In a disturbing and brazen attack, around 70 Bajrang Dal members ambushed and assaulted two Catholic priests, a catechist, and two nuns near Gangadhar village ( mission station) under Jaleswar Parish, falsely accusing them of religious conversions. The shocking incident occurred on August 6, when Fr. Lijo Nirappel, Parish Priest of Jaleswar, and Fr. V. Jojo of Joda Parish in the Diocese of Balasore, visited Gangadhar mission station for a requiem Mass marking the second death anniversary of two local Catholic men. Accompanied by two nuns and a catechist, the group arrived at the village around 5 p.m. The Mass and fellowship meal began after 6:00 p.m., once villagers returned from their fields during the ongoing planting season.
But as they were leaving the village later that evening around 9 p.m., their peaceful pastoral visit turned into a nightmare. “Hardly half a kilometre away from the village, in a narrow forested stretch of road, a mob of about 70 Bajrang Dal men lay in wait,” Fr. Lijo told. “They first targeted our catechist who was on a motorcycle. They beat him mercilessly, dismantled his bike, drained the fuel, and threw it aside.” The attackers then turned on the priests’ vehicle, stopping it by force and hurling communal abuses. “They physically attacked us—pushing, pulling, and beating us badly. They punched us, snatched our mobile phones, and kept shouting that we were trying to make them Americans—converting them by force,” Fr. Lijo recounted, “they screamed: ‘Those BJD days are over, now it’s BJP’s rule—you cannot make Christians anymore.’”
Despite women from the village pleading with the mob and clarifying that the priests and nuns were invited for a prayer service, the attackers continued their assault. The priests alleged that the group hurled communal slurs and falsely accused them of conversions in front of self-invited media personnel who had accompanied the Bajrang Dal members. “It was a planned ambush,” said Fr. Lijo. “They brought their own media to fabricate a narrative.” About 45 minutes into the ordeal, a team of police officers—including a female constable and two male officers—arrived on the scene. However, even in the presence of the police, the mob continued their tirade. Fr. Lijo informed the police that their mobile phones had been forcibly taken by the assailants, but no one in the mob admitted to having them or returned them. The incident has sent shockwaves through the local Christian community and raised serious concerns over rising religious intolerance and mob violence in Odisha.
Indian state to rename health services after St. Mother Teresa
The government in Jharkhand, eastern India, has announced a plan to rename a state health service after Catholic saint Mother Teresa, removing its current name, which is linked to a prominent leader of India’s Hindu party. “It is a fitting gesture to honour St. Mother Teresa’s profound compassion for the sick and suffering, regardless of creed, caste, or colour in India,” former Archbishop Felix Toppo of Ranchi, based in the state capital, told on July 28.
The Atal Mohalla (community) Clinics in the state will be renamed Mother Teresa Advanced Health Clinics in honour of Mother Teresa of Kolkata, who cared for the sick, the state’s Chief Minister, Hemant Soren, announced on July 24. The name Atal refers to Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was the leader of the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party and became the party’s first prime minister in May 1996. He died in August 2018. Soren heads the state government, which is led by his regional Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM or Jharkhand Freedom Front). The BJP, which previously ruled the state, is now in opposition. Soren, who follows the nature-worshipping tribal religion of Sarna, told the media that the state cabinet meeting decided the change, along with some 20 key proposals approved by the government. The BJP opposed the renaming move, calling it a tactic to convert more Hindus to the Catholic Church.
Church groups accelerate aid distribution in flood-hit Indian state
Catholic agencies have intensified relief efforts in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, where continuous rains, cloudbursts, and flash floods have resulted in more than 100 deaths in the past four weeks. “Our teams have continued to aid the relief efforts fearlessly despite ongoing rains, road blockades, and bad weather,” said Father Lenin Henry, who heads Manav Vikas Samiti (human development forum), the social work agency of Simla Chandigarh diocese. At least 109 people have died, and thousands have been left homeless in the state due to rains and floods between June 20 and July 16, 2025, according to the State Disaster Management Authority.
India’s Maharashtra state threatens action against ‘Crypto-Christians’
Church leaders and activists have criticized India’s Maharashtra state for threatening legal action against Dalit Christians, who allegedly benefited from India’s affirmative action pro-gram. Chief Minister Devendra Fadna-vis, who heads the state government led by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said on July 17 that legal action will be taken against Dalit people from religions other than the three recognized – Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh – ones for claiming benefits. Chri-stian leaders say the move aims to target “Crypto Christians,” a term BJP leaders use to describe people who they say follow the Christian faith but officially remain Dalit Hindus to claim benefits from affirmative action.
Catholic bishops pay tributes to communist leader in India’s Kerala
Catholic bishops in southern India’s Kerala state have expressed sorrow at the demise of former state chief minister and veteran communist leader V. S. Achuthanandan, who died on July 21, aged 101. “His demise marks the end of an era in the state’s political landscape,” stated the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) in a statement soon after his death. The bishops acknowledged Achuthanandan’s significant contributions to the state, particularly his “unwavering commitment to social justice and the welfare of the marginalized.”
