Around 60 Catholic moral theologians from across India have spent three days in Secunderabad, Telangana, to address mounting ethical challenges in the country’s healthcare system. “Biomedical Ethics: Developments and Challenges in the Indian Scenario” was the theme of the October 18-20 conference of the Association of Moral Theologians of India (AMTI). Keynote speaker Doctor P. Ranganadham, a renowned neurosurgeon in the state, lamented the erosion of ethical standards in the medical field. The senior consultant in neurosurgery from Aster Prime Hospitals expressed concern over the commercialization of healthcare. He stressed the need to view medicine as a service rooted in compassion, not a profit-driven business. The doctor commended the government’s Ayushman Bharat initiative for enhancing access to healthcare for economically disadvantaged populations. Bishop Gerald John Mathias of Lucknow, who inaugurated the event, highlighted the vital role of moral guidance in healthcare, setting the tone for three days of profound reflection Bishop Udumala Bala of Warangal, who led the final day’s Mass, emphasized the importance of healthcare professionals upholding ethical principles and urged moral theologians to promote these values amid rapid advancements. The conference addressed a variety of pressing bioethical issues, including assisted reproductive technologies (ART), surrogacy, euthanasia, and the ethical dilemmas surrounding the withdrawal of life support for terminally ill patients. Other topics included medical tourism, organ donation, mental health, challenges faced by the transgender community, and the growing role of artificial intelligence in healthcare. Pope Francis’s appeal for a “culture of encounter,” where no individual is marginalized or excluded from medical care, served as a moral compass for the discussions. The participants highlighted the need for a strong ethical framework to brace these complex issues.

The top court in India’s southern Kerala state has refused to set aside its earlier order directing government officials to take possession of six churches in a dispute between two factions of the Oriental Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch. The church properties are being claimed by both the warring Jacobite and Orthodox factions of the Damascus-based church. The factions have been fighting over sharing churches and other assets in Kerala since they split in 1911. A division bench of Kerala High Court on Oct. 17 dismissed appeals from the Jacobite faction, which currently retains the six churches, and asked district collectors of Ernakulam and Palakkad in Kerala to take their possession as per an order of the Supreme Court. India’s top court declared the Kerala-based Orthodox faction the legal heir to all temporal properties of the Oriental church in India in 2017. But the Jacobite faction refused to comply, saying they were in the majority and, hence, the churches and other properties belonged to them. The high court’s order on Aug. 30 directed the district collectors to take possession and file a compliance report on Sept. 30. However, the collectors – the top government officials in districts – could not implement the court order because of opposition from the Jacobite faction, and the Orthodox faction filed a contempt case against the state government. The Jacobite faction sought quashing of the Aug. 30 order, but Justices Anil K Narendran and P G Ajithkumar dismissed its appeals. Advocate Biju Oommen, secretary of the Orthodox Church Association, said the Kerala High Court’s order asking the government to take possession “is the right direction.” Oommen is confident that the court will eventually help transfer the churches to the Orthodox faction, as they are the legal owners, as per the Supreme Court’s 2017 order. “We are now hopeful that we will get back our churches,” he told on Oct. 18. However, the rival faction is unlikely to give up easily.

Catholic leaders have urged the Kerala government to review a state panel’s report favouring a Muslim charity’s claim over a piece of land, which threatens to evict some 600 families, most of them Catholics. Archbishop Joseph Kalathiparambil of Verapoly has urged the state government to review the Justice M. A. Nissar commission report. In an Oct. 26 statement, the archbishop said these families in a coastal village in Erna-kulam district legally bought the land decades ago and built their homes on it. He said the commission “arbitrarily inclu-ded” these lands as part of properties donated for Muslim charity (as waqf land). The archbishop’s statement said that the government should review the report and restore the ownership of the land to the original owners. The govern-ment appointed the commission in 2008 to examine the “irre-gularities” in the functioning of the state Waqf board. The commission submitted its report to the government in 2009, and the cabinet approved it the following year. The Arabic word “Waqf” literally means detention, and in Islamic Sharia law, it denotes the permanent submission of a person’s wealth or property for charity. The Central Waqf Council and State Waqf Boards manage waqf in India. The prelate asked the government to review the commission report to help the families in the neighbouring Kottapuram diocese, a suffragan of his archdiocese. “None of the victims knew about the inclusion [of their land and homes]” as Waqf properties, noted Father Antony Xavier, the parish priest of Valankanny Matha Church, which is part of the disputed land in Muna-mbam village. Among the 600 families, 400 are Christians, and others are Hindus. He said they started a relay hunger strike a fortnight ago deman-ding to restore their land ownership rights. The families claimed they legally purchased the land, which belonged to a local Muslim institution, Farook College, between 1988 and 1993, paying the prevailing market price and through registered land deeds.

