More than 400 Christian leaders, including activists, lawyers and scholars, have urged India’s president and prime minister to take immediate action to address what they said was increased persecution against Christians. The appeal comes after 14 violent incidents against Christians were reported across the country during the Christmas season, a Dec. 31 statement from the group said. Statistics from the Religious Liberty Commission of the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFIRLC) and the United Christian Forum (UCF) for 2024 highlighted the increase in violence Christians are enduring, the statement said. It said that between January and mid-December last year, more than 720 violent incidents were reported to the EFIRLC, while UCF recorded 760 cases by the end of November. The figures showed a steep rise in such incidents over the last decade, from 127 incidents recorded by the UFC in 2014.The UCF is an inter-denominational Christian organization in India that fights for the rights of the Christian minority.
A letter emailed on Dec. 31 to Indian President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi by 30 Church groups calls for immediate and decisive action to curb the acti-vities of violent mobs, terrorizing communities and tarnishing the image of the country. The letter was signed by A C Michael, a former member of India’s minorities commission, Supreme Court lawyer Sister Mary Scaria, and UCF President Michael Williams.
Indian cardinal slams proposal to control religious places
Indian Cardinal Oswald Gracias and Christian leaders in Western Indian Maharashtra state have opposed a government pro-posal to bring worship places of all religions under the govern-ment’s control. “I am totally against this. It interferes with the religious freedoms guaranteed by the Indian Constitution,” Gracias, the Archbishop of Bombay, based in the state capital, told on Jan. 2. Last month, Rahul Narwekar, the speaker of the state legislative assembly, urged the House to consider a new law bringing religious places and properties of all faiths under state control. The cardinal said the state already exercises adequate control over Christian properties through its charity commissioner, an official who oversees the administration of churches’ properties and chari-table activities. “Besides, the Ca-tholic Church has more stringent measures to regulate affairs of the church than the government,” Gracias added.
Narwekar made the remarks while discussing changes in regu-lations for the management of Siddhivinayak Trust, which ma-nages a prominent Hindu temple in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), the country’s financial capital. He said Indian secularism demands treating all religions equally, but people question the government controlling only Hindu religious places. “I think all religions should be treated equally, and as such, worshipping places of all religions should be brought under the control of the government,” he said. Gracias said the govern-ment is “floating this idea to gauge our response, but it will certainly create disturbance in our communities.”
Indian Catholic leaders echo concern over falling birth rates
Catholic leaders in India have lauded the chief minister of a southern state for raising the issue of falling birth rates in the world’s most populous country and urged the government to encourage couples to have more kids. “A young and vibrant population is an asset for any country and its decline is a matter of serious concern for everyone,” said Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) spokesperson Father Robinson Rodrigues. Andhra Pradesh chief minister, N Chandrababu Naidu, raised concern over declining birth rates in his own constituency and said last week that “India should not repeat the mistakes committed by other countries such as South Korea and Japan.” Naidu, who represents the city of Kuppam in the state legislature, was shocked to find the birth rate in his constituency had fallen to 1.5 – below the national average of 2. India’s current demographic dividend could last till 2047, but “if less than two children are born [per woman], then the population will fall [in the future],” the chief minister said. Naidu said the decline was “a worrying trend and needed a nationwide discussion on population management.”
‘Christian consecration’ of university draws flak in India
A proposal to hold a Christian prayer service at the inauguration of a university in a northeast Indian state has been criticized by political leaders and civil society. Church leaders in Meghalaya, where Christians form a majority, advised caution and suggested upholding the nation’s secular tradition. The plan to “consecrate the Captain Williamson Sangma State University on January 13 by following Christian rituals” was announced by the state’s Education Minister Rakkam A Sangma recently, the New Indian Express newspaper reported on Jan. 5. The university, named after the state’s first chief minister, focuses on tribal studies and indigenous language preservation. “Ours is a Christian state. We want to consecrate the first state university with a massive prayer meet. If parliament can be blessed with Hindu rituals, why not Christian rituals in a Christian state?” Sangma reportedly said. The new building of the Indian parliament was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May 2023 by invoking Hindu gods. However, critics of Sangma’s proposal pointed out that a multi-religious prayer was also held at the new Indian parliament. Thma U Rangli-Juki, a non-government organization (NGO) in Meghalaya, said Sangma’s statement goes against the constitutional values of secularism. “Meghalaya may be a state where [a] majority of its population practices various forms of Christianity but that in itself does not make it a Christian state,” the NGO said in a statement. The state is home to people of several faiths and “the minister’s ignorant statement blatantly creates discriminatory conditions for the state’s other religions,” it said. The NGO demanded that the planned prayer service be cancelled immediately.
