An elderly Catholic priest in India’s Kerala state was suspended from priestly duties for joining India’s ruling BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party or Indian People’s Party), which is known for pursuing a Hindu nationalist agenda.
The BJP is the party of Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi. The priest’s action took place at a time of rising persecution of Christians in India. According to the United Christians Forum (UCF), in the first eight months of 2023, 525 incidents of violence against Christians have been reported in 23 states of India.
“There was no option but to act, as it has become a scandal to the faithful,” Bishop John Nellikunnel of the Diocese of Idukki told CNA about the Oct. 2 suspension of Father Kuriakose Mattam, vicar of St. Thomas Parish of Mankua.
“His action violated the canon law, which prohibits priests from joining political parties without permission,” Nellikunnel said.
Elaborating further, Nellikunnel noted: “It seems that Father Kuriakose, who is close to retirement [he will be 75 in six months], was misled into joining the BJP. As the news spread, the priest was also disturbed. So, he was moved out.”
Father Jins Karackattu, spokesperson for the diocese, told CNA that a couple of local Catholics who are actively associated with the BJP had “lured” the elderly priest into joining the BJP two weeks ago, promising him a quick repair of roads in the area.
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Religious leaders of Manipur meet for peace in Guwahati
Even as Imphal Valley was in turmoil over the disappearance of two students, Interfaith Forum for Peace and harmony, Manipur, were meeting with Kuki Church leaders searching for ways of peace.
While this meeting was the initiative of interfaith forum, it was prompted and supported by Archbishop Emeritus Thomas Menamparampil of Guwahati, who had visited Manipur four times since 3rd May violence, in an effort to begin a peace dialogue in some manner or the other. He was assisted by Father Tom Mangattutthazhe and Joshua Thiek.
In Manipur itself, Deben Bachaspatimayum had been working tirelessly to mobilize groups in favour of peace. The emergence of the Interfaith Forum for Peace and Harmony on June 5, of which Archbishop Menamparampil was chosen as the Convenor, was the fruit of his sustained effort.
Archbishop Dominic Lumon of Imphal, who was one of the founders of the Interfaith Forum was personally present at the meeting in Guwahati, made several insightful suggestions at key moments of the discussion.
Archbishop Menamparampil set a tone for the discussions with his initial remarks about the need of mutual respect and openness in dialogue. He pointed out that the time was sensitive and this was the first meeting of some significance.
Catholic priest, three others sent to jail in India
A court in a northern Indian state has remanded four Catholics, including a priest, to judicial custody under the stringent anti-conversion law.
The court in Prayagaraj district in northern Uttar Pradesh on Oct. 2 sent Father Babu Francis, director of social work of Allahabad diocese, and three other Catholics to jail, a day after their arrest.
“The priest was arrested when he visited the police station to inquire about the detention of other three Catholics,” Father Isidore D’Sousa, chancellor of the diocese, told on Oct. 3.
A pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vibhavnath Bharati in his complaint to the Naini police station in the district accused the priest and others of attempting to convert villagers.
The BJP under the leadership of monk-turned-politician Yogi Adityanath is ruling Uttar Pradesh since 2017 and enacted the draconian anti-conversion law in 2021.
The complainant charged the priests and others with attempts to defame Hindu gods and physical assault.
“The police complaint is based on totally fake charges,” noted D’Souza.
“When the BJP leader and his supporters created a ruckus and sought police help, the pastor ran away,” D’Souza said.
Journalists urge India’s chief justice to uphold media freedom
Media organizations have urged India’s chief justice to uphold freedom of speech following the arrest of a popular editor and raids on 46 journalists.
In a letter to Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, 18 media bodies noted, “The fact is that today, a large section of journalists in India finds itself working under the threat of reprisal.”
The organizations, including press clubs of various cities, told the chief justice that, “it is imperative that the judiciary confronts power with a fundamental truth — that there is a constitution to which we are all answerable.”