Peace talks in India’s strife-torn Manipur state have suffered a setback after fresh violence broke out when unknown gunmen attacked a police station and set on fire five houses. The attackers opened fire with highly sophisticated weapons at the Borobekera police station in Jiribam district in the early hours of Oct. 19, local officials said. However, the army and state police repealed the attack, and there were no human casualties. A search operation was launched for the attackers across the district. Media reports blamed the armed groups of indigenous Kuki tribal people, who are mostly Christians, for the attack as the houses of the Meitei Hindus were set on fire.
A Christian leader disagreed with the “misleading” reports and said “unknown miscreants” had “set on fire a closed Chri-stian school at the district headquarters on Oct. 18,” a day before the Kuki people attacked the police station and Meitei houses. “We do not know who is behind the violence,” he told on Oct. 21 on condition of anonymity due to security reasons. He said the attacks appeared to be an attempt to ”derail the peace initia-tive taken by the federal government.” “People in the state are fed up with violence and bloodshed. They want peace,” the Christian leader added. The sectarian clashes, which began on May 3 last year, have left about 230 dead, displaced over 60,000, mostly tribal Christian people, and destroyed over 360 churches and Chri-stian institutions. Among the 3.2 million people in the state, 41% are indigenous Kuki-Zo people, mostly Christians, and the influential and wealthy Meiteis Hindus account for 53 percent. The north-eastern state borders the civil war-hit Myanmar. The current violence began when the Kuki people objected to a government plan to grant tribal status to the Meitei Hindus, helping them access reservation benefits under India’s affirmation action policy. The Kuki people allege that the official tribal status will also allow the influential Meitei community to buy land in their indigenous areas, which curren-tly can be sold only to tribal people.

Police in the Indian state of Goa are on the hunt for a Hindu man who allegedly publicly disrespected St. Francis Xavier and disputed the saint’s title as protector of the state, leading to complaints from the state’s Christians, who deeply venerate St. Francis.
Catholic news outlet UCA News reported that Subhash Velingkar, a former state-unit chief of the powerful Hindu group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, publicly questioned the auth-enticity of the relics of St. Francis Xavier housed in the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Old Goa. The relics are only exposed for veneration every 10 years. The next period of exposition and veneration is due to start on Nov. 21 and end on Jan. 5, 2025.

India’s bishops recently launched a digital tool to help support the country’s hundreds of millions of migrants, hoping to address what one bishop calls the “serious concern” of migrant well-being. 
The digital portal was launched on Sept. 27 in Bangalore by the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) ahead of the Vatican’s 110th World Day of Migrants and Refugees on Sept. 29.

India’s leading industrialist, Gautam Adani, has taken over a well-known high school in western Maha-rashtra state that Carmelite nuns ran for over five decades. Adani Founda-tion, the charity arm of the billionaire with business interests from apples to aviation, took over the management of Mount Carmel Convent Senior Secondary School in Cement Nagar in Chandrapur district from the Congregation of the Mother of Carmel (CMC) in September, a CMC nun told on October 1. Since 1972, the CMC nuns have managed the school, owned by India’s leading cement maker, Associated Cement Company (ACC), which Adani Group acquired from Switzerland-based Holcim in 2022. The ACC built the school with its funds for Corporate Social Respon-sibility and entrusted the management to the nuns.

The Vatican has appointed Dr. Freya Francis (27), from Coimbatore, India, to the International Youth Advisory Body (IYAB). This appointment, announced on September 25, 2024, by the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, represents a signi-ficant move in the Church’s efforts to embrace diverse global perspectives. Dr. Freya belongs to the Jesus Youth Move-ment will represent India during her three-year term. A graduate in homeopathy, Dr. Freya is currently a unit doctor in a private hospital in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Raised in a devout Catholic family, her faith journey was shaped by her invol-vement with the Jesus Youth Movement. Starting with her campus prayer group, she steadily rose to leadership roles, honing her skills in working with diverse commu-nities and developing her compassionate approach to ministry. Today, she serves as the regional assistant coordinator for Tamil Nadu. Apart from her ministry work, Dr. Freya is also a passionate freestyle dancer, guitarist, and avid reader. She has been a member of her campus choir and enjoys playing table tennis in her leisure time. “She has a deep commit-ment to Catholic teachings and continu-ously strives to expand her knowledge. Her pro-life stance is admirable, and she is a strong advocate for the sanctity of human life. She has also contributed acti-vely to the Unbound healing ministry,” said Fr. Vignan Das, Associate Director of Communio and a fellow member of the Jesus Youth Movement. The IYAB, esta-blished by the Dicastery, includes 20 young people from various regions and faith backgrounds. They will focus on youth ministry and other pressing issues within the Church. Dr. Freya’s role will help strengthen the dialogue between the Church and its youth worldwide. This appointment highlights the Vatican’s commitment to youth engagement in ecclesiastical matters and recognizes the growing significance of Indian voices in global Catholic discussions. As the Church adapts to modern challenges, young advi-sors like Dr. Freya represent a forward-thinking approach to leadership and community involvement.
The Church in India congratulates Dr. Freya and wishes her continued success.

