A Catholic nun died and five others, including a bishop, were injured in a road accident on June 27 evening in the central Indian State of Chhattisgarh. Sister Jaise, a member of the Deena Bandhu Samaj, an indigenous congregation, died on the way to the hospital, Carmelite of Mary Immaculate Thomas Kollikolavil told Matters India.
Deacon dies while serving on Corpus Christi Day
A 27 year-old deacon who was to be ordained a priest in 6 months time has passed away on Jun 20, the feast day of Corpus Christi. Jerin Joyson Chittilapilly who belongs to the Eparchy of Kalyan in Maharashtra had just celebrated his 27th birthday a day before on June 19. Deacon Jerin was born on 19 June 1992 and was brought up in Mary Matha Parish in Sakinaka, Mumbai. He joined for priesthood for the Eparchy of Kalyan in 2007 and did his philosophy at St Thomas Apostolic Seminary, Kottayam and Theology at Papal Seminary, Pune.
Christian group condemns damage to tribal leader’s statue
A Christian group in Jharkhand on June 14 expressed anguish over damage done to the statue of Birsa Munda, a 19th century tribal freedom fighter and martyr. The statue was damaged on June 13 night allegedly by some unidentified persons. All Christians Media Cell has expressed dismay over “the distressing incident” and appealed to the administration to reinstate the freedom fighter’s statue with fitting honor as early as possible. The Christian Cell also demanded that the administration adopt appropriate measures to forestall such incidents and that the perpetrators be identified and prosecuted immediately, said a statement signed by president Father Anand David Xalxo.
Suspicions over India’s minority grants
Some Christian and Muslim leaders in India are sceptical about the government’s motives in announcing provision of 10 million annual religious minority community educational scholarships for the next five years.
On June 12, the federal government, led by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), announced a grant to fund the assistance Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi also said that teachers in madrassa, traditional Muslim schools attached to Mosques, will be given training in main-stream subjects such as the Hindi language, English, Maths and Science as well as in the use of computers.
The aim is to help madrassa students receive a mainstream education as well as their religious studies.
Though the measures were welcomed by a number of Muslim organizations, others remained dubious as to the government’s intentions.
“Why should Hindi be made compulsory in madrassas of the country?” queried social activist Syed Shahid.
He referred to the scholar-ships on offer as worrisome “sugar-coated capsules.”
Court favours Christian view on Delhi college’s admission process
Officials of the Protestant Church of North India have welcomed a New Delhi High Court decision that accepted their right to oversee the admission of Christian students in a college started by protestant missionaries.
The court refused to stay the interview process for admission of students in the 138-year-old St Stephan’s College, a premier Christian institution in the national capital.
The court was hearing a petition filed by three teachers who challenged the inclusion of a member of the colleges’ top management in the interview panel for admission of Christian students.
They wanted the court to stop selection interviews being conducted in this way. “I do not consider it appropriate to stay the interview process,” Justice Anu Malhotra said on June 12. Bishop Masih said in the statement. “It can have its representatives wherever it wants. The teachers should not complain unless it is affecting the quality of education in the institution.
Defying canon law, Capuchins elect lay brother as their leader
Capuchins aren’t generally known for being on the Church’s avantgarde, but the friars of the Mid-America Province just did something which, technically, they’re not supposed to do according to canon law. And, frankly, they’re pretty proud of it.
They elected Brother Mark Schenk, a lay friar, as their provincial minister. The problem lies with Canon 129 Sect.1, which prohibits a lay person from holding jurisdiction over ordained men. This rule clashes with the Capuchins’ understanding of their constitution, which, in its latest form ratified by the Vatican in 2013, reads, “By reason of the same vocation, brothers are equal.” It goes on to say that “all of us are called brothers without distinction,” and all offices in the order are open to all brothers.
Sri Lanka to set up religious reconciliation council
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe says he accepts the recent announcement of Buddhist prelates and will take steps to set up a council to dispel the suspicions and misconceptions among religions and build religious reconciliation. The premier told a function in Baddegama on June 08 that a religious reconciliation council will be established under the leadership of all religious leaders. The main objective of this program is to reconcile religions and communities, he added.
UN declares special day to remember victims of violence against religion
On May 28, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution establishing on August 22 as the Day to Commemorate Victims of Violence Based on Religion.
The resolution invites all member states, relevant organisations, civil society, individuals and the private sector to observe the international day and show appropriate support for victims of religiously motivated violence.
In the wake of recent religiously motivated terrorist attacks, the resolution notes a serious concern for “continuing acts of intolerance and violence based on religion or belief against individuals, including against persons belonging to religious communities and religious minorities around the world, and at the increasing number and intensity of such incidents.” Poland initiated work toward the commemorative day, but united with Brazil, Canada, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, and the United States to co-draft the resolution.
Ultimately, 88 UN member states voted to co-sponsor the resolution.
“The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, which is commonly referred to as the right to freedom of religion or belief, is a universal right of every human being and the cornerstone of many other rights,” Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Jacek Czaputowicz said in his keynote speech before the vote.
In response, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom in Washington issued a statement praising the resolution.
Francis: Leaders who talk of peace but sell arms will face ‘wrath of God’
Discussing the Syrian civil war on June 10, Pope Francis said God hears the cry of orphans and widows, and that His wrath will be visited on those who deal in arms trafficking while speaking of peace.
“I think with sadness, once again, of the drama of Syria and the dense clouds that seem to thicken above it in some areas that are still unstable and where the risk of an even greater humanitarian crisis remains high. Those who have no food, those who do not have medical care, who have no school, orphans, the wounded and widows raise their voices up high,” the Pope said on June 10 to participants in the plenary assembly of the Reunion of Aid Agencies for the Oriental Churches.
“The hearts of men may be insensitive, but that of God is not: wounded by the hatred and violence that can be unleashed among his creatures, always able to be moved and take care of them with the tenderness and strength of a father who protects and guides. But sometimes I also think of the wrath of God that will be unleashed against the leaders of countries that talk about peace and sell weapons to carry out these wars. This hypocrisy is a sin.”
Francis’ meeting with ROACO was at the Vatican’s Consistory Hall. The organization unites funding agencies to provide services to members of the Eastern Catholic Churches.
US gun ‘idolatry’ demands more prophetic church stand, some Catholics say
A total of 35,141 people die from gun violence in the United States each year, according to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, which averaged deaths over a five-year period through 2018. That’s 96 people each day.
According to the centre:
1,24,760 people are shot every year;
17,207 children and teens are shot every year;
Seven children and teens die from gun violence in the United States every day.
Between 2000 and 2017, 250 FBI-designated “active shooter” incidents occurred in the United States.
There are more guns than people in the United States.
At the start of June, which is Gun Violence Awareness Month, the United States received its latest tragic reminders of the gravity and magnitude of the gun violence problem. In Virginia Beach, Virginia, a gunman killed 12 people while firing indiscriminately in an office building. In Chicago, 10 people were killed and 52 wounded in gun violence across the city during the week-end.
Since 1994, the U.S. bishops’ conference has supported a number of “reasonable measures to address the problem of gun violence,” including an assault weapons ban, universal background checks, and limitations on high-capacity weapons and ammunition magazines. With each successive mass shooting, bishops are quick to offer prayers and statements of their condolences.
However, as gun violence continues to affect and take thousands of lives each year, some Catholics are expressing a desire for a broader and more prophetic denouncement of American gun culture from the church across the board, laity and clergy alike.