The letter, dated Oct. 4, sought the judiciary’s intervention to end the rampant use of investigating agencies against journalists.
“The country’s investigating agencies have been misused and weaponized against the press,” it said.
Their plea to Chandrachud comes in the immediate aftermath of the raids on 46 journalists, editors, writers, and professionals connected with the news portal, Newsclick.
The raids, conducted under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between two groups) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the sweeping anti-terror Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), took place in more than 30 locations in Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad.
Court relief to India’s minority institutions
The top court in a southern Indian state has ruled that education institutions of minorities, including Christians, do not have to implement reservation quotas, which are part of the country’s affirmative action program.
In its order, the Madras High Court in Tamil Nadu said that the government cannot compel educational institutions run by religious and linguistic minorities to provide the reservation quotas.
The quota system, commonly called “reservation” in India, is a means of compensation to address the historic oppression, inequality, and discrimination faced by some communities like the Dalits or former untouchables and tribal people among others, as promised by the constitution.
India recognizes Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains and Zoroastrians (Parsis) as religious minority groups. They can run educational institutions of their choice with financial aid from the government but without interference under Article 30 of the constitution.
“We have no hesitation to hold that the concept of communal reservation or reservation for Scheduled Castes [Dalits], Scheduled Tribes [tribal people] and Other Backward Classes of citizens would not apply to minority institutions,” Chief Justice S.V. Gangapurwala and Justice P.D. Audikesavalu said in their Sept. 29 order.
The court upheld the right of minority institutions to admit students from religious and linguistic minorities up to 50 % of the sanctioned intake.
The judges ruled the government had no right to restrict the minority status of an institution to a particular period.
The status, once granted, would continue until the state-run National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions cancels it, they said.
Is the era of the traditional family over in America? Survey suggests yes
Most Americans don’t place a high priority on marriage and children compared with their careers and friends, a new Pew Research Center survey says, and a large minority of Americans are pessimistic about the future of marriage and family.
Patrick T. Brown, a family policy expert and fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, told CNA that the increasing number of people uninterested in having children or getting married “should help us recognize that we are entering a new era.”
“The Pew survey shows what I think a lot of [people] already feel: that the family, as an institution, is under threat, not least from a shifting cultural attitude that treats family and marriage as incidental to long-term well-being,” Brown said.
The Pew Research Center survey of 5,073 U.S. adults took place from April 10–16. Respondents were part of the Pew Center’s American Trends Panel.
“There’s baseline support for a variety of family arrangements, but the public still favors some types of families over others,” the Pew Research Center said Sept. 14.
CARA study shows positive signs of Catholic belief in Eucharist in US
Two-thirds of Catholics believe Jesus is present in the Eucharist, but only 17% attend Mass weekly, according to survey
Almost two-thirds of Catholics believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, but only 17% of adult Catholics physically attend Mass at least once per week, according to a newly published survey from Georgetown University’s Centre for Applied Research in the Apostolate. The survey also revealed a high correlation between belief in the Eucharist and weekly or even monthly Mass attendance.
The 2022 survey of self-identified Catholics published Sept. 26 and titled “Eucharist Beliefs: A National Survey of Adult Catholics” found 64% of respondents provided responses that indicate they believe in the Real Presence, that the Lord Jesus Christ is truly present under the appearance of bread and wine in the Eucharist.
That conclusion was drawn from both open-ended and closed-ended questions respondents were asked about their under-standing of church teaching about the Eucharist and additional questions to clarify their beliefs
According to the CARA stu-dy, 49% of respondents correctly identified that the church teaches that “Jesus Christ is truly present under the appearance of bread and wine.” The other 51% inco-rrectly identified the church’s teaching as “Bread and wine are symbols of Jesus’ actions at the Last Supper, meaning that Jesus is only symbolically present in the consecrated bread and wine.”
“Results of this question indicate that there is substantial confusion about what the church teaches about the Eucharist with slightly more adult Catholics not knowing this correctly than those correctly identifying the teach-ings,” the report stated.
