A young man who resigned a job in a multinational firm to join a semi-nary has died after he accidentally fell into a river and drowned. Brother Noel Felix Thekkekkara was doing his regency in an estate of Kalyan diocese in Sawantawadi, a town in Maharashtra state’s Sindhudurg district when the tragedy occurred. He was 29.

A professional youth group of company secretaries and chartered accountants in Siliguri marked this year’s Teacher’s Day by honouring school principals and senior teachers. Among the educators honoured by Marwari Yuva Manch was Salesian Father C.M. Paul, a lecturer of Sesian College Siliguri, West Bengal. Recognition was handed over on Sept. 8 by Inspector General of Sashatra Seema Bal, North Bengal, Sudhir Kumar, at an event held in Hotel Surya Grand Siliguri. The plaque given to Father Paul reads, “‘Saman’ proudly presented to Fr. C. M. Paul, SDB, Vice Principal of Sciences, Salesian College, on Sept. 8; in recognition of your selfless contribution as an educator.” After completing postgraduate studies in Mass Communication and Journalism from Fordham University New York and Salesian University Rome, Father Paul has been a lecturer at institutions such as St. Anthony’s College Shillong, Calcutta University Journalism Department, as well as Assam Don Bosco University and Salesian College Sonada Darjeeling, where he founded Mass Communication and Journalism departments. His professional contributions include being a reporter for South Asia Religious News (1981-1989), Union of Catholic Asia News (1989-2012), and Matters India (2013), as well as being accredited to the Vatican Press Office (2007-2010). Father Paul was editor of The Herald weekly Calcutta (1989-1991) and director of Salesian News Agency Rome (1992-1995), as well as two terms president of national Catholic media institutions for radio, television, and cinema (1999 to 2004), as well as serving on Central Board Film Certification Kolkata (2006-8). All India Marwari Yuva Manch is one of the largest volunteer organisations of youth in India, with chapters in major cities. Its primary goal is to support young people in contributing to community and country irrespective of caste, colour, or creed. The Manch was founded as a non-profit voluntary youth organisation on October 10, 1977, at Guwahati, Assam.

On this teacher’s day, a school in Odisha, which is the lifeline of many students and a ray of hope for many teachers, Vidya Jyoti Girls High School, Kahupani, a tribal hamlet in the Kutra Block of Sundargarh district, was established in 1982. The hamlet is some 20 km from the nearest town. Transport and communication facilities are remote in this area. Basked in the natural beauty, Kahupani has both traditional folks and migrating youth.The school’s inception was the locals’ dream, as their children could not get admission in schools in the city. Bishop Alphonse Bilung of Rourkela supported the local people in realising their dreams. In 1982, the Holy Spirit Sisters arrived in Kahupani and got involved in the school. It began as Janta School, hoping for the government’s aid in further development. However, to keep up the standard of education, the Catholic Sabha was entrusted with the school management. The school began to receive full grant aid in 1989. The goodwill didn’t last long. Soon, the school management was caught in a power struggle. The tussle among the staff led to the ceasing of grants-in-aid in 1995. That was a big blow for the school. Many staff members sought transfers and went away. But the generosity of a few teachers upheld the school. They decided to work for the students. Some worked for a meagre 400 rupees a month. But they had faith that the storms would clear one day and they would receive their rightful salaries.Their faith didn’t go in vain. After two decades in 2017, they received the grand-in-aid scale salary again. Within a couple of years, some of them retired. Their dedication to the cause was commendable. They literally did their duty without expecting the return.Sister Aloysia Lugun captained the school during those difficult years. It took a long legal battle to restore the grants in aid. Even though many bureaus turned their files down, she kept trying. A year before her retirement, the much-awaited salary issues were rectified. She stepped down with the feeling of doing justice to the school and her faithful colleagues. The school has not only contributed to nation-building but also provided a good number of vocations to the church. Nearly 100 of its alumni now serve as missionaries all over the world. The decisions of the locals, the bishop, and the dedicated teachers had helped them. Nothing much has changed even after four decades. As part of the T5 initiative of the previous government, the school has received minimum facelift with smart boards and a few infrastructural additions. The school now functions with minimum staff and a repeated history—a few get full salary, while others teach with the hope that one day their hard work will be paid. On Teachers Day, the country honours teachers for their dedicated service and their role in nation-building. They play the primary role in moulding socially responsible citizens. However, the teachers’ day is not the same for every teacher, even if their mission is similar. The differences such as government, private, aided, unaided, and semi-aided schools make a huge impact on the quality and productivity of the students and the teachers.

