Indian Cardinal Oswald Gracias has opposed a proposal to enact a stringent law restricting conversion in the poll-bound western Indian state of Maharashtra, saying it violates fundamental rights. In its election manifesto, the state’s ruling alliance, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), promised to enact a stringent law making religious conversions difficult if re-elected to power. Cardinal Gracias, Archbishop of Mumbai, said that state laws should not try to control a religious conversion, which is the choice of a person’s conscience. “No civil authority has the right to enter the shrine, which is the conscience of every single person, let alone decide what a conscience should say,” Cardinal Gracias said. Some 96 million voters in the state are scheduled to elect their 288 representatives to the state legislative on Nov. 20. According to the Election Commission of India, which conducts the elections, more than 4,136 candidates are in the fray. Although hundreds of independent candidates are contesting, the major fight is between the BJP-led ruling alliance and the secular alliance led by the Indian National Congress party that led the Indian independence struggle. Cardinal Gracias said all political parties should respect the secular values of the Indian constitution, which includes religious freedom. “Freedom of religion and the right to convert are fundamental human rights, protected by India’s Constitution,” and “for Christians, conversion is a personal transformation of the heart,” he said. “No government can come into my soul and tell my conscience saying, ‘you cannot change your religion. You must worship God in this way,” he said.

Bangalore City hosted the first National Catholic Media Confe-rence dedicated exclusively for Clergy and Religious at St John’s Medical College from November 23 to 24. The conference, entitled “ILLUMINAIRE: Nurturing Digital Stewardship in the Era of Artificial Intelligence,” was orga-nized by the Salesian Commu-nication departments in Rome and India, in collaboration with the Vatican Dicastery for Commu-nication and other national Church communication bodies. Among 16 experts who shared their perspectives on using social media and artificial intelligence for pastoral ministry with some 300 participants, were Member of Parliament from West Bengal Mr. Derek O’Brien who urged clergy and religious leaders to embrace digital tools while staying true to their mission and authenticity. Member of Vatican Dicastery for Communication and director of its Theological Pastoral Department Dr. Natasa Govekar encouraged participants to integrate the values of faith and communion into the digital realm, offering a vital framework for those engaged in digital ministry today. Recalling the great media apostles in the church, Daughters of St Paul Sr. Joeyanna D’Souza, a Social Media Ethics Specialist from Mumbai, emphasized the need for consecrated persons to prioritize community goals rather than personal recognition, share uplifting content that inspires and motivates others, and maintain a balanced online presence.

The top court in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu has ordered a federal probe into allegations of illegally selling British-era Church properties worth millions in a Protestant diocese. The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court on Nov. 22 asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the country’s top investigating agency, to probe the allegations linked to properties of the Madurai-Ram-nad diocese of the Church of South India. The court order was issued in response to a public interest petition filed by D. Devasahayam, a diocese mem-ber. The petitioner alleged that the Church of South India Trust Association (CSITA) and dio-cesan officials sold 31.10 acres of land worth over 220 million rupees (US$2.6 million) for a mere 12 million rupees. During the sale, the accused persons accepted 9 million in cash, in gross violation of the country’s existing banking norms. “There were fraudulent transactions of astronomical level,” including “illegal transfer of money,” the court’s order noted. In 1912, the ruling British colonial govern-ment gave the land to the Ameri-can Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, later known as the United Church Board for World Ministries, to set up an industrial home for needy women, carry out farming, and use the income for the welfare of the inmates. The mission body continued to administer it till 1973 and later handed it over to the CSITA without changing its original purpose. The petitioner said he approached the court because the police failed to address the corruption.

A Church leader in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand has warned of legal action against political parties and candidates falsely claiming the Church’s support in the ongoing state assembly election. Father Bishu Benjamin Aind, vicar-general of Khunti diocese in the state, said that “the Church never endorses or asks its faithful to support any political party or candidate.” “People are free to exercise their voting right according to their choice,” the priest told and added if any such cases are reported, “we will initiate legal action.” Aind was reacting to a video circulating on social media since Nov. 10 claiming that Christians were told to vote for an independent candidate named Anita Surin from the Torpa constituency in Khunti district. However, the priest denied any such direction was issued by the Church. Polling was held in Torpa and 42 other constituencies in the first phase on Nov. 13. The second phase of polling for 38 of the total 81 constituencies is scheduled on Nov. 20. “Since there is one more phase due, there is a high possibility of similar cases occurring,” the priest said. Aind, who belongs to the indigenous Oraon tribe, said the video claiming Church support for Surin could be “the handiwork of some anti-social elements who want to divide people in the name of caste, creed and religion.”

The western Indian Maharashtra state did not include a Christian representative in the state panel meant to safeguard the interests of religious minorities, which Christian leaders say was unfortunate and unusual. “It is unfortunate that no one from the Christian community was given representation on the 11-member Maharashtra State Minorities Commission,” said Father Nigel Barrett, the spokesperson of Cardinal Oswald Gracias, who heads the Bombay archdiocese in the state capital Mumbai.
The pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government on Oct. 11 filled nine vacant commission posts with six Muslims, two Jains, and a Sikh member ahead of assembly polls in India’s most industrialized state on Nov. 20. The minority panels are set up to safeguard and protect the interests of Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jain, and Zoroastrians (Parsis), who are notified as minority communities in the country. Christians comprise less than 1 percent (0.96) of Maharashtra state’s 126.5 million people, most of whom are Hindus. Buddhists (5.8 percent) and Jains (1.25 percent) are more numerous than Christians. However, Sikhs (0.20 percent), who are fewer than Christians, have a representative in the panel. “As a religious minority, we have every right to have at least one member in the statutory body,” Father Barrett told. The priest added, “There is resentment among the community.” He asked the government to reconsider the decision. It is the first time the state had completely kept Christians out of the minorities panel, noted Abraham Mathai, a former member of the state’s minorities commission. Christians “are legally entitled to get a seat on the commi-ssion,” Mathai told. Catholic activist Melwyn Fernandes from Mumbai (formerly Bombay) questioned the appointments just four days before the elections were announced. These appointments are aimed “at appeasing mi-nority groups,” Fernandes told. The Muslim community that got maximum representation constitutes over 12 percent of the population. So, their support is crucial ahead of the polls, he said. “It is evident that the appoint-ments were purely political,” Fernandes observed.