New Hong Kong cardinal: Sharing ‘love of God,’ not conversions, goal of Church in China
Cardinal-elect Stephen Chow said on Sept. 28 that evangelization in China today should focus on communicating the love of God “without the agenda of turning them into Catholics.”
In an interview in Rome with CNA on Sept. 28, the bishop of Hong Kong, who will be made a cardinal in the consistory this weekend, spoke about his vision for evangelization in mainland China.
“I think it is important that we say that Pope Francis made a distinction. Evangelization is really to help people to understand the love of God — and the love of God without the agenda of turning them into Catholics — because that shouldn’t be the focus, as that focus would be very restrictive,” Chow said.
The cardinal-elect underlined that evangelization should help “them to come to understand our God means love, means goodwill and a better life.”
“Evangelization should be really coming to know God, who is love,” he said.
In Pope Francis’ travels to countries where Catholics are in the minority, the pope has made a distinction between “proselytism” and “evangelization.”
“Evangelization is essentially witness,” Francis told the Jesuits in Mozambique in 2019. “Proselytizing is convincing, but it is all about membership and takes your freedom away.”
During a Jan. 11. 2023, general audience, Pope Francis emphasized that evangelization and proselytism are not the same.
40 countries to participate in Men’s Rosary on Oct. 7
On Saturday, Oct. 7, the date on which the Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, the fourth edition of the worldwide Men’s Rosary will take place with more than 40 countries uniting in prayer.
The initiative originated in Poland and Ireland in 2018 and in just a few years has spread to other nations on different dates.
In Argentina, a pioneering country in this global crusade, the purpose is for all cities to pray on the same date. A major location will be the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires.
The first worldwide Men’s Rosary was held on May 28, 2022, and the second on Oct. 8 of the same year, with the participation of more than 150 cities on all five continents. In Buenos Aires about 2,000 people attended.
On May 6, the third time the prayer event was held, men from more than 40 countries prayed for the role of men in society to be valued once again and for the conversion of the entire world.
Segundo Carafí, one of the organizers of the initiative in Buenos Aires, said on that occasion that “the importance of this rosary lies in the fact that it is precisely men who want to bring back faith to the public sphere, praying to recover their own essence in a world that criticizes and attacks them.”
The purpose is to demonstrate that “faith is not just a woman’s thing and that the man, as a male parent of the family, the priest as such, is ready to fight in the defense of his most absolute essence as a man.”
Carafí shared with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, the prayer intentions of this new edition of the Men’s Rosary
Persecution worsens in Burkina Faso, Christians come back to the Church
An expert on anti-Christian persecution says that escalating jihadist violence in the African nation of Burkina Faso is producing the paradoxical effect of inducing lapsed Christians to return to religious practice.
Maria Lozano of the pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) described the phenomenon as “a beautiful message of faith.”
In a conversation with Crux, Lozano said she has had conversations with clerics in Burkina Faso who tell her that the people know that “their lives are in danger” and are therefore more motivated to revert to Christianity as a preparation for eternal life should the worst happen.
“They face terrorism, so they believe the best way out is to become Christians,” Lozano told Crux.
“It is through faith that they have their consolation, and through faith, they know they could have eternal life,” she said.
“It tells me a lot about the faith that these people have, and it says a lot about the fact that this life on earth isn’t the last. There is life after death, but sometimes we forget that. It’s a beautiful message of faith,” Lozano told Crux.
The same paradox of a Church that has continued to grow despite the persistence of those trying to annihilate it also has been underlined by Father Pierre Rouamba, the Prior General of the Missionary Brothers of the Countryside.
“It is truly striking to note that Christians, who had to some extent abandoned religious practice before the crisis, are returning to the faith at a time when the terrorists are doing what they can to extinguish Christianity,” Rouamba said in an interview with ACN.
“While the terrorists prevent Christians from gathering in churches, families get together in their homes to rekindle the flame of faith through catechism classes and joint celebrations when there are no priests,” he said.