A joint fact-finding team has uncovered widespread human rights violations against Dalit and Adivasi Christians in the Nabarangpur district of Odisha state in eastern India. The team, comprising the members of the Odisha Lawyers Forum and activists, visited the region April 26 and 27 and documented multiple cases of families being barred from burying their dead according to their Christian faith. In several instances, the victims were allegedly coerced into either renouncing their religion or “converting” the deceased to Hinduism in order to gain access to burial spaces, the team reported. Many of the violations have occurred within the Assembly constituency of the state minister for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Minorities, it pointed out.
Consistory to reflect on Church’s mission to communicate God’s love
In a letter to the Cardinals ahead of a late-June Consistory, Pope Leo XIV calls for a deeper reflection on the themes of “Evangelii gaudium,”
