Neighbours of Shanti Bhavan (home of peace), a Missionaries of Charity centre in Kerala’s Kottayam town, have expressed surprise at the closure of the centre that had served the poor and destitute for half a century. The centre, opened by Mother Teresa in 1974, was closed June 21.
“We do not know why they closed and left the place,” said Jolly Varghese, a social worker in Kottayam. “Before they left, the sisters transformed their 55 inmates to other centers,” the Catholic layman told Matters India June 23. He said he knew the nuns for 45 years. “I was born and brought up in Kottayam town and have seen them coming to our colonies for charitable works. They wiped the tears of the poor, giving them food and medicine,” Varghese recalled. He said people used to bring people they found lying helpless on the street to the nuns. “The sisters welcomed them with love. We have brought many destitute people here,” he add-ed. He said he was shocked to see the centre’s gate closed when he was “passing by un-expectedly this way. It breaks my heart.” He said the neighbours would have stopped the closure if they were informed early.
His wife Nimmy said they had experienced the nuns’ kindness many times. ”Once we were going to the church in an auto with our two children, when we found a man on the street in a very bad shape. We took him to Shanti Bhavan and requested the sisters to attend to him. They gladly offered to help, and after the Mass we took him to another centre. There are several cases when sisters cooperated with us,” she added. The nuns have apparently given the keys of the centre to the diocese of Vijayapuram.
Claretians support project to help Bengaluru’s intellectually disabled Catholics
Catholic parents of some intellectually disabled children in Bengaluru got a boost with the Claretians offering support to an exclusive housing project for their community living. “Since four years, we have been dreaming of this project as we were really worried about our disabled children’s future after our death,” Merly Thomas, one of the parents, told a June 23 meeting at Claretian Seminary in the southern Indian city. Merly, a member of the Bangalore Archdiocesan commission for differently abled, says the Claretian support now helps them build the common living facility where children with intellectual disabilities and their parents can live with dignity. Claretian Father George Kannanthanam, who brought his congregation to the project, says he had seen parents of many differently able children worried about what would happen to their children when they are no more. The priest impressed upon his provincial to allot two acres of land for such families at Gauribidanur, on the outskirts of Bengaluru city. Kannanthanam, who had earlier served as the first secretary to the Bangalore diocesan commission for the disabled, said the Hope Society that functions under the Claretians will give wings to the project. The Archdiocese of Bangalore was first in India to set up a commission to ensure better participation of persons with disabilities in the life of the Church, he recalled.
First woman to head Kerala’s Catholic religious
Sister Ardra Kuzhinapurathu is the first woman to head the major superiors of Kerala, the southern Indian state that has produced the largest number of Catholic religious men and women in the country. She became the president on June 7, 2023, at a joint meeting of the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council and the religious superiors. The Kerala unit is part of the Conference of Religious India, the national association of the major superiors, with more than 130,000 members, among them 103,000 women. Sister Kuzhinapurathu spoke to Global Sisters Report about various challenges faced by the religious congregations in India – dwindling vocations, aging members and the culture of working together.
Nuns help children with hearing impairments in Karnataka
Prasad James cannot hear the roar of the sea, but can paint the beauty of the waves. “I have painted the charming Karwar beach, its waves, fishermen with their boats, tourists, and the beautiful sunset,” James told Global Sisters Report in sign language, translated by his teacher, as he showed his works. The sixth grader is among 48 children currently studying in Asha Niketan (House of Hope) Deaf School, a residential school for children who cannot hear or speak managed by the Sisters of the St. Joseph of Chambery, a French congregation, for the Karwar Diocesan Development Council. The center, founded in 1996 near a beach in Karwar on the Goa-Karnataka border, is the first Church-managed school for children with hearing impairments in Karnataka state’s northern region. It now caters even to villagers of Maharashtra, Karnataka’s northern neighbor. “Children seem to enjoy their silent world, but we really struggle to get into that world,” said Sister Tresa Irudayasamy, one of three nuns who live on campus and teach the stu-dents in sign language. The nun, who’s been the hostel warden for four years, has built a good rapport with the children, but said she still struggles in the classroom to teach them. “We use our universal language of love and care mostly, and it works better than our sign language,” she told GSR with a smile.