A Hindu group’s plan to campaign against cow slaughter in India’s Christian-majority Nagaland has invited criticism from several quarters, including the state’s ruling alliance. National-level Hindu leaders, such as Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Maharaj of Jyotirmath, are scheduled to arrive for the Gau Dhwaj Yatra (cow protection march) set for Sept. 28. However, the state’s political parties say such a march would go against the sentiments of the 1.97 million people in the state, where the majority—88 percent—are Christians. A statement from the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), which leads the state’s ruling alliance, said the “event would go against the sentiment of the majority of people.” m The march could disrupt the socio-religious harmony in the state, the statement added. Alliance partner, the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urged the organisers “to reconsider the proposal.” The cow is a revered animal under Hinduism, and 20 of 28 Indian states have laws banning or regulating cow slaughter. The NDPP statement said the Nagaland legislature had already decided not to ban cow slaughter. The party observed that Nagaland became a state in 1963 under constitutional provisions safeguarding the social practices of its people, called the Nagas. In a statement, BJP Nagaland president Benjamin Yepthomi said the government of Nagaland should uphold the special provisions of the constitution. Two state legislators belonging to the Baptist Church also opposed the proposed event. Kuzholuzo Azo Nienu of the Nagaland People’s Front (NPF) expressed “shock” at the announcement of such an event in Nagaland, where beef is a staple for most Naga people. The march would be “tantamount to infringement on freedom of individual rights to choice of food.” In 2017, the NPF organised a “beef festival” in the state capital, Kohima, to protest the move to ban cow slaughter. Lawmaker Imkong L. Imchen from the BJP said the proposed march will not aid the cause of the right-wing party in Nagaland. “Beef is the most delicious food for the Nagas,” he told UCA News. As many as 20 Indian states have laws regulating the act of slaughtering cows. Leaders of religious minorities, such as Christians and Muslims, say cow vigilante groups have stepped up violence since Modi came to power in 2014.

An Indian prelate says his diocese has foiled an attempt by the student wing of the country’s ruling party to install a Hindu deity’s statue in a church-run college with police help. Members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (All India Students’ Council), affiliated to the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, insisted on installing Lord Ganesh’s statue at St. Mary’s P.G. College in Sagar diocese, in Madhya Pradesh state, on Sept. 7 the birthday of the elephant-headed deity. “It is true right-wing activists wanted to install the statue of Lord Ganesh, but we did not permit it because it is not our practice,” Bishop James Athikalam of Sagar told UCA News on Sept. 9. It is wrong on the part of right-wing Hindu groups and students “to force their religious practices on minority education institutions,” said Bishop Athikalam, citing India’s constitution. “We function as per the provisions of the law,” Athikalam added. Along with Muslims, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, and Parsees, Christians are grouped as a minority, and the constitution gives them freedom to practice and propagate their religion in their educational institutions. “We are not bound to follow religious practices of other religions on our campus,” Athikalam said. “It does not mean that we are against other religions.” We summoned the police against “a totally illegal act on our campus,” and they discouraged the students, the prelate said. As a compromise, the students were allowed to install the statue outside the campus. Hindus believe worshipping Lord Ganesh will help them overcome obstacles. The student wing of the BJP insisted on installing the statue in the more than two-decade-old Catholic college as the majority of students are Hindus. Its leader, Shalini Verma, told the media that “close to 90 percent of the students in the college are Hindus, and it is wrong to hurt their religious sentiments by denying permission to install the idol of Lord Ganesh.” We are grateful to the police for their support, the prelate said, adding we don’t “disrespect any religion.” Church-run educational institutions have been facing harassment from the ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh, which has enacted a sweeping anti-conversion law, according to church leaders. On July 27, members of the All India Students’ Council forced their way into St. Peter Higher Secondary School in Jhabua diocese and demanded the removal of statues of St. Peter and Mother Mary and wanted portraits of Goddess Saraswati in their places. The ruling party’s student wing also created problems at St. Thomas Higher Secondary School in Mansuar district in the same diocese on June 27. A few days before, they entered the premises of Vandana Convent School under the Sagar diocese and sought action against the nun principal for allegedly hurting religious sentiments. Christians make up a mere 0.27 percent of 72 million people in Madhya Pradesh, most of them Hindus. Most Christians are from indigenous and lower-caste communities, which make up about 30 percent of the population of Madhya Pradesh.

