Attacks on Christians in eastern India’s Odisha have surged since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took power in this state a year ago, their leaders say. “Not a single week passes in Odisha without some violent attack aimed at Christians to renounce their faith and return to Hinduism,” says Father Ajay Kumar Singh, a social activist from Cuttack-Bhubaneswar archdiocese. After the BJP party came to power in Odisha in June 2024, “systematic persecution” against Christians began, particularly in areas where tribal and socially disadvantaged Dalit people dominate.
The BJP formed a government on its own in June 2024 for the first time after winning 78 of the 147 seats in the state legislature. It ousted Naveen Patnaik, who was the state chief minister for 24 years. After the BJP took power, the state recorded several incidents of Christian harassment, including disrupting prayer services in churches, denying burial of their dead, and social boycott in villages, Singh said. Christian leaders say that in these incidents, Hindu groups that support the BJP and work to make India a Hindu nation demanded that Christians renounce their faith and become Hindus. The latest such incident occurred on June 16, when a Christian couple — Gouranga Bai, 50, and his wife Ritanjali Bai, 42 — were harassed, forcing them to abandon their Christian faith. Bishop Pallab Lima, who heads the United Believers Council Network of India (UBCNI) told UCA News on June 18 that the couple were the only Christians in Kontia Ichhapur, a village comprising some 1,000 Hindus in Bhadrak district. “I have spoken to one of the village leaders, and the ritual ceremony of returning to the Hindu faith has been postponed,” he said
Church in India launches mental health program to confront present challenges
The Catholic Church in Kerala has launched a dedicated mental health ministry to help communities respond to increasing psychological and emotional challenges, including substance abuse, suicidal tendencies, and family-related issues. The initiative, led by the Catholic Mental Health Ministry (CMHM) under the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) Office for Healthcare, was formally introduced through a seminar held at the Alappuzha Pastoral Centre. The half-day event gathered mental health professionals, clergy, and Church workers in a collective effort to promote healing and support. Titled ”Manassinu Oru Karuthal” (A Care for the Mind), the program aimed “to empower individuals and communities” in addressing pressing mental health concerns through a “collective and compassionate approach.
Fr M Julian Fernando Appointed Administrator of Caritas India
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) has officially appointed Fr M Julian Fernando as the new Administrator of Caritas India. The announcement was made during the 149th Standing Committee meeting of the CBCI. Born in 1970, Fr Julian Fernando was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Varanasi in 2000. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and a Master’s degree in History from Madurai Kamaraj University, Tamil Nadu, as well as a Master of Social Work from Loyola College, Chennai. Fr Fernando began his priestly ministry as Assistant Parish Priest at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Varanasi. Over the years, he has served in various capacities including Secretary of the Prison Ministry and Assistant Director of the Social Welfare Society in the Diocese of Varanasi. His experience extends to roles such as Director of CBR Programs in Uttar Pradesh, Manager of Amar Vani School for the Hearing-Impaired in Mau, Secretary of the Society for Handicapped in Varanasi, and since 2018, Director of the Social Welfare Society in the Diocese of Varanasi.
Indian court allows Christian convention ignoring state opposition
A state court in central India has granted permission to conduct an annual Christian convention, protecting the right to practice faith despite opposition from the Madhya Pradesh state administration. “We feel relieved and happy,” Pastor Kamesh Solanki said after the Madhya Pradesh state High Court admonished the state officials on June 16 not to deny permission to the convention on “frivolous grounds.” Solanki, who leads an independent church, petitioned the court to challenge the Khargone district administration’s ongoing refusal to conduct a three-day annual Christian convention that began in 2010. Since the convention, scheduled for May 16-18, could not be conducted, the court instructed the petitioner to file a new application with a revised schedule. When “such an application is filed, the respondent (district administration) shall allow the same and also provide proper security as and when required, and shall not reject the same on frivolous grounds,” the court ruled. Solanki said the permission was denied, stating that the convention, named Atmik Jagrati Mahotsav (Spiritual Awareness Program), could not be conducted due to the India-Pakistan tension.
