An Indian has been reappointed the provincial of the Divine Word Society’s the Netherlands-Belgium Province (NEB).
Father Avin Kunnekkaden was the first non-European to head the province when he was elected first time in 2016. His second term will last from May 1 this year to April 30, 2023. Father Kunnekkaden was born in 1960 at Kalady, Kerala, and ordained a priest in 1992.
An advocacy group for Catholic religious has urged major superiors of women’s congregation to ensure that their members are protected against sexual harassment. The Forum of Religious for Justice and Peace, in a press release on February 3, also asked the superiors to report to “appropriate civil and ecclesial authorities” any crime against their members.
This was the advice given by the Union of International Superiors General (UISG) as well as various papal documents; the Ranchi-based forum reminds the superiors. The press release was issues in response to the guidelines issued by the Permanent Synod of the Syro Malabar Catholic Church, through a circulated dated January 18, to ensure “discipline” within the Church.
“There is a legitimate apprehension among the faithful that with such diktats, the concept of the Church as the People of God is gradually being eroded,” regrets the press release that was endorsed by 78 priests, nuns and lay persons in India.
It underscores that the Church is the body of Christ where freedom, fraternity and equality among members as well as servant leadership are cherished values.
“Sadly, the recent happenings in the Church and the present attitude of the Bishop’s Synod do not reflect this self-understanding of the Church as seen in the teachings of Vatican II and explicitly shown by Pope Francis through his prophetic words and example,” the press release says. The forum also asserts that “religious vows are not bonds of slavery as the circular seems to convey, but are diadems signifying freedom and liberation from human limitations.”
The Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) Council for Laity, one of the influential Christian bodies in the country, has launched a nationwide drive to formulate a Catholic stance on the current political situation in the country ahead of the general elections.
The Council for Laity will organize a series of events in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections to raise issues within the community like attacks on churches, growing danger of communalism and challenges to Catholic faith in India. After the exercise, which will take the campaign to the grass roots, a report will be submitted to CBCI on March 10 to firm up a position. CBCI has 14 regional councils and 174 Diocesan Pastoral Council. Among the topics that will be thrown up for discussion include violation of constitutional rights and denial of minority welfare schemes to Christians, challenges to areas of service like educational institutions, hospitals and orphanages and growing dangers of communalism. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured Catholic Church leaders that their concerns about the attack on churches and other issues will be looked into.
Taking a serious note of the attempts to move the nuns, who were part of the public protest against Bishop Franco Mulakkal, out of the Kuravilangadu convent, Bishop Agnelo of the Jalandhar diocese has directed the Missionaries of Jesus congregation to withhold their transfer orders till the case is over.
In an e-mail addressed to the five nuns, a copy of which is with The Hindu, the Bishop said that he was giving a directive to Regina Kadamthottu, Superior General of the Missionaries of Jesus congregation, not to issue any letters to the five nuns without his explicit permission.
“This will be an order to her from me as Apostolic Administrator in charge of the Congregation – since it is of Diocesan Right, it comes under me,” read the letter.
The letter also sought to assure the nuns that there would be no move from the Diocese of Jalandhar to oust them from Kuravilangad Convent as long as they were needed for the court case. “The truth will only emerge when all the evidence is presented. I am sure the Church would want the truth to emerge,” it noted.
A nation consultation, “We too are Church,” is being organized as a response to the various challenges and crises facing the Church in India.
The initiative by Catholic lay people is an attempt to implement “the far reaching teachings” of the Second Vatican Council, says a press note from consultation coordinator chhotebhai, a former president of the All India Catholic Union.
Renowned speakers and concerned participants from across the country are expected to attend the February 9-11 meeting to be held at Proggaloy Pastoral Centre, Kolkata.
The consultation will also stress the need for Christians to prepare for the forthcoming general elections in the country.
Among the topics to be discussed are: The Renewal of the Church according to Vatican II, The Current Political Scenario, The Role of the Media, Crisis Management and Leadership Skills, The Status of Women in the Church, Youth Aspirations and Expectations.
