The Manipur High Court has struck down a village law of Sharkaphung/Leingangching that prevented inhabitants from any activity construed as ‘detrimental’ to Baptist Christianity.

Delivering a judgment on a plea by four residents expelled in 2009 for adopting Roman Catholicism, the high court ruled that the village authority’s action was illegal and unconstitutional. The village authority did not have power to order banishment/expulsion of any villager, ruled acting Chief Justice N.Kotiswar Singh.

“The villagers of Leingangching have every right to follow the Baptist Christianity and accordingly, also manage their affairs in tune with the Baptist principles and practices. However, it cannot come in the way of the petitioners professing a different religious denomination of Catholic faith as they have also similar Fundamental Right to profess and practise Catholic Christianity as guaranteed under Article 25 of the Constitution of India,” the High Court ruled.

It is time the Church in India had a cardinal from the Dalit community, says a Jesuit scholar. It will be a great recognition for Dalits who form more than 60% of Christians in the country,  says Father A.Maria Arul Raja, a professor of Religious Studies at the Jesuit Theology Centre in Chennai.

The priest spoke to Matters India after addressing more than 200 bishops who represent 174 dioceses in the country at the biennial plenary in Bengaluru, southern India. He spoke about the Church and Dalits.

According to him, a Dalit a cardinal would elevate one of the most socially suppressed communities. It would be a symbolic gesture to affirm the dignity and rights of the community that has lived in “the sub-human condition imposed by the caste system on the community for centuries,” said Father Raja.

India has 13 cardinals so far starting with Cardinal Valerian Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay, in 1953. They have represented various communities in the Indian Church: Goan, East Indian, Eurasian, Syro-Malabar, Syro-Malankara, Eurasian, Tamil and Tribal.

Fr Raja says a Dalit cardinal will give visibility to the community and highlight injustice done to them in society as well in the Church. “It will be powerful witness to Jesus who took a strong choice for the poor, outcasts, socially excluded, the priest said.

A prominent Muslim political leader in Telangana has demanded stern action against those involved in a series of attacks on Christians in the southern Indian State.

The demand was made by Akbaruddin Owaisi, a legislator belonging to the Majlis-e- Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (Council of the Union of Muslims) at press conference on January 5 in Hyderabad, the state capital. The legislator also released a letter he wrote to the state’s Director General of Police Mahender Reddy to draw his attention to the attacks.

The letter noted that on January 23 in Singotam village of Nagarkurnool district, a mob attacked a small group of Christians who were distributing Bibles. “They forcefully snatched the Bibles from them, opened the boxes with Bibles inside their car, piled them up in heap and burnt hundreds of Bibles in broad daylight,” the Muslim leader’s letter noted.The attack has “severely bruised the sentiments of all Christians in India,” he added.

Owaisi also cited an incident on January 29 when another mob of radical Hindus attacked a church in Togota Mandal, Siddipet District and caused severe damage to the property.

An era in the Bihar Church history ended on February 12 with the death of its last American Jesuit missionary. Father Jerome Durack died at 6:20 am at Xavier Bhawan, Xavier Teachers Training Institute, Digha Ghat, a western suburb of Patna, the state capital. He was 88. He was unwell for the past few days. “Fr Durack’s death is a moment of special significance to the history of the Church and of Jesuits in Bihar. He has been the last American Missionary working in Bihar. With his death a significant chapter in the history of Christian faith and Patna Jesuits come to gracing end,” says Father Anto Joseph Thundaparambil, a Patna Jesuit. Father Durack came to Patna in 1951 and visited his home only once, in 1976, and that too under obedience to his Jesuit superior.