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No action taken against police who assaulted Catholic priests in India

Three weeks after police assaulted two Catholic priests and tribal women in a village in eastern Odisha, Church leaders say the Hindu-leaning state government has not taken any action against the attackers. Father Joshi George, parish priest in Juba village of Gajapati dis-trict, told on April 15 that they have “not heard from the police […]

Hindus call off annual pilgrimage in India’s restive Manipur state

The Hindu-majority Meitei community in northeast India’s restive Manipur state have called off an annual religious pilgrimage to sacred hills following an alleged threat from predominantly Christian tribals in the area, according to sources. The Meitei people scrapped their pilgrimage to the Thangjing Hills in tribal-dominated Churachandpur district on April 14 after the tribal community […]

Indian Catholic nun moves closer to sainthood

Indian Catholic nun Eliswa Vakayil, known as a champion of women’s rights, has moved closer to sainthood after Pope Francis published a decree authorizing her and five others to be declared blessed. Francis approved the decree to beatify the 19th-century nun during an audience with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes […]

Indian Catholic college denies allegations of bias, conversion

A Church-run college in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has denied allegations of religious conversion and discrimination against students amid protests by hardline Hindu activists. “The allegations leveled against St. Dominic Savio College in Lucknow are totally false and baseless,” said Father Donald D’Souza, the spokesperson of Lucknow diocese, which manages the institution. […]

Indian Christians hopeful as govt promises to restore land rights

Leaders representing around 600 families, mostly Catholics, are hopeful about concluding their six-month protest to reclaim their lands after a federal minister visited their southern Indian village and promised to seek an early solution. Kiren Rijiju, federal minister for minorities, visited Munambam coastal village of Kerala’s Ernakulam district on Jan. 15 and addressed the people, […]

Indian tribal village forces Christian families to abandon faith

Tribal villagers in central India’s Chhattisgarh state forced seven Christian families to abandon their faith, but six other families remain steadfast in their faith despite intense pressure, a local Christian leader said. Pastor Chinnam Wycliff Sagar said that the 13 Christian families in Karigundam, a village in the Maoist-infested Sukma district, were ordered by the […]

Forest trespassing charges dropped against retired Indian bishop

The Church has welcomed a decision by the communist-led government in India’s southern Kerala state to drop charges against an 88-year-old Catholic bishop and 23 others for entering a restricted forest during a march demanding the reopening of a blocked public road. “We are happy the go-vernment announced dropping of charges against our elderly bishop […]

Indian state releases convict in Australian missionary murder

The government in eastern India’s Odisha state has released a man serving a life term for the murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons, reportedly considering his “good conduct” in jail. The government, led by the Hindu-leaning Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), released Mahendra Hembram, 51, on April 16 after he had […]