Pope Francis has appointed Monsignor Antonysamy Savarimuthu as the new bishop of Palayamkottai diocese in Tamil Nadu State. The bish-op designate is a priest of the same diocese. The appointment was announced at 12 noon on November 20 in Rome and 4:30 pm, its corresponding time in India.
Category: From The States
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Indian youth appointed to International Youth Advisory Body
Indian Catholic girl, Jesvita Princy Quadras, among others, is appointed to International Youth Advisory Body.
On the Solemnity of Christ the King on November 24, the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life of the Roman Curia announced about the establishment of an International Youth Advisory Body made up of 20 young people from different regions on the world and some international movements, associations and communities, said a press note from the Dicastery.
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Hills College wins international award
A college in Darjeeling hills has won an international award for Faculty Orientation and Strategic Planning.
Salesian College Principal Father George Thadathil and CEO of Leader-ship Inc Hong Kong Mark J. Pixley were awarded IAF Silver Medal Inter-national Award by its Asia Head Farah at the Umrao, New Delhi, on Novem-ber 15.
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National Geographic honours Kerala’s “rebel” nuns
The US-based National Geographic magazine has honoured Kerala’s five “rebel” nuns by featuring them in its November issue.
The 131-year-old magazine has hailed the endurance of Missionaries of Jesus Sisters Alphy Pallasseril, Ancitta Urumbil, Anupama Kelamangalathuveli, Josephine Villoonnickal, and Neena Rose in their demand for justice for one of their companions, who was allegedly raped by Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jalandhar.
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Indians less charitable than Asian counterparts
India ranked 82nd among 128 countries for generosity over the last 10 years, according to the tenth World Giving Index (WGI).
Up to a third of Indians helped a stranger, one in four donated money, and one in five gave their time volunteering, the report said, attributing India’s low ranking to its strong culture of unorganized and informal giving to family, community and religion.
It recommended more formal mechanisms of donating to charity.
The report, published on-line in October, was based on surveys of 1.3 million people in 128 countries during 2009-2018. It asked interviewees if they had helped a stranger, donated money to charity or volunteered their time in the past month.
The surveys used Gallup World Poll data and were commissioned by Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), a UK charity that provides services and assistance to international charities and their donors.
India’s rank on the Index has yoyoed vastly, the lowest being 134th in 2010 and the highest being 81st last year. This year’s report aggregated data for each country for the last 10 years. India’s overall WGI score this year was 26 percent.
Of the top 10 countries, seven are among the wealthiest in the world. Yet, global generosity is on the decline, stated the report, highlighting that individual giving is now lower in countries with long histories of philanthropy such as the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
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CCBI Women’s Commission to revive role of mothers in Church
The Conference of Catholic Bi-shops’ of India (CCBI) – Women’s Commission held a workshop in New Delhi to revitalize the role of mothers in the Church.
“The purpose of the seminar was to build a strong and united Church through faith-filled families by mothers in each diocese in India,” Sister Lidwin Fernandes, executive secretaries of CCBI Women’s Commission, told Matters India. The other aim of the event was to revisit the Mission, Vision and Objectives for the commission.
The 18-21 November programme was held at Navinta Retreat House, New Delhi. As many as 70 participants from 50 Latin dioceses of India attended it.
Participants resolved to draft the bye-laws and guidelines for Women’s Commissions at national, regional and diocesan levels, said Ursuline Franciscan Sister Fernandes.
Inaugurating the event that the theme “Chosen to be a missionary month.”
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9 states witnessed increased incidents of communal violence
India has witnessed more communal violence cases this year than the previous year, revealed the latest data culled by intelligence agencies.
Nine states reported increased number of incidents of communal violence. Uttar Pradesh topped the list with 457 communal incidents in 2019 between January 1 and October 30, as compared to 396 incidents last year during the same period.
The second state was Rajasthan (165 incidents this year, compared to 116 communal incidents last year), followed by West Bengal (79 incidents as compared to 57 last year), Gujarat (40 incidents against 26 last year), Assam (20 communal incidents against 17 such incidents last year), Kerala, Tripura, Delhi and Odisha (five incidents against none last year).
Commenting on the latest report on the communal violence in the country, A C Michael, former member of Delhi Minorities Commission, told Matters India, “It is really sad to note our country that is known for being the largest democracy in the world is today going through a phase of continuous communal violence.”
“I would like to blame the politicians for this menace as their vote-bank politics have pitted the citizens of India against each other based on religion,” said Michael, national coordinator of United Christian Forum.
“The present government has made no bones about their strategy of following majoritarian appeasement policy. Till the time the young generation which is being claimed to be on the ruling party side understands the politics of appeasement, I do not foresee any solution to this problem,” he added.
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Indian Evangelical churches call on Christians to pray for persecuted Church
The Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) and the National Alliance and Central Network of Evangelicals in India called on the Christian community to observe the Nov 24 as the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP). “An estimated 100 million Christians face persecution daily in the world today. In India according to the database kept by the Religious Liberty Commission of EFI, this year itself, over 250 instances of hate crimes and violence have taken place against Christians till the last October,” said Reverend Vijayesh Lal, EFI general secretary.
“Let us stand in solidarity and prayer with our persecuted family. Let us join our sisters and brothers worldwide in praying together,” he said. India, rich in its diversity of religions, languages and cultures, faces several incidences of persecution. Reverend David Fernandes from Commission Church Mumbai, said, “Pray that the Lord will comfort, protect and guide persecuted Christians and others and the Church would remain strong even amid all the persecution and opposition. That there will be a decrease in anti-Christian and anti-minority violence in India and we will respond in love towards our persecutors. Pray that the constitutional guarantees will remain.”
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Kerala Church to encourage young widows’ remarriage
The Family Commission of Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) will create a matrimonial website, with a separate option for the widows to register.
“We want to bring in a change in the overall outlook to widows in our community. Even today society prescribes dress code for them and forces them to behave in a certain manner in social gatherings. They are humans and in no way they should be discriminated in society,” explained Father Paul Madassery, KCBC Family Commission Secretary.
The Church official pointed out that the remarriage of widows, even very young one, has become a rarity. He claimed the new website would give Christian widows hope for a new life, especially those under 40 years.
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Catholic nuns’ walking Gospel campaign brings social changes
Meeting with two Catholic nuns who were on a journey to spread the Gospel proved a turning point in the life of Mohan Kumar, a Hindu man in Kerala, southern India.
Sisters Little Therese and Treasa Margret of the Congregation of the Mother of Carmel had gone to the 45-year-old alcoholic’s house as part of their Gospel Journey Campaign for spreading Jesus’ message and values to people of different faiths.
A week later, the nuns received a call from Kumar’s wife that her husband had stopped drinking, and was acting more loving and kind to the family.
“We thanked God for the miraculous change in Kumar’s life, and told the wife that we will continue to pray for her family,” Little Therese, 52, told GSR.
The Carmelite sisters have been on this journey of what they say is “radiating Gospel values on foot as Jesus did” for the last 22 months. They walk with few possessions, expecting to live among people struggling with worldly and spiritual needs, in the pattern of Christ and His disciples.