Circumstances are difficult for the Christians in our diocese—we often come up against restrictions in the practice of our faith,” said Bishop Stephen Antony Pillai.

The 67-year-old prelate heads the Diocese of Tuticorin in southern India. He and 53 other Indian bishops recently met with Pope Francis during an ad limina visit to Rome. Bishop Pillai spoke about the situation of Christians in India.

The bishop explained that the Indian government is working to transform the primarily Hindu country into a homogenous nations, with one language and one set of policies favoring Hinduism. Comprised of 29 federal states, India is, after China, the second most populous country in the world with 1.37 billion inhabitants.

There are 28 million Christians in India, 20 million of whom are Catholic; the Muslim population numbers more than 200 million. In recent years, both Christians and Muslims have increasingly been targeted with violence and harassment by radical Hindu nationalists.

The situation has worsen-ed after this year’s parliamentary elections, which the nationalist governing party BJP of Prime Minister Narendra Modi won with a significant majority.

“Our situation at the moment isn’t very encouraging. The government makes a lot of rash decisions, which makes things unpredictable. Politics only benefits the wealthy part of the population. The poor are left with nothing,” Bishop Pillai said.

Some 450,000 Catholics live in the Diocese of Tuticorin, which is equivalent to about 17 percent of the population. Besides the attacks targeting the faithful and groups of pilgrims, the bishop reported that the circumstances overall were becoming more difficult in his diocese, with authorities interfering with the administration of Catholic hospitals and schools.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led political and religious leaders to mourn the death of Archbishop Dominic Jala of Shillong in a car accident in California. The Salesian arch-bishop “will be remembered for his impeccable service to society and passion towards Meghalaya’s progress. May his soul rest in peace,” tweeted the prime minister on October 12, soon after the news of the Catholic prelate broke.

The Prime minister also said that he was anguished by the passing of the archbishop.

The accident reportedly occurred around 11 pm October 10 (10:30 am on October 11 Indian time) when Archbishop Jala was traveling to Clearlake in California along with Fathers Mathew Vellankal and Joseph Parekkatt, two Indian priests working in the United States.

Ten tribal and dalit girls from various parts of India were honoured for their academic excellence at a recent function in the national capital.

The awards have been hailed as a novel and unique move by the Catholic Church in India to reach out and encourage the less fortunate girl children, Sister Talisha Nadukudiyil, national secretary for the Council for Women under the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), said at the October 6 award ceremony.

According to the Sisters of Destitute nun, the move will bring to the limelight those blessed with intellectual acuity to reach the high spectrum of life.The selection of the awardees was made on the basis of their outstanding performance in studies, despite their financial, cultural and geographical hedges, the nun explained. This is the second year the award program was organized by the women council in collaboration with the CBCI Offices for Dalit and Tribal Affairs.

Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Church Cardinal Mar Cleemis has highlighted the relevance of family values for the betterment of society. Delivering the inaugural address at the second Major Archi-episcopal Assembly of the church here on Oct. 8, he said, family values and religious belief were increasingly coming under attack. If the family lost belief in God, it would reflect on religion and society, he added.

Former Bp John Baptist Sequeira of Chikmagalur died on October 9 due to old age ailments. The end came at the Home of the Little Sisters of the Poor, Hosur Road, Bengaluru. He was 89. The funeral Service was held at 3 pm on October 11 at the Home for the Aged (Little Sisters of the Poor) in Bengaluru. Thereafter, the burial took place at St Patrick’s Parish Cemetery on Hosur Road.