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Indian state proposes law to deter religious scripture desecration

Church leaders have cautiously welcomed a pro-posed law prescribing harsh punishment for acts of sacri-lege against holy scriptures in the predominantly-Sikh state of Punjab in northern India. The Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scriptures Bill, 2025, a first of its kind in the country, was tabled in the state legislative assembly on July 14 […]

Catholic nuns’ arrest over ‘false’ charges rocks Indian parliament

The arrest and jailing of two Catholic nuns on false charges of human trafficking and conversion has rocked the Indian parliament, with opposition members seeking their immediate release. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha (upper house), on July 28 called the arrests an example of “BJP-RSS […]

Indian church leaders slam ‘mercy plea’ for missionary killer

Christian leaders and activists have criticized a petition seeking a presidential pardon for Rabindra Kumar Pal, known as Dara Singh, the main convict in the 1999 murder of Australian missi-onary Graham Staines and his two children. “A plea for mercy must never come at the expense of truth or the suffering of victims,” Father Ajay […]

Vatican urged to raise India’s anti-Christian violence in talks

Vatican’s Secretary for Re-lations with States, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, met with India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar amid calls to make increasing attacks against Chri-stians a bilateral discussion point. Gallagher, on a week-long visit to India, met Jaishankar in New Delhi on July 17, the third day after arriving, following some church functions and […]

Uproar over Indian Hindu temple’s suspension of Christian employees

Church leaders have criticized the authorities of one of India’s most famous Hindu temples for suspending four employees because of their Christian faith. The managers of the Sri Venkates-wara temple, popularly known as the Tirupati temple, in southern Andhra Pradesh state, announced on July 19 the suspension of employees for “following other religions.” The Tirumala […]

Court asks Indian state to respect rights of minority institutions

A verdict by the Madras High Court in the state of Tamil Nadu could serve as a guide to resolve several cases across India where state officials have delayed staff appointments at Church – run educational institutions, Church officials say. Father Maria Charles, secretary of the Indian Catholic bishops’ Office for Education, called the court […]

Thai Catholic Church voices concern over Cambodia border conflict

“The Thai Catholic Church views the current military tension along the border with profound concern”, Archbishop Francis Xavier Vira Arpondarattana of Bangkok and President of the Thai Catholic Bishops’ Conference told the Italian Catholic news agency AgenSir in an interview published July 26. Tensions across the Thai and Cambodian border erupted on Thursday, July 24, […]

Chaldean Patriarch: “Save the historic Christian cemeteries of Najaf”

In an attempt to safeguard Iraq’s fragile Christian heritage, the Chaldean Patriarch of Bagh-dad has launched an urgent appeal to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to stop what he calls ‘attempts to destroy historic Christian cemeteries’ in the province of Najaf. In their place, Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako denounces in a reflection published on the […]