Temporary truce in Indian Church’s troubled archdiocese
Catholic priests in a troubled Indian Church archdiocese have called off a four-day protest after an assurance of dialogue to resolve their demands amid a raging decades-old liturgy dispute on the rubrics of Mass. The temporary truce within the Eastern rite Syro-Malabar Church, based in southern Kerala state, was reached on Jan. 13. The protesting priests were hoping for a settlement of the liturgy dispute at the Synod of Bishops, which was held from Jan. 6 to 11. On Jan. 9, some 21 priests entered the archbishop’s house to press their demands. However, the police evicted them on Jan. 11 and moved them to the adjacent compound of St. Mary’s Cathedral Basi-lica. “The protest was called off after the new vicar, Archbishop Joseph Pamplany, agreed to consider our demands and hold a dialogue to resolve them,” said Fr Kuria-kose Mundadan, the presbytery council secretary of the troubled Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly. Nearly 12 priests sustained injuries, including fractures, in the police action, leading to public protests by priests, nuns, and laypeople in the arch-diocese on Jan. 12. “They demanded action against police officials for their barbaric actions,” Mundadan told on Jan. 13.
When the situation escalated, the district collector convened a meeting with Church officials and the protesters late on Jan. 12. The Church authorities assigned Vicar General Father Jacob G Palakkappilly for the meeting, but the protesters refused to speak to him, saying he did not have the mandate to make a decision. Instead, they insisted on holding talks in the presence of Pamplany, the newly-appointed vicar of the archdiocese and the Archbishop of Tellicherry in Kerala state. The collector, the district’s top govern-ment official, contacted Pamplany, who was traveling but was asked to abort his journey. He joined the talks around 10.30 pm. The discussions continued until 1:30 am on Jan. 13, when Pamplany agreed in writing to consider the protesting priests’ demands, which included setting up cano-nical bodies in the archdiocese, considering the appointment of new curia, and halting all disciplinary actions initiated against them. The prelate also agreed to begin a dialogue with the priests and lay leaders regarding all the pending issues, including the liturgy dispute, from Jan. 20. Earna-kulam-Angamaly Archdiocese is the seat of power of the Church’s head and the biggest diocese, with close to 10% of the over five million followers worldwide.
Christian activists seek govt assurance on Bhopal waste disposal
Christian leaders in central Indian Madhya Pradesh state have urged the government to dispel fears among people before disposing of hazardous waste from the four-decades-old Bhopal industrial disaster. The appeal was made after two people set themselves on fire on Jan. 3 in protests. Protests erupted after authorities moved hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste from the site of the world’s deadliest industrial disaster in the state capital, Bhopal. The 337 tonnes of waste–sealed inside containers–were ferried in a long convoy of trucks over-night on Jan. 1, with a police escort, to Pithampur town, about 220 kilometres away. “We want safe disposal of toxic waste from the site of Union Carbide Corporation. It should not risk the life of people,” said Jerry Paul, national president of the Sarva Isai Mahasabha (All Christian Federation) based in Bhopal. Paul and his family are survivors of the chemical leak that killed some 3,500 people in its immediate aftermath in December 1984. For decades, local people have blamed the toxic gas leak for a high level of sickness due to groundwater contamination caused by the poisonous gas leak. Overall, 25,000 people are estimated to have died so far, according to activists helping the survivors cope with the tragedy.
Indian police file complaint months after politician mocked Christ
Christian leaders in the central Indian Chhattisgarh state say police have regi-stered their complaint against a state legislative member following four months of persuasion after the politician allegedly in-sulted Jesus Christ. State police registered the complaint by Chhattisgarh’s Christian Forum against legislative member Raymuni Bhagat on Jan. 7. Forum president Arun Pannalal said the police acted after refusing to accept the complaint since Septem-ber. “We are satisfied with the development as we ran from pillar to post to register our complaint,” Pannalal said. He added the administration was favouring the culprit by not registering the complaint. Pannalal told on Jan. 8 that police were forced to accept the complaint following the intervention of the local court. Bhagat, a member of the Hindu-leaning Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is accused of making remarks denigrating Christianity in a programme organized in Dhengni village on Sept 1. Bhagat, who represents the Jashpur constituency, made fun of Jesus Christ, saying: “Christ was nailed to the cross…he couldn’t remove the nails, how do you expect Christ will remove your problems.”
