From The States

Catholic religious in Odisha urged to promote unity, cooperation

The Odisha unit of the Conference of Religious India (CRI) that met April 8 heard their national secretary stressing the importance of dialogue with lay collaborators, integrated prayer life, and formation programs that are relevant to today’s challenges. “If our preferential option for the poor remains only in our preaching and not in our practice, […]

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

Threatened with eviction from their homes, some 600 families, mo-stly Catholics, have vowed to conti-nue a 16-month-old hunger strike in Kerala state, in southern India. The protesters resolved to continue their fight after a court last week stopped a government-appointed commission tasked with finding ways to protect their land rights, their leaders said. The court […]

Goans oppose tourism project near 16th century basilica

About 700 people, mostly Catho-lics, marched through Old Goa, the colonial-era Portuguese capital, to protest a government plan for a tourism project near the Bom Jesus Basilica, the 16th-century church that houses the relics of Saint Francis Xavier. Environmentalists and resi-dents of Old Goa joined the protest at the popular pilgrimage site on Mar. 23 […]

Protest-leading Indian bishop faces forest trespassing charges

An 88-year-old Catholic bishop and 23 others are facing legal action in southern Indian Kerala state for entering a restricted forest after they led a march demanding the reopening of a blocked public road. Kerala State Forest Department filed charges against retired Bishop George Punnakottil of Kothamangalam and others, including elected representatives, for violating forest […]

Indian court drops contempt charges against 5 Salesian priests

A court in northeastern India has dropped contempt of court charges leveled at five Salesian priests after they submitted a written apology. The priests in Meghalaya state were facing charges after they allegedly demolished a school building owned by their Salesian congregation without the court’s say so. However, after having apologized, the state High Court […]

Media, govt blamed for anti-Christian campaign in Indian state

A six-member team that studied reasons for increased hostility toward Christians in an eastern Indian district have blamed the media and a new government for causing the problem. “A few local daily newspapers played a villainous role in escalating the hate campaign against Christians,” the team said in a March 15 report after touring Balasore […]

Thieves target Catholic Church in eastern India

Thieves have ransacked and desecrated a Catholic Church in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, stealing the tabernacle containing the Holy Eucharist and money from the donation box, sources confirmed. The incident targeting the Holy Family Church in Sambalpur diocese, about 390 kilometres south of the state capital Bhubaneswar, took place on the night of […]

Indian Church leaders slam Hindu seer’s ‘conversion’ charge

Church leaders and a Christian law-maker have slammed a popular Hindu spiritual leader for accusing Christian school teachers in western India’s Gujarat state of converting students to Christianity. Morari Bapu claimed that 75% of govern-ment school teachers in Gujarati’s tribal-dominated Tapi district are Christians and “are actively involved in converting students to Christianity.” The spiritual […]

Indian bishops slam terror attack on tourists in India’s Kashmir

No action taken against police who assaulted Catholic priests in India