Gloom has spread over the archdiocese of Tellicherry in Kerala after one of its young priests died of electrocution on August 15. Father Mathew (Shince) Kudilil was dismantling a pole erected to hoist the national flag in the morning as part of the Independence Day celebration in the premises of Infant Jesus Church at Mulleria in Kerala’s Kasaragod district. After the mandatory lowering of the flag at sunset, the 29-year-old priest was removing the pole when it accidentally touched a high-tension electrical line passing near the church premises. He was declared brought dead at a hospital in Mulleria, a village on the Kerala-Karnataka border and some 70 km south of Mangalore. Father Kudilil was ordained a priest three years ago. He came to Mulleria on May 14, 2023. He had earlier served as the assistant vicar at St George Church, Chempanthotty in Kannur district from February 6, 2021, to January 25, 2022. He was the assistant vicar of St Sebastian’s Church Nellickampoil, also in Kannur, until February 3, 2023. He was in Fathima Matha Church, Kudiyanmala, Kannur, for three months.

Pope Francis on August 15 appointed Monsignor Dennis Kuruppassery as the auxiliary bishop of Kannur that covers Kerala’s northern districts of Kannur and Kasaragod. The 57-year-old priest is currently the counsellor at the Nunciature in Malta. Monsignor Kuruppassery was born on August 4, 1967, in Palliport in the Kottapuram diocese. He studied philosophy and theology at the St. Joseph Pontifical Seminary in Alwaye, Kerala. He has a degree in canon law. He was ordained a priest on December 23, 1991, for the Kottapuram diocese. He has held the following positions: Assistant Parish Priest of St Francis of Assisi, Thuruthipuram (1991-1993) and of St Sebastian’s, Gothuruth (1994-1995), and Parish Priest of St Anthony’s, Pullot (1996-1997) in the Diocese of Kottapuram. He entered the Diplomatic Service of the Holy See on July 1, 2001, and worked in the Papal Representations in Burundi (2001-2004), Egypt (2004-2007), Thailand (2007-2010), Czech Republic (2010-2013 ), Gabon (2013-2016) and United States of America (2016-2021).

The Mangaluru unit of the Prison Ministry India celebrated its silver jubilee by providing scholarships to children of prisoners. As many as 25 students from Mangaluru, Bengaluru, Shivamogga, Ballari and Kalaburagi were given a cheque for 10,000 rupees each to support their studies. “A large number of people are suffering in prison due to lack of money or influence to get even a bail,” said Bishop Peter Paul Saldanha of Mangalore, who lauded the ministry’s volunteers for instilling hope among prisoners and their families. Elaborating the silver jubilee theme “You are not alone,” the bishop said the prison ministry has been a ray of hope for many prisoners. He also highlighted that the prison can be a place where people can hope for a new vision of life. The celebrations began with Mass presided by Bishop Saldanha and assisted by Bishop Francis Serrao of Shimoga and co-celebrated by Father Francis Kodiyan, the founder of the ministry and past directors. Tressie Menezes, coordinator of PMI Mangaluru, presented an audio-visual report on the movement’s journey in Mangaluru starting in September 1999. She said the PMI Mangaluru unit could rehabilitate several prisoners after their release. Sister Therese Mascarenhas, PMI coordinator for Karnataka, spoke about the challenges faced by the team as several prisons put restrictions on prison ministry.In his speech, Father Kodiyan compared the PMI Mangaluru unit volunteers to Irish Catholics, who excelled in all the fields they encountered. Terming the Mangalureans as intelligent and resourceful, he called upon the volunteers not to limit their potential to Mangaluru alone, but to reach out the PMI community all over the nation. Mangaluru prison superintendent B T Obaleshappa and donor Pascal Monteiro were felicitated on the occasion.