Spanish nun leaves India after training sisters to serve people with leprosy
Leprosy patients and the Catholic nuns who serve them in southern India are upset that a Spanish missionary had to leave the country after her visa was not renewed. Catholic nuns are experiencing increasing hostility and struggling to perform their ministries and continue serving the local population. “We are sad that our mentor and spiritual guide has to leave the country,” said Sr. Marneni Jayamma, superior of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate congregation’s convent in the Sumanahalli facilities, where Sr. Maria Rosa lived and served as a formator and trainer for the Franciscan nuns and a missionary among people living with leprosy in India. Rosa returned to Spain on May 15, two days after celebrating the golden jubilee of her congregation’s presence in India. Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Susainathan of Bangalore celebrated the jubilee Mass with Rosa and almost 80 Franciscan nuns and sisters from other congregations.
Call to end discrimination against Dalits in Indian parish
Catholics of Dalit origin in a diocese in Tamil Nadu state in southern India have sought the intervention of the Church and civil authorities to end the discriminatory practices against them in their parish. Some 25 of their leaders joined for a day-long hunger strike in front of the Thiruchirappaly district’s headquarters on July 21, alleging their people were being excluded from the annual feast at their St. Mary Magdalene parish Church at Kottapalayam. Most of the parish’s 500 fami-lies come from a Dalit (for-merly considered untouchable) background and are part of the Diocese of Kumbakonam. “We were not allowed to participate in the July 14-22 festivities, which involve pulling decorated chariots on streets in the villages adjacent to the church,” said P. Sandandorai, president of the National Council of Dalit Christian’s Tamil Nadu unit. The chariot procession passes through upper-caste Hindu neighborhoods, but not in the localities where Dalit Catholics live, Sandandorai, a lawyer, told on July 24.
“We are not given equal treatment in our church, not allowed to participate in any activities, not even in the donation drive for the festivities,” he lamented. Sandandorai further alleged that the parish also does not include the Dalit Catholics in the decision-making process. “No parish council was formed as the influential Catholics want to keep out the Dalits,” he added.
Indian court grants bail to 2 nuns in case of abuse at children’s home
A court in India’s Maharashtra state has granted bail to two Catholic nuns and a caretaker of a children’s home, a week after they were arrested for allegedly ill-treating minor girls under their care. “We are relieved that they are out on bail and hope the truth will come out,” Sister Rosaline Rodri-gues, president of the western region of the Conference of Religious India (CRI), told. Sisters Suchita Gaikwad and Alka Salunke of the Sisters of the Cross of Chavanod, along with caretaker Anwelari Bhag-wandas, were arrested in the western state’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (formerly Aurangabad) district. The police arrest was based on the complaint of nine girls, who escaped from the nuns-managed Vidyadeep (light of knowledge) Children’s Home.
They complained to the district welfare authorities about a lack of facilities and ill-treatment by the nuns and caretaker. District Court Judge M S Deshpande granted bail on the condition that each of them furnishes a personal bond of 50,000 rupees (approximately US$580) and separate local sureties of the same amount.
The July 14 bail order also stated that the accused must cooperate with the investigation, refrain from tampering with evidence or influencing witne-sses, and seek prior permission of the court before leaving its jurisdiction. It further asked them to report to the local police every Sunday until the police file the chargesheet in the case.
A member of the Sisters of the Cross of Chavanod said this was a straightforward plot hatched to make use of the children to defame our sisters.
Vatican envoy lauds Syro-Malankara church founder during India visit
A top Vatican official, currently visiting India, has exhorted the Eastern rite Syro-Malankara Catholics to emu-late the example of Venerable Archbishop Mar Ivanios, who is known as “tireless apostle for unity.”
Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, said Venerable Mar Ivanios, who established the Eastern rite Church in 1930, “made immense sacrifices” for Christian unity.
At the July 15th Mass commemorating the 72nd death anniversary of Venerable Ivanios in the Church’s base in Kerala state, Gallagher asked Catholics to emulate the vene-rable one who sought “holiness in everyday life, and to serve others selflessly.”
Indian state proposes law to deter religious scripture desecration
Church leaders have cautiously welcomed a pro-posed law prescribing harsh punishment for acts of sacri-lege against holy scriptures in the predominantly-Sikh state of Punjab in northern India. The Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scriptures Bill, 2025, a first of its kind in the country, was tabled in the state legislative assembly on July 14 after being cleared in a meeting of the council of ministers chaired by Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann. The bill prescribes “a minimum of 10 years’ imprison-ment, extendable to life im-prisonment” for acts of sacrilege against any holy scripture, which are on the rise in the state, particularly against the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, local media reports said. “The proposed bill has come at the right time, as several cases involving sacrilege of religious scriptures were reported lately,” said Father Daniel Gill, vicar-general of Jalandhar diocese. He hoped the bill would soon pass in the state assembly and help the govt to keep a check on incidents of sacrilege.