From The States

Nepal police arrest spiritual leader over rape charges

Nepal police said January 10 they had arrested a spiritual leader whose followers believe him to be a reincarnation of Buddha over allegations of disappearances and rape at his ashrams. Ram Bahadur Bomjan, known as “Buddha Boy” among devotees, became famous as a teenager after followers said he could meditate motionless for months without water, […]

High hopes pinned on new Syro-Malabar leader

The election of Bishop Raphael Thattil as the Syro-Malabar Church leader has brought high hopes for its members, especially the Catholics in the troubled Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese. “I am sure he will listen to the sane voices on the controversies concerning the Syro-Malabar Church,” says Capuchin Father Suresh Mathew, former editor of Indian Currents weekly who […]

Activists, women hail Supreme Court verdict in Bilkis Bano case

A sense of joy and hope spread across activists and women groups in India January 8 after the Supreme Court set aside the Gujarat government’s premature release of 11 convicted in a gangrape case. The apex court termed the Gujarat government order a “fraud act” and asked the convicts to surrender in two weeks and […]

Indian priest arrested under anti-conversion laws released from jail

Almost three months after his arrest, a Catholic priest in northern India charged under the country’s controversial anti-conversion laws after a complaint from a member of a Hindu nationalist organization has been granted bail and is set for release. Father Sebastian “Babu” Francis, director of social work of Allahabad diocese in the northern state of […]

Church services in the forest and help for refugees: Priests are close to the people

Two years of civil war, which has gradually intensified, have shaped the face and pastoral approach of priests, consecrated persons, catechists and pastoral workers in many dioceses of Myanmar, especially in the areas most affected by the conflict between the army and the People’s Defense Forces rebel groups, which have joined forces with the ethnic […]

Bengal CM joins Cathedral Jubilee Year Door inaugural

The Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee joined Archbishop Thomas D’Souza of Kolkata at the solemn ‘Jubilee Year Door’ inaugural at the Cathedral of the Most Holy Rosary in Kolkata during a Christmas Eve function on December 24,2023. After unveiling of the Christmas crib and offering floral tribute to baby Jesus, Archbishop D’Souza and […]

Bengali writers stress genuine literature to fight AI

The need for encouraging genuine literature and art to withstand the onslaught of Artificial Intelligence (AI)was stressed at the launch of a cultural hub in a West Bengal town. “While humans struggle to find the right word to describe a situation, AI might do this in a jiffy,” warns Madhumita Acharya, a professor of St […]

Bishop appointed for Khadki Syro-Malankara diocese

Bethany Father Mathai Kadavil has been appointed as the new bishop of the Khadki diocese of the Syro-Malankara Church. The appointment was announced in the St Mary’s Cathedral, Pattom, Thiruvananthapuram December 12. Earlier, Pope Francis approved the name of the 60-year-old priest after the Synod of Bishops of the Syro Malankara Major Archiepiscopal Church had […]

Eviction-facing Indian Catholics to fight Muslim charity’s claims

Goans oppose tourism project near 16th century basilica