A Protestant bishop, a Catholic priest and 10 other management members of seven Christian-run schools in a central Indian state have secured bail after spending close to three months in jail for allegedly charging excessive tuition fees. India’s top court granted bail to Father Abraham Thazhathedathu of the Jabalpur diocese, Bishop Ajay Umesh Kumar James of the Church of North India (CNI), and others on Aug. 20. They appealed to the Supreme Court after the Madhya Pradesh High Court in central India turned down their pleas. “We are happy that the top court has granted bail to our priest and others who are accused in a fabricated case,” vicar-general of Jabalpur diocese Father Davis George said. The attorney for the state government vehemently opposed their bail pleas before a division bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and N Kotiswar Singh, saying they might tamper with evidence. The lawyers for the applicants, however, countered by saying, the accused were engaged in educational activities and did nothing illegal. Police in Madhya Pradesh arrested 22 people on May 27, including 13 management members and staff from seven Christian-run schools in Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh state, ruled by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party.
They were accused of charging students excessive fees and selling textbooks at exorbitant prices. Cases have been registered against 51 people from 11 private schools and book publishers. A female principal from a Christian school secured bail earlier while other Christian-run school staff members were detained. “We are relieved,” George told UCA News on Aug. 20. The police action against the Christian schools was “totally illegal” with “malicious intent,” he added. The Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Aug. 13 suspended an education department order on July 9 telling the Christian schools to reimburse nearly US$5 million they allegedly collected in excessive fees from students in the past six years. The court will hear the case on Aug. 25 after the education department filed its reply. Schools in Madhya Pradesh are allowed an annual fee hike of up to 10 percent. Beyond that, the district collector’s nod is required, while a fee hike exceeding 15 percent has to be sanctioned by a state-level panel. “We never charged exorbitant fees,” said George. “The schools were ordered to reimburse tuition fees even for the Covid-19 period when we did not charge any fees,” the priest said. Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of tribal people in India. Christian schools are the most sought-after in Jabalpur, known as the cultural capital of Madhya Pradesh. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is against missionary activities that benefit tribal people and other poor sections of society, said a Church official. Church leaders have accused the right-wing state government of unleashing targeted attacks on Church-run institutions, including schools, hostels, and orphanages. Cases are registered against Church officials, including a retired Catholic bishop, priests, and nuns, under a stringent anti-conversion law in the state that bans religious conversion. The Church runs many educational institutions that benefit tribal people in the state, who constitute more than 21 percent of Madhya Pradesh’s 72 million people, and Christians make up a mere 0.27 percent.

A leading Church official in the eastern Indian state of Odisha has dismissed rumors that there might be communal violence in the state’s Kandhamal district as Hindus gear up to celebrate Janmashtami, or the birth of the Hindu Lord Krishna, on Aug. 26.
Kandhamal district witnessed the worst ever anti-Christian violence in the South Asian nation on this day 16 years ago. “Just as the Hindu festival is approaching, vested interest people are spreading false messages that Kandhamal might witness more communal violence,” said Father Dibakar Porichha, chancellor of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar archdiocese that covers Kandhamal. “It is false news and people should not believe it,” Porichha told. We have met Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, local politicians, and police officials and have alerted them to the rumor, he added. Since July, Odisha (formerly Orissa) has been headed by a government from the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP and its sister organizations like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (world Hindu council) are against missionary activities of the Church among India’s indigenous people, according to Church leaders. “They [the government] have assured us help,” Porichha said. Kandhamal witnessed anti-Christian riots on Aug. 26, 2008, as Hindus celebrated Janmashtami (the birthday of Lord Ram), after a Hindu leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati was shot dead on Aug. 23 of that year allegedly by outlawed Maoists who have a strong following among tribal people in the mineral-rich Indian state. Soon after the murder, four ethnic Christians, including an illiterate 13-year-old boy, were picked up by Hindu activists and were accused of killing the Hindu monk. They termed the murder a “Christian conspiracy.” The riots that lasted for seven weeks killed some 100 people, rendered 56,000 homeless, and destroyed 6,000 houses and 300 churches. “There is some kind of uneasiness among Christians in the region whenever Janmashtami approaches,” said Christian leader Pratima Minj, who hails from a tribal community in Odisha. This time, they are worried as the state is headed by the pro-Hindu party, she noted. Cuttack-Bhubaneswar archdiocese in a statement on Aug. 20 asked people to desist from spreading rumors. “We commend the proactive steps taken by the district administration of Kandhamal and the government of Odisha,” it said. As part of this, peace-building meetings have been held across Kandhamal district with the participation of religious leaders, including priests and pastors. On Oct. 2 last year, the Vatican Dicastery for the Causes of Saints issued “no objection” to initiate the beatification process for the Servant of God Kanteeswar Digal and companions who are called the Martyrs of Kandhamal. They were killed during the riots. The total population of Odisha is 41 million and tribal people constitute its 22.85 percent.