About 7,000 Christians marched on the streets of India’s commercial hub Mumbai, demanding the arrest and punishment of a pro-Hindu lawmaker who recently declared huge bounties for attacking and killing pastors and missionaries. The marchers chanted slogans and displayed banners during the July 11 rally at Azad Maidan grounds in Mumbai, the capital of the western Indian state of Maha-rashtra, asking authorities to slap criminal charges against Gopich and Padalkar from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The rally was organized by the ecumenical group, Sakal Christi Samj Maharashtra (All Maharashtra Christian Coali-tion), and joined by members of various Christian organiza-tions, said Cyril Dara, the coalition’s convener.
During the demonstration, Christian leaders condemned Padalkar for disregarding the law and inciting violence agai-nst the Christian community. “Padalkar publicly announced the bounties a fortnight ago, which has outraged and deeply hurt our religious sentiments,” Dara told on July 11.
He said the protesting Christians also demanded the expulsion of the legislator from the party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “This action will help curb future atrocities on the Christian community, like the vandalism of churches and attacks on religious leaders. The community needs protection from the government and action against the culprit,” the coali-tion said in a statement.

BREADS Bangalore con-vened a state-level strategic meeting on July 3, 2025 to launch its pioneering “Sport for Change” initiative–an ambi-tious youth empowerment pro-gramme operating across seven locations in five districts of Kerala. Rooted in a dynamic anti-drug campaign, the initiative leverages the unifying and transformative power of sports to steer young people away from substance abuse and anti-social influences, fostering instead a culture of discipline, purpose, and resilience.
BREADS stands for Banga-lore Rural Educational and Development Society. It’s the official development wing of the Salesian Province of Bangalore, working primarily in Karnataka and Kerala to uplift margina-lized communities–especially children, youth, and women. The gathering brought together an inspiring constellation of stakeholders committed to youth development through sport.
BREADS Executive Director, Fr George P. S., remarked, “Sport is not just a game–it’s a gateway to transformation. When young people are given the right environment, they discover their strength, discipline, and dignity.”

The Holy Father Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Antonysamy Savarimuthu, until now Bishop of Palayamkottai and the Chairman of the CCBI Commission for Canon Law as the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Madurai on July 5, 2025. Bishop Antony-samy Savarimuthu was born on 8 December 1960 in Vadakku Vandanam, in the District of Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu. He was ordained a priest on 26 April 1987, for the Diocese of Pala-yamkottai. On 20 November 2019, he was appointed Bishop of Palayamkottai and ordained bishop on 15 December. Since 2024, he has served as Apostolic Administrator of Madurai

Salesian Father Zephyrinus Baxla, a trailblazer in Adivasi cultural revival and education, died on July 7 due to kidney ailments. Father Baxla would have turned 75 in August. Father Augustine Tirkey, a companion of Father Baxla, said his confrere “was a man of quiet conviction. He never raised his voice, but his presence commanded respect,” said. “I remember him spending hours listening to villagers, never rushing, always attentive. His pastoral heart was his greatest gift.” Born in August 1950 into a humble tribal family, Father Baxla’s early life was shaped by cultural rootedness, simple piety, and an innate call to serve, Salesian Shillong provincial Father John Zosiama said. Drawn to the Salesian charism, he entered formation and was ordained a priest when the Church in eastern India was taking bold steps in grassroots evangelization and social transformation, the provincial recalled. A professor of Scripture at Sacred Heart Theological College Shillong, over the decades, Father Baxla’s ministry spanned remote missions, parishes, formation houses, and educational initiatives. In every assignment, he embodied the heart of a true pastor – faithful, unassuming, and wholly dedicated to walking with his people. Father Baxla’s contribution to Adivasi education and cultural revival was particularly profound. During his time in Kurukh-speaking regions, Father Baxla championed the Tolong Siki script, not merely as a linguistic tool, but as a symbol of identity and dignity, the provincial said.

Masthan Sahib has worked with Catholic nuns for four decades in a leprosy rehabilitation centre in Bengaluru, the capital of the southern Indian state of Karnataka. The centre, Sumanahalli, is under the Bangalore Archdiocese, aided by the state government, and managed by nuns and priests of different congregations. Sahib, a resident of Palamaner, a remote village in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh state, Karnataka’s eastern neighbour, was trained by Catholic nuns from overseas to assist their work among leprosy patients. The 65-year-old Muslim shared with Global Sisters Report how he serves mostly Hindus and Catholic nuns without compromising his faith.

More than 200 people have attended the opening of the Community and Human Resources Development Centre at Tala in Maharashtra’s Raigad district to mark the Divine Word Society’s 150 years of service. Archbishop John Rodrigues of Bombay led the thanksgiving Mass on June 18 at the Janseva Society Campus in Tala, some 115 km south of Mumbai, the capital of the western Indian state of Maharashtra. The archbishop encouraged all present to remain steadfast in uplifting the marginalized with dignity and love. He described the new centre as a “sanctuary of transformation,” a space born from faith in action. The occasion also marked the Janseva Society’s 13 years of serviced to Katkari tribe, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group in Maharashtra. The Archdiocese of Bombay in collaboration with the Indian Mumbai province of the Society of the Divine word made an agreement on June 1, 2012, to begin a mission station at Tala. It aimed to spread Christ’s mission in Tala Taluka. The society works among 22 Kathkari tribe hamlets and three shepherd group villages. It deals with illiteracy, alcoholism, child labour, bonded labour, issues of health and hygiene, lack of road and water facilities.

