A Catholic priest has been conferred with the “Best Citizens of India Award” in recognition of his work among the marginalized in northern India.
The International Publishing House, the world’s leading biographical specialists, chose Father Vineeth George for the award. He is a member of the Bangalore province of the Claretians and a doctoral research scholar at the Indian Institute of Technology in Hyderabad.
Salesian Fr Jacob Anil D’Sa has been appoint-ed the Asian Inter-national Young Catholic Students (IYCS) chaplain.
The 40-year-old Indian priest will be based at Manila, the capital of the Philippines.
The IYCS is a Catholic action movement of the apostolate of Laity. As an International Catholic organization, it functions under the Pontifical Council for the laity, Vatican.
Pope Francis on May 1 transferred Bishop Derek Fernandes of Karwar to Belgaum as its new prelate, according to a press note from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India headquarters in New Delhi.
The diocese was without a head after Bishop Peter Machado was transferred to Bangalore as its arch-bishop in May 2018. He was chancellor and procurator of Belgaum diocese during 1991-2002 and the diocesan administrator for two years from 2004. He was appointed Karwar bishop on February 24, 2007.
A Protestant pastor in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh has been acquitted of charges held against him under India’s state-level anti-conversion laws.
Pentecostal Pastor Balu Saste, his wife, his son, and members of his community were violently attacked by Hindus, later detained by the police and accused of trying to convert people to Christianity by force, according to ADF International.
The group announced on May 6 that a court had dropped all charges against Balu and his family. “The acquittal of Pastor Balu and his family is a vital step towards the protection of religious freedom and the right to freely live out one’s faith,” said Tehmina Arora, Director of ADF India.
“Now he can continue to tend to his small community of Christians without interference from the state. Unfortunately, this is not the only case in India where Christians have been falsely accused under anti-conversion laws.”
A group of nationalists stormed Balu’s church three years ago during a service and began beating and harassing worshippers, ADF International reports.
A court in Madhya Pradesh on May 11 ordered a police probe into a Catholic bishop’s death in a road accident almost four months ago. Judicial Magistrate First Class Nidhi Neelesh Shrivastava, Pohari, district Shivpuri has directed the police to investigate the circumstances that led to the death of Bishop Thomas Thennatt of Gwalior and submit its report within a month. The court order came following a laywoman’s petition saying that she suspected foul play in the bishop’s death. The woman, Dolly Theresa, alleged the diocesan authorities have restrained her from receiving Holy Communion from all churches in the diocese after she filed the petition.
Hundreds of thousands of Catholics throughout India dedicated on April 28, the feast of Divine Mercy, to pray for neighbouring Sri Lanka that was ravaged by serial blasts.
The Conference of Catholic Bishops of India, the national body of the Latin Rite Church, had called for observing the feast with various programs to show solidarity with the victims of the blasts that killed 359 people and wounded more than 500 in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday.
The Catholic Church observers the Sunday after Easter as the feast of Divine Mercy associated with special promises from Jesus and indulgences issued by the Church.
Expressing solidarity with the Sri Lankan victims, Catholics of Arunachal Pradesh conducted special prayer service and candle light rallies in various parts of India’s north-eastern most region.
About 3,000 people, mostly survivors of 2008 anti-Christian violence, joined similar programs in the Kandhamal district of Odisha State in Eastern India.
At Our Lady of Charity Parish Church, Raikia, a major parish in Kandhamal, the survivors marched with lighted candles and sang hymns for the Sri Lankan victims. Catholics in Raikia were attacked twice in the past — 2004 and in 2008 — by Hindu extremists.
“How can we the victims of anti-Christian violence of 2008 fail to show our solidarity towards the victims of terrorists in Sri Lanka?” asked Anita Pradhan, a widow.
She said, she could understand the agony of family members of Sri Lankan victims since “I had felt totally blind after the brutal massacre of my husband by the Hindu Extremist in 2008.”
India’s Catholic theologians on April 25 assembled in Bengaluru to analyze the current situation in the country and evolve relevant responses to help the Church address modern problems.
The 42 annual meeting of the Indian Theological Association (ITA) at the National Biblical Catechetical and Liturgical Centre addressed the theme, “Whither India.”
“Upholding democratic values and the secular fabric of our Indian Constitution is paramount. The ITA seminar to create awareness for people, civil society and entire Indian polity is timely,” says Father Udayanath Bishoyi, a visiting professor at Morning Star Regional Seminary, Calcutta, and a participant.
The Cuttack-Bhubaneswar archdiocese priest is among 74 women and men theologians from various parts of India attending the April 25-28 event. The association was founded in 1976 to promote the development of an Indian Christian theology.
Jharkhand State in Eastern India has sought a federal investigation into 31 Christian charity organizations to check for the mishandling of overseas donations.
The state government led by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), suspects organizations have diverted donated funds for unspecified expenses and violated certain rules in submitting their annual reports, media reports said on April 13. Church leaders have termed the move an attempt to slander them and church bodies in the state.
“This is nothing but an attempt to give us bad press and malign our name,” said Archbishop Felix Toppo of Ranchi.
He said they have learned from media that the government has recommended the Federal Home Ministry to use the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe 31 Christian non-governmental organizations, most of them Catholic.
A report prepared for the United States Congress has stated that India’s unfolding national elections could give rise to a long period of dominance by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Perhaps more crucially, the election pits an unabashedly Hindu nationalist Prime Minister and ruling party against an array of more secular-minded parties, some focused on the interests of India’s large lower-caste and Muslim minorities,” said the report.
It noted that while coalition governments are sometimes faulted for instability, they could also compel leaders to negotiate and take account of a wider variety of perspectives.
However, a government with an overwhelming majority could lead to “complacency and arrogance,” according to the report produced by the Congressional Research Service, which does not necessarily reflect official U.S. policies or attitudes.
Bishop Simon Kaipuram of Balasore died early morning on April 22 due to massive heart attack. The Vincentian prelate was 65.
The funeral was scheduled at 3 pm on April 24, according to Father Prasan Singh, deputy secretary of the Odisha Catholic Bishops’ Council.
Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has greeted the Christian community on Easter.
In his message, he said that the purpose of Easter is to spend time and share pleasantries with deserving people. “The Christian community is peace loving and we respect them and share their joys,” he said. He said Easter is the time to guide the humanity to welfare of humanity and promote pious qualities. “Islam teaches us to respect all prophets and we believe in all prophets, including Hazrat Essa (AS) as this is part of our faith. Brotherhood, harmony and forgiving are teachings of Hazrat Essa (AS),” he said.
