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First leader of India’s “radical” Catholic priests dies

Father John Fernandes, founder president of the Catholic Priests’ Conference of India (CPCI), died in Mangaluru on July 3, the feast of Saint Thomas. He was 85. The funeral is scheduled at 9:30 am on July 4 at St.Joseph the worker Church, Vamanjor, Mangaluru. Father Fernandes, a priest of Mangalore diocese, had made a mark […]

India hands over martyred queen’s relics to Georgia

In a rare diplomatic gesture, India has returned the relics of a Christian saint and Georgian queen killed in Iran for refusing to give up her faith 400 years ago and buried in Goa. Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar handed over the relics of St Queen Ketevan to his Georgian counterpart David Zalkaliani on July 10 during […]

Nun opens facility in Assam to help transgender people

The Rainbow Home of the Seven Sisters (RHoSS) aims to provide a home for homeless transgender women and help them build a better future. The new facility – located in Guwahati, Assam’s commercial capital– is the brainchild of Sister Prema Chowallur, a member of the Sisters of the Cross of Chavanod, who has been working […]

Fr Swamy, a modern day martyr, is laid to rest

Fr Stan Swamy, who died on Monday at the age of 84, was laid to rest today. His fellow Jesuits described the service as “The funeral of a saint of our time”, held in St Peter’s Church in Bandra (Mumbai). Only 20 people were able to take part in the ceremony due to COVID-19 restrictions, but the […]

Gujarat, ‘love jihad’ in anti-conversion law

On June 15, a new version of the local anti-conversion law came into force in the Indian state of Gujarat: it mainly targets “love jihad”. And just four days later, in the city of Vadovara, the police filed a complaint arresting six people, including five members of the same family. A 24-year-old woman raised this […]

Swamy’s death stirs women theologians to fight draconian laws

The Indian Women Theologians’ Forum says it will campaign for the repeal of draconian laws that unjustly incarcerate those working for justice and human rights. Mourning the death of Father Stan Swami, the association of women theologians from various Christian denominations, expressed shock and anguish that the government labelled the Jesuit activist’s work as seditious […]

Hindu activists threaten Christian pastors in India

Hindu activists in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh have disrupted a prayer service and threatened two Christian pastors in the space of three days for alleged religious conversion. In the first incident on July 4, Pastor Firoz Bagh was conducting a prayer service at his house in Raipur, the state capital, when 30-40 Hindus […]

Survey highlights hierarchical exploitation of nuns in India

Sacramental blackmail, clergy sexual abuse, clericalism and property disputes are among challenges facing Catholic women religious in India, an international webinar was told. The July 10 meeting organized by Voices of Faith, a Rome-based international network, discussed the findings of a Conference of Religious India survey conducted among the leaders of the women religious in […]