The historic Marian shrine of Bandel Church, standing sentinel on the banks of the Hooghly since 1599, became the backdrop for a spiritual and musical homecoming as Baul Samrat Sanajit Mandal reimagined two seminal tracks from Bengali Gospel classic. The music video shoot on June 21, 2025 by Song of Gospel YouTube Channel featured Mandal performing Kaatar Mukut (Crown of Thorns) and Dhike Dhike Shona Jai (Heard All Over) – songs that have resonated deeply with Bengali-speaking Christians for over two decades. This new rendition blends faith, folk, and film in a moving tribute to a legacy that continues to inspire. “In these songs, I find not just melody, but prayer,” said Sanajit Mandal. “Kaatar Mukut carries the pain of sacrifice, while Dhike Dhika Shona Jai bursts with the joy of resurrection. Singing them again at Bandel felt like coming full circle.”

The police and administrative intervention helped end the social isolation that Hindus had imposed on a group of Christians in a village in Odisha, India, a police official has confirmed. The one-month social boycott was lifted at a meeting of government officials, police, and some 60 villagers on June 24 in Rangamati of Keonjhar district, said Prasant Kumar Behera, sub-divisional police officer. “We told the leaders and villagers nobody wants fights and violence between the Hindus and Christians and igniting the spark with frivolous issues,” he told UCA News on June 26. The boycott has been lifted with Hindu leaders promising “that there will be no violence or aggression,” he added. The Hindus imposed a social boycott on a total of 23 Christian families after they allegedly refused to abandon their faith and return to their “original Hindu religion.” The social isolation meant that Christian was denied access to all shared facilities in the village, including the village well and grocery stores. The villagers also refused to hire them for work in the farmlands. It prompted Christians to seek assistance from the police. Christian leaders say that violence against Christians has risen since the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took power last May. Hindu groups that support the BJP consider the political gain a mandate to push for their idea of making India a Hindu nation, they say. Police officer Behera said government officials and police “sensitized villagers” that the national constitution recognizes rights of every citizen and attempts to take laws into their own hands can trigger punitive measures.

An official from a Catholic school in India’s northeastern Assam state has dismissed an allegation that a teacher forcibly removed a ‘tilak’ — a red circular sacred Hindu mark — from the forehead of a student. Salesian priest Ethelbert Minj, in-charge of Don Bosco School in Sonitpur district, said the allegation levelled by the family of a Hindu student was fabricated and prompted by a right-wing Hindu group. The response came after the uncle of the child lodged a complaint with local police that a schoolteacher forcibly removed the ‘tilak’ from her forehead on June 23 and thus hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus. Minj alleged the child’s uncle was prompted by the right-wing Bajrang Dal group which he claimed seeks to tarnish the hard-earned reputation of the institute. “Our school has been in this locality for more than a decade and no such incident was reported in the past. The school does not discriminate children on the basis of caste, creed and religion,” the priest told UCA News on June 25. “This incident is purely influenced by groups who wants to divide people in the name of religion, caste and creed,” he claimed, adding the school would cooperate with the police to establish the truth. Quoting the parents, some local media reported the incident left the child traumatized. In the police complaint, the child’s uncle accused the teacher of violating the constitutional right to religious freedom. Allen Brooks, spokesperson of the ecumenical group, Assam Christian Forum, said such an allegation is unprecedented and hard to believe. “Our institutions have always respected and accommodated all religions and cultures, maintaining a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere,” Brooks told

Police have charged nine Catholic priests and a lay leader with unlawful assembly in southern India’s communist-ruled Kerala state, after the accused joined a protest seeking safety for people threatened by coastal erosion. “This is totally a false case and we cannot be silenced with it,” said Joseph Jude, vice-president of Kerala Region Latin Catholic Council. The lay leader was among those accused, along with the priests, of obstructing public movement through their unlawful assembly. He said the issue is of urgent concern as several thousand people, including fisher folks, mostly Catholics in the area, will be rendered homeless. “The state government, instead of ensuring the safety of the people, is trying to silence those who raise their voice for a public cause,” Jude told UCA News on June 23. Some 5,000 people, mostly Catholics, including over 150 priests of the Latin diocese of Kochi and Allappuzha, joined in the public rally in the coastal town of Chellanam in Ernakulam district on June 20. They allege the state government failed to protect around 500 homes from possible submergence in the Arabian Sea due to coastal erosion. Some families have already relocated to safer areas as the monsoon is intensifying. The sea wall in the area, spanning over 17 kilometres, was washed away in 2017 during Cyclone Ockhi.
“The government promised to rebuild it immediately, but completed work on only seven kilometres in 2023 and later discontinued the work,” a protest leader said. Sherry J. Thomas, president of the Kerala Latin Catholic Association, condemned the police action against the priests and the lay leader.