The Supreme Court of India on July 23 granted bail to yet another of seven people, who have been languishing in jail for more than ten years in connection with the murder of a Hindu religious leader in Odisha, eastern India. India’s Supreme Court has ordered the granting of bail to the second of seven Christians convicted over the murder of a Hindu swami 11 years ago. Bijaya Sanaseth is the second of the seven to get bail from the country’s apex court in Lakshmanananda Saraswati case.

The Supreme Court read: “Considering the fact that the accused-appellant (Bijay Kumar Sanaseth s/o salei Sanaseth) had undergone ten years of his sentence and taking an over-view of the matter, we are of the opinion that the above mentioned accused appellant should be released on bail on such conditions as may be imposed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Phulbani in ST No16/18of 2013-2009.

A Christian organisation in the northeast, has questioned the motive behind the creation of a ‘Christian missionary cell’ at a time when the Centre is pushing an education policy to “homogenise Indian society.”

The BJP in Mizoram had, a few days ago, formed the cell to collect data on the community and connect with Mizos beyond the State. The church leaders felt that little respect was being shown to the autonomy of individual States.

“Those who work for the dominant party are formed into a Christian Missionary Cell, whose mission will be to collect data about Christian activities and pass it on to their opponents who wish to undermine the unity of the Christian service in the northeast,” the Assam Christian Forum said in a statement issued by its spokesperson Allen Brooks.

More than US$1.5 million is being provided by Pakistan’s Sindh provincial government for the renovation of iconic St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

The foundation stone of the cathedral in Karachi, the province’s capital, was laid in 1845 and the building is known for the richness of its stone, glass and timber craftsmanship.

The cathedral’s rector, Father Mario Rodrigues, notes that it can accommodate 1,500 people for prayer services and he is proud of its Gothic revival architecture.

Father Rodrigues, heading a July 27 church delegation, talked to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah about the contribution of local Christians to the development of Karachi.

Shah responded that provi-ncial administration heritage experts would be involved in the cathedral’s restoration “to its original glory.”

The funding is to be provided for the work to be done over three years, starting with the interior.

Chief Minister Shah, an alumni of the St Patrick’s high school in Karachi, hailed the Catholic Church’s good works within the province, especially in providing educational and health services.

Kandhamal, the land of martyrs, continues to inspire pilgrims, religious, faithful, theologians, young and old.

“My faith is strengthened and enriched after spending four meaningful days with the victims of Kandhamal,” said Divine Word Hanson D’Souza from Mangalore, who studies theology at Kristo Jyoti Mahavidyaloyo, Sambalpur, Odisha.

The seminarian told Matters India that he was proud to be with those who have suffered for the sake of Christ.

Dominic Nayak from Kandhamal’s Tiangia, who survived the 2008 anti-Christian persecution, said the survivors “are grateful to many people who come to us to share solidarity with us.”

Tiangia saw the highest number of deaths in the Kandhamal religious persecution.

“We are encouraged and empowered when people come and share with our pain and agony,” Nayak told Matters India. A team of 15 theology students lived with the survivors during July 18-21. They split into groups of three and lived in the most affected villages — Nandagiri, Pirigoda, Mondakia and Gudriguda, besides Tiangia.

“Our students were moved seeing the strong and firm faith in Christ among the Kandhamal people despite persecution, threat and killing,” said Father Florence Ranasingh, principal of Khristo Jyoti Mahavidyaloyo who led the pilgrimage tour.

Catholics in Mangalore have celebrated the conclusion of a diocesan inquiry into the cause of canonization of Father Raymond Francis Camillus Mascarenhas, the southern Indian diocese’s first Servant of God.

On July 17, a solemn ceremony was held at the Church of St Sebastian, the clergyman’s final resting place. The event represents a milestone in the history of the local Church, which hopes to have its first saint soon.

Pope Francis has appointed Father Vijaya Kumar Rayarala as the second bishop of Srikakulam diocese in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

The bishop-elect is currently the regional superior of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions or PIME.

The diocese of Srikakulam was lying vacant after the resignation of Bishop Addagatla Innayya Chinna on December 12, 2018.

Catholic Bisho-ps’ Conference of India (CBCI) has appointed Father Roque Noronha as the new national coordinator of Port Chaplains in India.

Born on November 2, 1965, in Margao, Goa, Fr. Noronha was ordai-ned a priest on May 7, 1994, for the Society of the Missionaries of St Francis Xavier (SFX) or the Pilar Society. He holds a Masters degree in Social Work and another one in Business Administration. He is fluent in English, Hindi, Konkani and Assamese.

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi starting his second term after leading his pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to victory in India’s recent election, complaints of violence are growing from the country’s persecuted Christians.

Christians face a new wave of threats from Hindu groups after the BJP retained its grip on power in May.

“A second term for the BJP has for sure boosted the morale of Hindu groups, who keep threatening and intimidating minorities for being non-Hindus in India, which they think belongs to Hindus only,” Christian leader A.C. Michael, an official of the Indian chapter of the Alliance Defending Freedom, told ucanews.com.

The BJP won 303 seats in the 545-seat parliament in a landslide victory in the April-May national election following the completion of Modi’s first term that began in May 2014.

Later Modi took office on May 30, violence against Christians was reported in states including Karnataka, Jharkhand, Haryana, Mahara-shtra, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and Uttar Pradesh, Michael said.

On May 30, as Modi was taking his oath as Prime Minister, police in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh detained Pastor Roopsen Paswan of the Assemblies of Believers Church in Rai Bareli district.

He was arrested on charges of continuing an assembly after it was commanded to disperse. Church officials said he was released on bail the same day but was warned of dire consequences if he continued to hold church services in the district.

On June 2, Hindu groups ordered pastors in Jagannath Nagar in Maharashtra not to hold any Sunday prayer services. The pastors were threatened with violence if they refused. The arrest of a Missionaries of Charity nun on allegations of selling babies and the ongoing investigations against her congregation to find out if they used funds for religious conversion are examples of such harassment, he said.

Brooks said even Christian hospitals and schools are not spared allegations of violating the anti-conversion laws that exist in seven Indian states.