Church leaders have mourned the death of Hindu pilgrims in the latest stampede at the overcrowded New Delhi Railway Station in India’s capital. The deadly crush on Feb. 15 night reportedly killed 18 people and left several injured. Railway officials said the surging crowds scrambled to catch trains to Prayagraj, a city in northern Uttar Pradesh state, for the Maha Kumbh, the world’s biggest religious gathering of humanity. This is the second such tragedy related to the Maha Kumbh festival in recent weeks. On Jan. 29, at least 30 people lost their lives in a stampede at the festival in Prayagraj. Two trains had been delayed at the station, while a third heading to Prayagraj was waiting to depart. “People pushed against each other to get into them and the crush occurred after some passengers slipped and fell on the stairs” leading to the platforms, a spokesperson for Indian Railways said. Opposition leaders criticized the Indian Railways and the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led federal government in Delhi, for failing to manage crowds. “Very unfortunate and sad that we have lost precious lives of Hindu pilgrims,” Father Savarimuthu Sankar, spokesperson of the Archdiocese of Delhi told on Feb.17. He said the administration “learned nothing from the deadly stampede just 15 days ago.” Father Isidore D’Souza, chancellor of Allahabad diocese told that “in both the incidents, the authorities did not expect that such huge crowds would turn out.” Allahabad is the former name of the Prayagraj. People suspect that the exact number of causalities in the stampedes is not made known. “It’s also not clear what exactly led to the tragedies,” D’Souza added.

Church leaders in India have welcomed the Vatican’s decision to add the feast of St. Teresa of Kolkata to the universal liturgical calendar, saying it will help Catholics across the globe emulate the nun’s sense of service to the poor.” This is a great recognition and appreciation of her work for the poorest of the poor and the abandoned men, women and children,” Archbishop Thomas D’Souza of Calcutta told UCA News on Feb.19. The archbishop was responding to the Feb. 11 Vatican decree that said Pope Francis had added the saintly nun to the liturgical calendar, making the feast day Sept. 5, the day of her death in 1997. The Vatican decision “would also provide a tremendous boost to the work of her congregation — the Missionaries of Charity — in all corners of the world,” D’Souza said. The Vatican decree said the decision follows requests from “bishops, religious and associations of the faithful” and also considers “the influence of the spirituality of Saint Teresa of Calcutta throughout the world.”

Police in central Indian Madhya Pradesh state filed a criminal case against a Catholic nun and three others on Feb. 16 for violating the state’s anti-conversion law. Indore city police filed the case against Holy Spirit Sister Sheela Savari Muthu and her three colleagues – two women and a man – after they organized a program for the children of domestic workers. The case is based on the demand of some right-wing Hindu activists. The Hindus wanted action against Christians for allegedly trying to convert some 120 children who attended the health and hygiene awareness camp conducted in a public garden. The police detained the accused for close to nine hours but released them at nine at night despite some 600 Hindu activists shouting slogans against their release and missionary activities. The Hindu mob also tried to instigate the children and women brought to the police station to give testimonies against the nun but failed. They also unsuccessfully attempted to get the nun’s female colleagues to give statements against her inside the police station, eyewitnesses told. “Neither the children nor the women succumbed to their pressure, but still the police, under pressure from the Hindu activists, registered the case,” says an eye witness to the incident, who did not want to be named. Sister Muthu said it was “totally a false case.” “We organized a health and hygiene camp for the domestic workers’ children. We did it in the open public garden with permission from the local government officials,” she told. Within a few hours of the program, people gathered and started shouting slogans against missionaries and religious conversions. “Soon, we sought police help,” she said.” The police took us to the police station.

A Church leader from India’s Manipur expressed optimism after the strife-torn state in north-east region was brought under direct federal rule days after its chief minister resigned.
Chief Minister N Biren Singh from the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) quit on Feb. 9 after facing pressure to step down for failing to stop the continuing violence in the state for nearly two years. The ethnic clashes bet-ween the state’s majority Meitei and minority Kuki communities broke out in May 2023 over economic benefits, land rights and job quotas.
More than 250 people have been killed and over 60,000 displaced, most of them indigenous Christians from the Kuki-Zo group. The office of President Droupadi Murmu on Feb. 13 announced President’s rule, which allows the Delhi-appointed gover-nor to administer the state on behalf of the federal government. Murmu’s office said in a state-ment that the federal rule was imposed because of the situation in which the governance of that state could “not be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of India.”
A Church leader in the troubl-ed state told that “the federal government can work towards healing wounds and restoring peace, provided it is sincere.” Christians have been demanding the chief minister’s dismissal since the violence began almost two years ago.
“The chaos cannot continue indefinitely. There should be an end [to violence],” added the Church leader who did not want to be named, fearing retribution. He said the discriminatory atti-tude towards indigenous commu-nities adopted by Singh, a Meitei, has “divided both the communities to such an extent that they do not like to see each other or share the same space.”

Catholics in India have joined their counterparts across the world to pray for Pope Francis, who has been undergoing treatment for double pneumonia in a Rome hospital. Archbishop Andrews Thazhath, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, on February 19 called on the country’s Catholics to pray for the Pope after the Vatican announc-ed that the pontiff’s condition had worsened. The archbishop said the Pope was diagnosed with a polymicrobial respiratory tract infect-ion. “Recent tests reveal a complex clinical picture, requiring an extended hospital stay for the 88-year-old Pontiff in Rome,” said a statement issued by the conference. Abp Thazhath, while praying for the Pope’s health and recovery, entrusted him “to the mercy and care of Our Lord. Let us join together in prayer for his strength and healing.” Earlier, Major Archbishop Raphael Thattil, head of the Syro-Malabar Church, too urged his people to pray for Pope Francis whose health condi-tion caused concern. “According to the infor-mation we have received, the Holy Father’s health condition is worrying. Therefore, I request all Syro-Malabar Catholics to pray for the Pope,” the major archbishop’s February 19 message said. He urged all churches and institutions under his Church to offer Masses for the Pope and Catholic families to pray for the pontiff during the evening prayers.
Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão the President of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) and the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) has issued a heartfelt appeal to all members of the Catholic Church in India, urging them to join in prayer for the swift and complete recovery of Pope Francis. In a circular addressed to archbishops, bishops, priests, deacons, religious, catechists, and lay faithful, Cardinal Ferrão expressed deep concern for the health of the Holy Father. He called upon the faithful to unite in fervent supplication, seeking God’s healing grace for the Pope, who carries the great responsibility of shepherding the Universal Church. “At this time, as he is facing serious health challenges, let us, as one family in faith, turn to the Lord in earnest supplication, entrusting our beloved Pope to the healing grace of our Divine Physician,” Cardinal Ferrão stated.