Let Christians pray, Indian court tells state authorities
Christians have welcomed a court order calling on authorities to approve requests for prayer gatherings in Uttar Pradesh, the most populous Indian state, amid a rise in persecution against Christians. A two-judge bench of the Allahabad High Court, the top court in the northern state, directed state authorities to “consider” representations from Christians for holding religious prayer meetings and “decide as per the law” after taking opinion from the local police, on June 20. The judges said that they found that the “holding of religious prayers is not violative of any law that has been shown to us”. “Under the constitution every citizen has a right to practice and perform his faith and religious congregation that is, of course, subject to public order,” they said. The court asked the petitioners to file fresh applications to the state authorities which they should “consider and decide” as per the law by taking opinion from the local police. The order came in response to petitions from different Christian groups accusing government officials of denying them permission to hold routine prayer meetings. “I was forced to approach the top court after the local police did not allow me to hold a prayer meeting on the premises of my legally registered society,” Pastor Sukesh Kumar, one of the petitioners, told UCA News on June 23. “The risk involved in holding such a prayer meeting without the consent of police is too high as they level false charges of religious conversion,” Kumar said. It is common for police to arrest and jail prayer leaders and others without bothering with “a preliminary probe,” he said. Getting bail or quashing the case become tiresome and troublesome, and it takes many years and lot of time and money to get the name cleared, he alleged. Seeking protection from the top court is “the best way” and Christians are glad the court granted “required relief,” he added.
Indian Church seeks greater safety for Hindu pilgrims
Indian Church leaders have urged the government of northern Uttarakhand state to boost safety following several air accidents that have killed Hindu pilgrims in less than two months. In the latest tragedy, a helicopter carrying pilgrims from Kedarnath in the Rudraprayag district crashed on June 15, killing all seven people on board including the pilot. Following initial investigations, the authorities said the helicopter fell victim to bad weather in the Himalayan region. The tragedy prompted a call by Indian bishops for the state government to improve safety measures. “The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) expresses its deepest condolences to the families of pilgrims who lost their lives in the recent helicopter crash during Kedarnath Yatra. May the departed souls rest in peace,” conference spokesman Father Robinson Rodrigues told. “We are perturbed by the series of helicopter accidents in a short span, carrying pilgrims. The CBCI urges the government to investigate these incidents and take immediate measures to ensure the safety and security of our Hindu brothers and sisters, undertaking this sacred journey,” Rodrigues said.
Christians in restive Indian state welcome moves to restore order
Christian leaders in India’s strife-torn Manipur state have expressed hope that peace will gradually be restored after authorities seized large caches of arms and ammunition from areas dominated by the Hindu majority Meitei ethnic group. The seizure of arms “gives us an assurance that the state administration under the direct control of the federal government is serious about restoring peace,” an indigenous Christian leader told, on condition of anonymity. Security forces seized 328 weapons and more than 9,000 assorted rounds of ammunition from Meitei-dominated districts in the Imphal Valley on June 13-14. The state has experienced a bitter armed ethnic conflict between the Meitei people and the Christian-dominated Kuku-Zo tribal group over the past two years. It has claimed at least 260 lives and displaced 60,000 people, mostly Christians. Christian leaders say the radical Meitei group Arambai Tenggol looted weapons and ammunition from government stores, including police stations, and used them to unleash violence against Christians. According to reports, more than 5,000 weapons such as machine guns, AK 47, and 406 Carbines were among the looted weaponry, besides some 60,000 rounds of ammunition. Critics also say the previous state government, run by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), tacitly supported the Hindu violence since it began on May 3, 2023, after Meitei people attacked a Kuki protest march that opposed a move to grant tribal status to Meiteis. The state was brought under federal rule on Feb. 13 after the then-chief minister, N. Biren Singh, was forced to resign due to his failure to contain the violence and restore peace.