Elena Beccalli is the new Rector of Milan’s Catholic University of the Sacred Heart
For the first time in the history of the University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, a woman has been appointed Rector. Elena Beccalli will take over on 1 July, after the painful death on 23 May of her predecessor Franco Anelli. Beccalli was a student at the university that she is now preparing to lead for four years, from 2024 to 2028. She was appointed by the Board of Directors who met on 20 June. The decision of the Board of Directors follows the appointment of Professor Elena Beccalli, already serving as Dean of the School of Banking, Finance, and Insurance Sciences, by the University’s 12 Faculty Councils on 22 May, with 636 preferences out of a total of 685, corresponding to around 93% of those voting.
“Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore is a ‘universal’ academic institution by vocation, where dialogue and confrontation are open, free, interdisciplinary, and oriented towards the creation of networks and strategic alliances. It is a University that can offer with accuracy, creativity, courage a forward-looking approach to contemporary challenges, thanks to the coordinated efforts of its vibrant academic community”, Professor Beccalli said in thanking the academic staff and the Board of Directors.
Pope’s audience with German priests who were victims of sexual abuse
Father Liudger Gottschlich, a priest from the Archdiocese of Paderborn, has dedicated over three decades to supporting survivors of abuse, drawing from his own experience as a victim of abuse by a priest at the age of eleven. On Tuesday, June 25, he was part of a special audience with Pope Francis at the Pope’s residence, Casa Santa Marta, in the Vatican. The meeting, described as occurring in a “unique atmosphere,” was a poignant moment for Fr Gottschlich and his fellow priests who have also experienced abuse. “As priests who have been victims ourselves, we are in a challenging position within the Church,” Gottschlich explained in an interview with Vatican Radio. He highlighted the isolation often felt by these priests, noting that their presence serves as a constant reminder of unresolved issues within the Church, which can make others uncomfor-table. Fr Gottschlich shared that the encounter with Pope Francis was unlike their usual experiences within the Church. “Generally, we don’t receive much support or backing. There is often a desire for us to be invisible,” he said.
However, this meeting was different. Conducted in the Pope’s private living room, the conversation was intimate and personal. “We found him very interested, very open, and also very encouraging and strengthening. This is something not commonly experienced with our superiors in the dioceses.”
Reflecting on the meeting, Fr Gottschlich emphasized the Pope’s strong encouragement for their work. “The Pope urged us to use our own wounds to aid in pastoral work and to act as healers wherever possible,” he said. The Pope’s encouragement was a significant takeaway, reinforcing the importance of not remaining silent and keeping the issue of abuse alive within the Church. Father Gottschlich also addressed the common assertion that abuse predominantly occurs within families, with the Church representing only a small percentage. He argued that this perspective is too narrow.
Congo: Bishop calls on authorities to stop killings of Christians by Muslims
A congolese bishop has made a fresh plea for the country’s leaders to stop the armed conflict following the massacre of around 150 people – including at least 80 Christians – by an Islamist rebel group earlier this month. Denouncing the “serious and ongoing violations of human dignity” on Tuesday (18th June), Bishop Melchisedec Sikuli Paluku of Butembo-Beni called on authorities to “put an end to the plight of the Congolese people”.
The terrorist group known as Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) – which is affiliated with Daesh (ISIS) – carried out the killings in villages in North Kivu Province in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) between 4th and 8th June. Media outlets reported that an on-line post by Daesh indicated that one of the attacks specifically targeted Christians. In his statement, a copy of which was sent to Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Bishop Paluku condemned the atrocities committed “against the peaceful population [which has been] left defenceless”. According to the bishop the extremists “raped girls and women; kidnapped people of whom there is no trace today, and killed many others”.