The Supreme Court has barred remarks made by the Allahabad High Court regard-ing religious conversions and their impact on the country’s demographics, deeming them inappropriate. The apex court’s September 27 decision came as it granted bail to Kailash, a Christian from Hamirpur in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The case dates back to December 2023 when Kaila-sh invited a group of about 20 people to a prayer meeting. Among them was Ramkali and her brother, who was strugg-ling with mental health challenges. Following the gather-ing, Ramkali’s brother went missing. While Kailash expre-ssed concern and searched for him, Ramkali remained un-fazed, explaining that her brother often wandered off and returned after a few days. By May 2023, when the brother had still not returned, religious extremists in the village pre-ssured Ramkali to file a com-plaint against Kailash, accusing him of her brother’s disappear-ance. The police had initially found no basis for the allega-tions and released Kailash, but they arrested him on May 21, 2023, under the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Conversion Act, allegedly under pressure from the radical groups. Kailash was accused of forcibly converting the atten-dees of the prayer meeting. In July, Kailash’s lawyers filed for Kailash’s bail, but the Allahabad High Court rejected the plea, citing concerns over rising religious conversions. Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal warned that “…if this process is allowed to continue, the majority population of this country would one day become a minority.” In a subsequent hearing on September 27, the Supreme Court granted bail to Kailash. It held that the general observations made by the High Court had no bearing on the facts of the present case and were, therefore, not required for the disposal of the case. The apex court also added that these remarks should not be cited in any future cases or proceedings in the High Court or any other court.

Church leaders have urged the communist-led government in a southern Indian state to clear doubts over the likely evi-ction of people, most of them Christians, in the eco-sensi-tive Western Ghats mountain range. The Kerala government did not take into consideration people’s concerns about the proposed declaration of areas within a kilometre of protected forest areas as eco-sensitive zones (ESZs) in the hilly and forested areas of Idukki and Wayanad districts, they said. Many Catholic dioceses and parishes are located in these districts, which are part of the Western Ghats. Nearly 3 milli-on people, mainly Christians, living in 121 villages fear they may be evicted if they end up being marked as ESZs. ”We are confused and the people are confused. Unless we pre-sent a correct picture, our villa-ges with human habitation will be declared ecologically sensi-tive areas and people will su-ffer,” said Fr Jins Karakkat, director of the media commi-ssion at the Idukki Diocese of the Eastern Rite Syro-Malabar Church. Church leaders alleg-ed that the government did not involve the public in identifying the ESZs as directed by the federal forest ministry in its official notification. Karakkat hinted at launching a public agitation if the government continued to be evasive and did not respond to the people’s concerns. “The government has not yet responded to the demand of the Church,” he told.
More than 50% (approx 20,000 sq km) of the total land area of Kerala, which is India’s most densely populated state, falls in the Western Ghats. The mountain range has witnessed ecological damage and erosion due to increasing human acti-vity over the past few decades.
An expert committee appointed by the Kerala go-vernment had recommended limiting the ESZs to 9,993.7 square kilometres, which included 9,107 sq. km of forest and 886.7 sq. km of non-forest areas. 
In recent years, heavy rainfalls and landslides have caused the loss of human life and property in the districts of Idukki and Wayanad.
India’s Supreme Court in its order on June 3, 2022, declared all areas within a kilometre of protected forest areas as ESZs and forbade construction of new permanent structures within them. This left the people living in those areas for generations with no other option but to face eviction from the ecologically sensitive zones.
The federal forest ministry has accepted the suggestion of the expert committee. According to media reports, Kerala is planning to reduce the extent of the ESZs further and may submit a new draft proposal to the federal forest ministry after it sought its suggestions and objection to the proposed ESZs within 60 days through a July 31 notification.