Pope: Synodality is an attitude that helps Church foster communion
On June 26, Pope Leo XIV met with the Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops. In his brief remarks, the Pope reflected on a “thought that I consider central,” before listening to reflections from the Synod Secretariat. He said Pope Francis gave new impetus to the Synod of Bishops by drawing inspiration from Pope St. Paul VI.
“The legacy he has left us, in my view, is above all this: that synodality is a style, an attitude that helps us to be Church by promoting authentic experiences of participation and communion,” said Pope Leo.
The Holy Father said Pope Francis carried this vision of the Synod forward in various assemblies, especially, said Pope Leo, “those on the family.” “He then brought it to full expression in the most recent path, dedicated precisely to synodality,” said the Pope.
“The Synod of Bishops naturally retains its institutional identity, while at the same time being enriched by the fruits matured in this season,” concluded Pope Leo XIV. “And you are the body entrusted with gathering these fruits and engaging in forward-looking reflection.”
Holy See: ‘Urgent moral responsibility to address poverty’
“The Holy See remains concerned about the ever-growing military expenditure, which diverts significant resources from investments in development sectors such as healthcare, education and infrastructure.” Monsignor Marco Formica, Chargé d’Affaires, a.i., of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, expressed this during the United Nations Security Council’s Open Debate on Poverty, Underdevelopment, and Conflict: Implications for the Maintenance of International Peace and Security in New York on 23 June 2025.
The Holy See official began his remarks acknowledging that the open debate aims to draw attention to the “interconnected challenges” of poverty, underdevelopment, and conflict, observing that these realities, “which often fuel one another, pose serious obstacles” to the maintenance of international peace and security.
He recalled that in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the international community acknowledges that the eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions is “the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development, ” and that “this shared commitment underscores the urgent moral responsibility to address the root causes of poverty, which are frequently associated with injustice, exclusion, and the denial of fundamental rights.”
Msgr. Formica concluded by underscoring that lasting peace “requires a commitment to integral human development, upholding the God-given dignity of every person and promoting the conditions necessary for justice, solidarity, and the flourishing of all,” and reiterating that the Holy See “emphasizes the importance of placing integral human development at the centre of the ongoing review of the Peacebuilding Architecture,” and of “promoting strengthened cooperation among Member States in the service of peace.”
Parliamentarians from around the world gather in Rome to discuss interfaith dialogue
Parliamentarians and religious leaders from around the world have issued a powerful call for peace, hope and solidarity at the conclusion of the Second Parliamentary Conference on Interfaith Dialogue: Strengthening trust and embracing hope for our common future.
The event, jointly organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Parliament of Italy with support from Religions for Peace, was held in Rome from 19 to 20 June 2025, marking the Jubilee Year declared by the late Pope Francis. Delegates had a private audience with the Pope on June 21.
The Conference brought together hundreds of MPs, including Speakers, as well as religious leaders, UN officials, civil society representatives, and international experts from close to 100 countries, responding to the motto of the Jubilee Year to be “pilgrims of hope” amid a climate of growing conflict, polarization and the weaponization of religion.
Amid escalating wars and global unrest, Rome was the epicentre of parliamentary diplomacy and interfaith dialogue this week with the IPU and the Italian Parliament creating a unique space to unite parliamentary and religious leaders from around the world to find new and badly needed avenues for peace.
In their final declaration, the Rome Communiqué, the parliamentarians and religious leaders unequivocally condemn the misuse of religion or belief to incite hatred or violence. The Communiqué emphasizes that interfaith dialogue — grounded in human dignity, inclusivity and respect for the rule of law — can prevent division, foster healing and build trust between communities. It highlights the shared roles and joint responsibility of parliamentarians and religious leaders in advancing justice, dignity and human development, working together for peaceful coexistence. Parliamentarians and religious leaders are urged to uphold democratic values, protect vulnerable groups, and promote ethical leadership through inclusion, compassion, accountability and solidarity.