He added that ADF militants torched homes, medical facilities, businesses and vehicles, forcing survivors to flee the area. The bishop went on to call on “the authorities of the country to put an end to the Calvary of the Congolese people, in general, and of the population of the Diocese of Butembo-Beni, in particular.”
The Catholic Church in France will have 105 new priests in 2024
The French Bishops’ Conference (CEF) reported that, in 2024, 105 new priests will be ordained, 17 more priests than in 2023, when 88 new priests were ordained in the European country. An article published on the CEF website said the vast majority of priestly ordinations are celebrated during the month of June, particularly on the Sunday before the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, which the Catholic Church celebrates every year on June 29.
Of the 105 new priests, 73 are diocesan, 16 belong to religious orders, 10 are members of communities, two belong to societies of apostolic life, while the remaining four “were ordained in the institutes under the former Ecclesia Dei commission, celebrating according to the Roman Missal of 1962 [before the reform of Vatican II].”
At a press conference, Bertrand Lacombe, the archbishop of Auch and a member of the council for ordained ministers and laypeople in ecclesial mission, highlighted two aspects to be considered regarding the new priests: “the essential mission of the priest in the Church and the meaning of this mission today within an increasingly secularized French society” and “the ongoing reflections of the bishops as well as the initiatives launched in the dioceses to raise up vocations.”
The French prelate wished a “beautiful ministry to the priests who are responding to the spiritual expectations of our time: The adventure is worth the effort and gives light to the world!”
Pope highlights ‘signs of hope’ in encounter with Lutherans
Pope Francis welcomed a delegation of leaders from the Lutheran World Federation to the Vatican, describing their visit as “an important gesture of ecumenical fraternity.” Recalling an earlier meeting with Lutherans, in 2021, Pope Francis highlighted the upcoming anniversary of the First Council of Nicea as “an ecumenical event.” The Nicene Creed “is an ecumenical bond that has its centre in Christ”, the Pope said, quoting the Common Word issued by LWF General Secretary, Rev. Dr. Anne Burghardt and Cardinal Kurt Koch from the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity during the Federation’s recent General Assembly in Krakow. “In this context,” he said, “you rightly recalled a beautiful sign of hope, which has a special place in the history of reconciliation between Catholics and Lutherans.”
Pope Francis then turned to the earlier Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justifi-cation, signed 25 years ago, in which Catholics and Lutherans agreed on the common goal of “confessing Christ in all things.” “Jesus Christ is the heart of ecumenism,” the Pope said. “He is divine mercy incarnate, and our ecu-menical mission is to bear witness to this.” That Declaration is “another sign of hope in our history of reconciliation,” he said, as he invited Catholics and Lutherans to celebrate the anniversary of its signing “as a celebration of hope.”
Then, noting “our common spiritual ori-gin” in “one baptism for the forgiveness of sins” Pope Francis called on Lutherans and Catholics to “confidently continue as pilgrims of hope” in the ongoing dialogue “of truth and charity.” Concluding his remarks, the Holy Father recalled a story about Orthodox Bishop John Zizioulas, who would say, jokingly, that the union of Christians would be achieved only on the day of Judgment at the end of time. “But in the meantime,” Pope Francis said still quoting the late Bishop, “we have to walk together: journeying together, praying together, and performing works of charity together.”
Indonesian Catholics celebrate the new diocese of Labuan Bajo
Indonesian Christians are celebrating a new diocese in the country. On 21st June, in fact, Pope Francis erected Labuan Bajo, in the Catholic-majority area of Flores Island, in the province of East NUsa Tenggara (Ntt), and appointed as its first bishop the Reverend Maksimus Regus, of the Ruteng clergy, until now rector of the local Catholic University of St. Paul. Hundreds of faithful and dozens of priests attended the announcement made by Bishop Siprianus Hormat, Bishop of Ruteng, in the Church of the Holy Spirit in Labuan Bajo, in an atmosphere of joy that involved the entire community.
The new diocese of Labuan Bajo covers an area that is now a popular tourist destination, but until a few years ago, it was still a remote area in the westernmost sector of the Indonesian archipelago that was predominantly mountainous.