Category: From The States

An interfaith prayer for peace and harmony was held at the headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata on September 10, commonly known as ‘Inspira-tion Day.’

Father Francis Sunil Rosario, director of Diocesan Commission for Dialogue and Ecumenism, said on Sept. 10 is a historic day as it was on that day Mother Teresa received special inspiration to start her mission for the dying destitute.

The inspiration gradually led to the birth of the Missionaries of Charity. This year, the day also coincided with Muslim festival of Muharram.

Abp Thomas D’Souza of Calcutta and Missionaries of Charity superior general Mary Prema, lighted lamps around the Mother Teresa’s tomb inside the chapel.

Representatives of various faith communities also joined in lighting the lamps.

O P Shah of the Forum for Peace said, “Peace is much desirable and urgently required.” All saints, he noted, had worked for peace and all have to work hard for promoting peace.

He said throughout her life, Mother Teresa preached equity and justice to promote peace.

Irfan Sher, a Muslim leader, spoke on the significance of Muharram in building peace. He gave a biblical interpretation to the celebration of Muharram.

Pritpal Singh Bedi, a Sikh, said all religions have the same DNA. With his team, he rendered a devotional song on peace.

The prayer meeting also heard two persons sharing “miracles” experienced through the intercession of Mother Teresa.

Abp D’Souza said Mother Teresa must be glad to see the reflection on peace by representatives of various faiths.

The Jagan Mohan Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh has decided to pay Rs 5,000 as monthly honorarium to pastors, evoking strong reaction from the BJP.

The minorities welfare department has asked all district collectors to enumerate the pastors through village volunteers and submit a report within 15 days.

An order was issued on August 27 mentioning that providing honorarium to pastors was one of the promises made in the manifesto regarding Christian minorities. It also says that no survey on the number of pastors had been made so far in Andhra Pradesh.

The YSR Congress Party had promised honorarium to pastors during the election campaign in March-April.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said that the victory of the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in the up-coming polls was certain and all efforts would be taken to ensure that Republican Party of India (Athawale) or RPI (A) candidates emerge victorious.

The Republican Party of India (Athawale), led by Union minister RamdasAthawale, is an ally of the BJP-Sena alliance. Fadnavis was speaking at a rally organized by Ramdas Athawale, a prominent Dalit leader of Maharashtra, in Mumbai.

Victory of the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in the upcoming polls is certain and all efforts would be taken to ensure RPI (A) candidates emerge victorious, he said.

Fadnavis said the claim of the opposition that the BJP plans to change the Constitution and end the system of reservations in jobs and education was not true. “The Constitution is the Bhagavad Gita, Bible, and Quran for us. When leaders like Ramdas Athawale are with us, no one can think of changing the Constitution,” he said.

The Universal Solidarity Movement (USM) of Indore honoured Sister Baskalin of Maharashtra as the best principal and Avaya Tripati of West Bengal as the best teacher on Sept. 4.

The USM instituted the two awards in 2007 for fostering the memory of Sister Louise Josephine who had promoted value education for peace as an ambassador of USM. After her retirement from formal teaching in schools, she crisscrossed the country with great passion, to animate young students and teachers, especially in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.

Police have begun investigating a Catholic bishop accused of conspiring to sell off prime church property, causing financial loss to his diocese in southern India.

A lower court in Karnataka State asked police to investigate a charge of criminal breach of trust against Bishop Anthony Swamy Thomasappa of Chikmagalur and his former vicar general, Father Shantha Raj.

Officials of St Joseph Education Society, which functions under the diocese, have been complaining since April that the bishop and Father Raj conspired to take ownership of two plots of land worth 180 million rupees (US$2.4 million) and sold them off at a cheaper value.

The Pilar Monastery Church in Goa has released a gold plated coin to mark the 150 the birth anniversary of Venerable Agnelo D’Souza. Retired Bishop Alex Dias of Port Blair, a member of the Pilar society, released the memento on September 11 in the presence of devotees of the saintly priest

“The celebrations to mark the year began on January 21, at the birth place of the venerable and will conclude on November 20, on his 92nd death anniversary,” the prelate said.

Cardinal George Alencherry, the head of the Syro-Malabar Church, has said that the Church would become stronger through participation by laity.

Addressing the valedictory of a joint meeting of the pastoral council secretaries of the church and the bishops on August 26, Cardinal Alencherry said the crisis faced by the Church can be solved through talks. “The decisions taken by the bishops through consensus and prayers would augment the unity and peace in the Church and everyone should cooperate with it,” he said.

This is for the first time in the history of Church that a joint meeting of pastoral secretaries and bishops, who represent 35 Syro-Malabar dioceses, was organized. The meeting expressed concern over media intervening in the internal affairs of the Church and said the Synod should formulate definite views regarding Church discipline.

The campaigns undertaken through social media has also deeply hurt the Church, the meet observed. It also expressed concern over the Gadgil committee report being utilized to harass settler farmers in the state.

Various laity organizations had on August 27 staged a rosary prayer procession to St Thomas Mount at Kakkanad where the 27th Synod of Syro-Malabar Church is in session.

The movement had earlier decided not to stage a protest march and instead take out a prayer rally. The protesters arrived carrying rosaries in their hand in two separate processions that merged in front of St Thomas Mount.

Archdiocese of Bhopal celebrated the feast of Raksha-bandhan along millions of Indian women who tied Rakhi or a sacred thread on the wrist of their brothers as a mark of love and respect.

On the eve of the festival on Aug. 14 several girls tied the thread on the wrist of Archbishop Leo Cornelio of Bhopal as the archdiocese organized a program to celebrate the predominantly Hindu festival.

Rakshabandhan, meaning protecting bond, celebrates the bond between brothers and sisters. The festival – celebrated across much of India and in parts of Nepal and Pakistan –  falls on the full moon day of the Hindu calendar and this year it falls on Aug. 15.

“The brightness of the day arises when we look at each other’s face and say we are all brothers and sisters of one family till then we are in the darkness,” the archbishop while addressing the gathering at the St Xavier’s School in Bhopal. Hundreds of students from more than six Catholic schools in the city gathered for the celebration organized by archdiocesan spokesperson Father Maria Stephen.

A secular group in West Bengal State’s South 24 Parganas district has put up a statue of Mother Teresa at the heart of a village market to uphold secularism.

An inter-religious gathering on August 27 watched as the statue of the world renowned Catholic nun was unveiled at Nepalgunge hatt, a well-known village market in Bishnupur block of the district, some 15 km from Kolkata, the State capital.

The Nepalgunge More Bebasahi Committee, the inter-faith group, took the initiative to install the statue.

Newly appointed Coadjutor Bishop Shyamal Bose of Baruipur joined leaders of other religions to unveil the lifesize statue of the founder of the Missionaries of Charity. They also garlanded the statue of Swami Vivekananda, a 19th century Hindu monk and social reformer.

Swami Vivekananda’s statue was installed at the market’s crossroad a few months ago. “Next to Vivekananda it was felt need of the people to install Mother’s statue,” said Sathya Ranjan Panja, secretary of the Hatt committee. “We thought the appropriate time was her 109th birth anniversary,” he told.