The speakers include Professor Maria Fernandes, vice chairperson, Bengal State Women’s Commission, Reverend Subhash Anand, emeritus professor, Papal Seminary, Pune and Percival Holt, a delegate to the recently held World Youth Synod in Rome and Holy Spirit Sister Tessy Jacob, a media researcher.
The delegation of 56 Indian pilgrims who landed in Panama for the 34th World Youth Day come from across India: Agra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu. They left the country on 15 January.
The young people are accompanied by nine priests and a nun as well as Msgr Mar Joseph Pandarasseril, auxiliary bishop of the eparchy of Kottayam, and Fr Deepak Thomas, executive secretary of the Youth Commission of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI).
The theme of this year’s WYD is “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38).
Fr Thomas spoke to Asia News about the first days in Panama, ahead of Pope Francis’s arrival.
“We arrived on 15 January, staying in the parish of Atalaya, Diocese of Santiago (de Veraguas). Here we took part in numerous social and cultural activities.” “On 17 January we celebrated a Eucharist of the meeting, during which we showed the culture of our country,” Fr Thomas said.
Christian leaders of the southern Indian State of Karnataka are exploring the feasibility of fielding members from the community for the forthcoming general elections.
Christian Community Coalition, Karnataka, under the aegis of International Federation of Karnataka Christian Associations, met on January 26 at YMCA, Bengaluru, the state capital, to seek better re-presentation of the community in legislative bodies.
The federation is an organization of associations of all Christian denominations in Karnataka and abroad and has more than 60 branches in the state.
One leader, Rajshekar who travelled from Davangere, some 265 km northwest of Bengaluru, to attend the meeting, asserted that no political party should take the Christian community for granted.
“If due representation is not given for Christian candidates in the coming Lok Sabha elections, Christians would make their feelings felt by voting sensibly and it will have a cascading effect in the entire state where the Christians are a potential force to cause a swing for or against any political party,” he warned.
Kamal Nath, Prime Minister of the Indian State of Madhya Pradesh, a big state in central India, has assured Christian leaders that he will cancel the accusations of alleged “fraudulent conversions” initiated against Christians in the state. As Agenzia Fides learns, the government of Madhya Pradesh, led by the Congress Party, has declared that it will withdraw the “politically motivated” cases filed during the previous Hindu nationalist government of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state.
“We will review the cases of false accusations of conversion against Christians,” said the minister of justice, P.C. Sharma. BJP spokesperson Rajneesh Agrawal said the government’s move “will encourage Christian missionaries to engage in forced conversions,” announcing his party’s opposition.
On January 18, Fr Muttungal, former spokesman for the regional episcopal Conference of Madhya Pradesh, met Minister Sharma, highlighting the matter and the minister reassured him.
Thousands of people, including students, hit the streets across Mizoram on January 23 to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.
Effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh were burnt as protesters took out rallies from Aizawl’s seven district headquarters and at over 50 other places.
Raising slogans and carrying placards, the agitators demanded the resignation of PM Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh, alleging that the controversial bill will endanger the very existence of the Mizos.
The rally was organised by the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) or Mizo students federation, which had also organised an 11-hour, state-wide bandh on January 8. MZP president said if the bill is passed, it would lead to the “total alienation of the Mizo people.”
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, passed by the Lok Sabha on January 8, seeks to provide Indian citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after six years of residence in India even if they do not possess any document.
The Synod of the SyroMalabar Church, which is going on at the St Thomas Mount, Kakkanad, has approved the process of canonisation of Msgr Joseph Kandathil, the founder of Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate (ASMI), and Fr Varkey Kattarath, the founder of the Vincentian Congregation.
Msgr Kandathil was known for his work among leprosy patients, which earned him the name ‘Kerala Damien.’ Msgr Kandathil, born in 1904 in Chembu near Vaikom, received the priesthood in 1933. He established a leprosy hospital in Cherthala in 1942, and ASMI in 1949. He passed away in December 1991.
Fr Varkey Kattarath, born in 1851 in Punjaar near Pala, received priesthood at the age of 22. He founded the Vincentian Congregation on 20 November 1904 on the model of the Congregation of the Mission (C.M.), founded by St Vincent de Paul in France with three diocesan priests, with the approval and encouragement of Louis Pazheparampil, the first Vicar Apostolic of Ernakulam.
