From The States

Fresh violence in India’s Manipur amid peace talks

Peace talks in India’s strife-torn Manipur state have suffered a setback after fresh violence broke out when unknown gunmen attacked a police station and set on fire five houses. The attackers opened fire with highly sophisticated weapons at the Borobekera police station in Jiribam district in the early hours of Oct. 19, local officials said. […]

Indian police hunt for Hindu man who allegedly disrespected St. Francis Xavier

Police in the Indian state of Goa are on the hunt for a Hindu man who allegedly publicly disrespected St. Francis Xavier and disputed the saint’s title as protector of the state, leading to complaints from the state’s Christians, who deeply venerate St. Francis. Catholic news outlet UCA News reported that Subhash Velingkar, a former state-unit chief […]

Indian bishops launch portal to support nation’s immigrants

India’s bishops recently launched a digital tool to help support the country’s hundreds of millions of migrants, hoping to address what one bishop calls the “serious concern” of migrant well-being. The digital portal was launched on Sept. 27 in Bangalore by the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) ahead of the Vatican’s 110th World […]

Indian tycoon Adani takes over school from Catholic nuns

India’s leading industrialist, Gautam Adani, has taken over a well-known high school in western Maha-rashtra state that Carmelite nuns ran for over five decades. Adani Founda-tion, the charity arm of the billionaire with business interests from apples to aviation, took over the management of Mount Carmel Convent Senior Secondary School in Cement Nagar in Chandrapur district from the […]

Vatican Appoints Indian Youth to International Advisory Body

The Vatican has appointed Dr. Freya Francis (27), from Coimbatore, India, to the International Youth Advisory Body (IYAB). This appointment, announced on September 25, 2024, by the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, represents a signi-ficant move in the Church’s efforts to embrace diverse global perspectives. Dr. Freya belongs to the Jesus Youth Move-ment will […]

Supreme Court bars controversial remarks on religious conversions

The Supreme Court has barred remarks made by the Allahabad High Court regard-ing religious conversions and their impact on the country’s demographics, deeming them inappropriate. The apex court’s September 27 decision came as it granted bail to Kailash, a Christian from Hamirpur in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The case dates back to […]

Indian Church urges state govt to allay people’s ‘eviction fears’

Church leaders have urged the communist-led government in a southern Indian state to clear doubts over the likely evi-ction of people, most of them Christians, in the eco-sensi-tive Western Ghats mountain range. The Kerala government did not take into consideration people’s concerns about the proposed declaration of areas within a kilometre of protected forest areas as eco-sensitive zones (ESZs) […]

Christians slam govt move to cut water, power in India’s Manipur

Indigenous Chri-stians in India’s strife-torn Manipur say they are worried over the state government’s move to deny power, water, and welfare schemes to “un-registered” villages in the hilly north-eastern state. Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh on Oct. 8 instructed the authorities not to provide essential services like water and power and benefits of various […]

Salesians elect Maltese priest Fabio Attard as Don Bosco’s 11th successor

Pope Francis does not accept Cardinal Koch’s resignation: could continue at least until anniversary of Council of Nicea