hours that Saim was missing from home. The father, Liyaqat Randhava, went to the police but said he had received unfair treatment.
The officers registered the complaint only after several in-sistences and a copy of the docu-ment was not released to Saim’s family, he said. Furthermore, se-veral parts of the story were not included in the complaint.
(also called first information report or FIR).
Joseph Johnson, president of Voice for Justice, expressed deep concern about the growing incidents of forced religious conversions in Pakistan and condemned what happened to Saim, adding that the police were showing extreme negligence in the case. “By failing to include crucial details in the FIR, the police subjected Saim and his family to further abuse,” Johnson said, calling for government intervention in an investigation.
Asian Bishops’ Climate Change Desk Holds Ecology Conference
More than 30 church workers from various bishops’ conferences in Asia on April 15 ended a three-day workshop on building climate-resilient communities.
The workshop, organized by the Office of Human Development – Climate Change Desk (OHD-CCD) of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC), was hosted by Caritas Philippines in Tagaytay City, the Philippines. Participants engaged in thorough discussions on prevailing climate trends and the sustainability issues facing the region. They also shared best practices and action plans in battling the impacts of the climate crisis.
Bishop Allwyn D’Silva of Bombay, chairperson of the OHD-CCD, said the Catholic Church must get “more involved” in various environmental concerns because “Asia is a home to many of the countries that are vulner-able to climate change.” The prelate challenged churches in Asia to “build up a network” of advocates and “like-minded act-ors” to spearhead climate actions, all dedicated to fostering climate-resilient communities.
During the workshop, Dr. Benedict Alo D’Rozario, president of Caritas Asia, discussed how the Catholic Church’s social action and humanitarian arms are trying to collectively defend and empower communities against the impacts of the ecological crisis.
Pope Francis Will Be In Southeast Asia And Oceania From 2 To 13 September
Pope Francis will undertake a long trip to Asia and Oceania at the end of the summer. The director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, issued an official statement to that effect, indicating dates and locations.
“Accepting the invitation of the respective Heads of State and Church Authorities,” reads the press release signed by the director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, “Pope Francis will undertake an Apostolic Journey to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore from 2 to 13 September. He will visit Jakarta from 3 to 6 September, Port Moresby and Vanimo from 6 to 9 September, Dili from 9 to 11 September and Singapore from 11 to 13 September.”
As is customary, the detailed schedule of each stop will be published in due course. Despite the pope’s recent health issues, this long and demanding 12-day journey confirms once again Pope Francis’s great consideration for Asia.
The pontiff had been scheduled to visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Timor-Leste in 2020, but was forced to cancel due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This time, Singapore was added. Like Mongolia last year, the great crossroads of Southeast Asia is another privileged place to speak and reach out to the Chinese and the Sinic world, given that three quarters of the city-state’s population is ethnic Chinese.
Vietnam is not on the pope’s travel list this time. Improving relations in the recent past between Hanoi and the Holy See and the great desire of Vietnamese Catholics to welcome the pontiff’s visit had raised hopes. For Pope Francis, the planned journey was already very challenging. The sudden departure of President Võ Vãn Thýßng, who had issued an official invitation to Pope Francis in December, probably weighed heavily on the decision not to include Vietnam this time. Nevertheless, as the recent visit to Vietnam by Vatican Secretary for Relations with States Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher shows, the door for a papal visit appears to be still open and the trip is probably only postponed.
The Catholic Church in the countries the pontiff will visit issued statements confirming the papal trip in September. The Archdiocese of Singapore has already launched a website dedicated to the event. “It has been 38 years since we had a visit from the Vicar of Christ to Singapore, when Pope St John Paul II honoured us with a visit on 20 November 1986,” writes Archbishop William Goh in a statement. “It is my hope that this visit of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, will bring renewed fervour to all Catholics in Singapore, uniting them in faith and mission, especially in these most challenging of times,” added the prelate, who was elevated to the cardinalship by Pope Francis himself. Along with official state engagements, the archdiocese expects that the highlight of Pope Francis’s stop in the Southeast Asian city-state will be a major Eucharistic celebration, likely on 12 September.
In Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste, the Bishops’ Conference made the official announcement today in a press conference attended by Card Virgilio do Carmo da Silva and the Apostolic Nuncio, Rev Mgr Marco Sprizzi. Francis’s arrival will be a very important moment for the country (one of two Asian countries with a Catholic majority; the other one is the Philippines) which obtained its independence only in 2002, after much bloodshed and suffering. John Paul II had already made a stop in Dili in 1989, when Timor-Leste was still a province of Indonesia, but was demanding its independence. The Archbishop of Dili expressed the joy of the local Church for the September date, hoping the Timorese can “participate and be together with the Holy Father, who comes mainly to meet them and strengthen Timor-Leste’s Church in the faith and love of Christ.” “Let us prepare ourselves with an intense prayer to welcome the Holy Father,” added the secretary of the Timor-Leste Bishops’ Conference, Fr Carlos Miguel Pereira, “so that his visit will be the moment in which we reinvigorate our participation in building our ecclesial and civil community, in living our faith, and purifying our culture.”
Vocations Day In Spain: The Church Supports 725 Seminaries In Mission Lands
On Sunday, April 21, in addition to celebrating the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, the Catholic Church in Spain also celebrates what it calls “Native Vocations Day,” to support and provide formation for those who feel called to the priesthood and consecrated life in other countries so that no one is prevented from pursuing a vocation due to lack of resources. The Pontifical Society of St. Peter the Apostle is in charge of this effort, one of the four Pontifical Mission Societies that in different ways provides the resources to maintain 725 seminaries around the world.
In Asia, these seminaries (152 minor, 13 pre-paratory, and 62 major) serve more than 15,000 candidates for the priesthood. In Africa, more than 67,000 seminarians attend the 225 minor, 116 preparatory, and 142 major seminaries. In Asia, thanks to the Pontifical Mission Societies, 112 future priests are undergoing formation in five major seminaries, while in the mission lands of the Americas, 157 seminarians are in formation, distributed across one minor seminary, two pre-paratory, and seven major seminaries, according to data from the Pontifical Mission Societies.
To support these seminaries, in 2023 the Pontifical Society of St. Peter the Apostle allocated more than 16 million euros (about $17 million), which helped support more than 83,000 seminarians and 2,000 formators.
The aid is intended to cover an annual subsidy for living and enrollment expenses, which represents the largest item (78% of the total). The rest is used for the construction and maintenance of the buildings, with means to self-finance, support for formators, scholarships, and to support the first year of formation for the novitiates of religious congregations originating in mission territories.
Over Taxation Of Kenyans: A Matter Of Concern, Says The Kenya Conference Of Catholic Bishops
The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) has expressed deep concern over the increasing burden of taxation on Kenyans. Addressing the media, just before the weekend, the Bishops who were meeting for the Plenary Assembly held at Roussel House, Karen Nairobi, raised the issue of taxation, among other pressing matters affecting the nation.
In a statement signed by the Chairman of the Kenya Confe-rence of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) and the Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Kisumu, Maurice Muhatia Makumba, the Bishops emphasised the biblical principle of administering true justice and showing mercy and compassion to one another, as stated in Ze-chariah 7:9-10, adding that over-taxation not only burdens the citizens but also hinders the growth and development of the country.
The Bishops pointed out that the high cost of living coupled with over-taxation has made it challenging for ordinary Kenyans to meet their basic needs. Many are struggling to put food on the table, pay school fees, and cover medical expenses. The Bishops noted with concern that, unem-ployment rates have soared, exa-cerbating the financial strain on families.
“While Kenyans are doing everything possible to adapt to the high cost of living, the Church stands with those who cannot afford to get food on the table, to take children to school, and to pay medical bills. Unemployment also is at its highest. Moreover, we continue to be “heavily taxed” by corruption in our services systems! The issue of over-taxation should therefore be understood within this context,” the statement read.
The KCCB called upon the government to improve public participation in assessing its tax regime.
They emphasised the need for transparency in the use of collected taxes, both at the national and county levels. The Bishops stressed that the benefits of taxation should be evident in the welfare of the citizens and urged the government to avoid raising billions in a short span at the expense of ordinary Kenyans.