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Singapore priest stabbed while celebrating Mass

The parish priest of St Joseph’s Church in Upper Bukit Timah, Singapore, was stabb-ed during Mass on Saturday evening, re-ported Channel News Asia. Father Christo-pher Lee, 57, whose stabbing occured dur-ing Communion, was taken to Singapore’s National University Hospital and is said to be in stable condition. The attacker, a 37-year-old Singaporean, has been arrested. […]

Volcano destroys Indonesia Catholic convent, killing religious sister

A volcanic eruption destroyed a monastery in Indonesia on Nov. 3, leaving at least 10 people dead, including a Catholic sister. Just minutes before midnight on Sunday, Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on the Island of Flores erupted, spewing ash 6,500 feet high and destroying local villages, causing residents to evacuate. Locals did not receive alarms or […]

Indian court ends tax exemption for Catholic priests, nuns

India’s top court has ended a British-era practice of exempting Catholic priests, brothers, and nuns working in government-funded education institutions from paying taxes on their salaries. The Nov. 7 order of the three-judge bench of Chief Justice D. Y. Chandrachud, Justices J B Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra dismissed 93 appeals against a 2014 order of […]

Extension to Indian panel on Dalit Christian quotas hailed

An Indian church leader has hailed the one-year extension gi-ven to the Justice K G Balakri-shnan commission to study whether socially poor Christians and Muslims are eligible for the nation’s affirmative action policy. “We welcome the extension gi-ven to the panel as it was unable to complete its work within the stipulated time,” said Father […]

Indian businessman Ratan Tata given Mother Teresa award

An India-based voluntary agency has conferred its Mother Teresa Memorial Award for Social Justice on the late Indian business leader Ratan Tata for ‘his role beyond business’ and 11 others. “Ratan Tata has left a lasting legacy of service and social responsibility that conti-nues to inspire and uplift commu-nities,” said Abraham Mathai, founder-chairman of Harmony […]

Indian court order on Church properties worries Christians

Church leaders have expressed concern over a southern Indian court’s suggestion to bring Church properties under state control like in the case of Hindus and Muslims following graft allegations. Churches have vast properties and their funds “are drained to fuel a power struggle,” noted the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court in a recent […]

Indian Church refuses to endorse political party in election

Bishop Marshall Kerketta of Ranchi, the moderator of Gossner Evangelical Lutheran (GEL) Church said that he has rejected the appeal from Anosh Ekka of Jharkhand Party to use the name of the Church for political purposes. Ekka, a tribal Oraon Christian and former minister in the provincial government, recently wrote to letter to Bp Kerketta, […]

Catholicos Baselios Thomas I of India’s Syrian Orthodox Church dies

Catholicos Aboon Mor Baselios Thomas I, the spiritual head of the Syrian Orthodox Church’s Jacobite faction in India, died on Oct. 31. He was 95. The prelate passed away while undergoing treatment for age-related ailments in southern Kerala state, where the Damascus-based Church has more than 2 million followers. Thomas, affectionately called Bava, “was an ardent supporter […]