Church leaders oppose changes to Indian state’s forest laws
Catholic bishops of the Eastern rite Syro-Malabar Church have opposed changes to the forest law in southern Kerala state, saying the move could harm farmers amid a rising man-animal conflict. The Communist-led government has proposed amending the Kerala Forest Act of 1961 purportedly to suit current social needs and help better forest conservation. The amendments “will adversely affect the farmers living in the periphery of the forests,” the bishops said in a statement on Jan. 8 during their synod. The five-day synod, the supreme decision-making body of this Eastern Rite Church, began Jan. 6. It is attended by 54 serving and retired bishops at Mount St Thomas, the Church’s headquarters in the Ernakulam district. “Prima facie, the changes look more harmful to humanity instead of being human friendly,” the bishops said, urging the state government to “clear the anxiety of the people over its move.” The statement said the prelates held extensive discussions over the proposed changes. It expressed concern over granting forest officials more powers to arrest or detain individuals without a warrant and search the premises or vehicles of anyone based on mere suspicion.
Indian court hands burial ground back to Christians
A district authority in Maharashtra state in western India has been ordered to take back land encroached upon by a state minister and designate it as a multi-faith burial ground as per a directive the authority made eight years ago. Last week, the Bombay High Court ordered the Thane Municipal Corporation “to secure the land from illegal encroachment.” The court also asked for a status report by Feb.12 on the land’s readiness to be used as a burial ground for faith groups, including Chri-stians. The Thane district administration, through a government notification in November 2016, allotted 37,000 square meters of government land as a burial ground, the court noted in its Jan. 8 order. The land “shall not be put to any use other than the use for which it has been reserv-ed,” the order said. The court took up the issue following a petition by Melwyn Fer-nandes, a Catholic activist, who complained that the Christian community in the area suffered from a lack of burial grounds as it could not use the land the government had allotted for burials. Fernandes, general secretary of the Association of Concerned Catholics, filed the public interest litigation in 2021 seeking the court’s intervention to ensure adequate burial land for Christians in Thane district. The petition alleged that the municipality, in 2019, engaged a private land-developing firm to prepare the land for use as a cemetery. But, the firm, alle-gedly owned by the state transport mini-ster, Pratap Sarnaik, did not develop the plot. However, Sarnik’s firm began constru-cting a commercial housing project adjacent to the designated burial ground and en-croached upon it. Fernandes told that the court order made the Christian community happy as the original burial ground plan designated an area for the community in the district. Christians in the state, who form barely 1 percent of its 132 million people, do not have enough burial grounds, Fernandes said, adding: “The case for Christians in Thane is worse.”
Archbishop Mar Joseph Pamplany Appointed Vicar of the Major Archbishop for the Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly
His Beatitude Mar Raphael Thattil, the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church and the Metro-politan Archbishop of Emakulam-Angamaly, appointed Archbishop Mar Joseph Pamplany as the Vicar of the Major Archbishop for the Archeparchy of Emakulam-Angamaly on January 11, 2025. This appoint-ment was made following the First Session of the XXXIII Synod of Bishops of the Syro Malabar Church, held at Mount St. Thomas, Kakkanad from 6 to 11 January 2025, where Archbishop Pamplany was elected to the Office of the Vicar of the Major Archbishop. The election was subse-quently confirmed by the Holy Father. Archbishop Pamplany will continue to serve as the Metropolitan Archbishop of Tellicherry. Holy Father Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Mar Bosco Puthur from the Office of Apostolic Administrator of the Archeparchy of Emakulam Angamaly. Mar Puthur, who was appointed to the Office on December 7, 2023, had submitted his resignation in September 2024. With the resignation of the Apostolic Administrator accepted, the gover-nance of the Archeparchy of Erna-kulam-Angamaly has been entrusted to the Major Archbishop by the Apo-stolic See. At the same time, Arch-bishop Cyril Vasil SJ will continue to be the Pontifical Delegate for the Archeparchy of Emakulam Anga-maly.