From The States

Indian court jails first Christians under anti-conversion law

In a first in India, a court has jailed a Christian couple for five years for attempting to convert people in a northern state, considered a hotbed of anti-Christian activities. A special court in Uttar Pradesh’s Ambedkar Nagar district, which deals with cri-mes against socially poor castes, convicted Pastor Jose Pappa-chan and his wife, Sheeja […]

Fire destroys church in northeast India amid hostility

A fire has burnt down a village Church in India’s north-eastern Assam state amid right-wing Hindu group’s campaigns against Christian missionaries, but police are yet to confirm if it was an arson attack or an accident. Tezpur diocesan Father Ambrose Musahary told that the church of his St. Teresa parish in Jhakar Gao village had […]

Bible course transforms faith life in Goa archdiocese

Bible study classes are transforming people’s lives besides deepening their understanding of the Scri-ptures, say the graduates of this year’s Bible course conducted by the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman. “Little did I know that it would change my daily walk with Christ. It was one of the best decisions we ever made and it […]

The Church’s commitment to fostering ethical values among India’s young

In our rapidly evolving world, the Church’s role in nurturing ethical values among young people is more crucial than ever. In India, various Catholic religious orders, notably the Jesuits, Salesians of Don Bosco, and the Holy Cross Fathers have establi-shed numerous youth programs and educational initiatives aimed at shaping the moral character of the next […]

BEC animators undergo media training at Bandel pilgrim center

Basic Ecclesial Community (BEC) animators from eastern India are atte-nding a media training to strengthen their groups in parishes. As many as 24 representatives from 13 eastern India dioceses are attending the January 27-31 program at Bandel Basilica Retreat Centre, about 40 km from north of Kolkata. Media has central place in the lives of […]

Indian Catholic school denies forcing girls to go home shirtless

Catholic officials in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand have accused the media of trying to tarnish Church-run institutions after a school was accused of forcing about 80 teenage girls to return home in their blazers without shirts. Media reports accused Carmel School in Digwadih city, Dhanbad district, of confiscating the shirts of the tenth-grade […]

Temporary truce in Indian Church’s troubled archdiocese

Catholic priests in a troubled Indian Church archdiocese have called off a four-day protest after an assurance of dialogue to resolve their demands amid a raging decades-old liturgy dispute on the rubrics of Mass. The temporary truce within the Eastern rite Syro-Malabar Church, based in southern Kerala state, was reached on Jan. 13. The protesting priests […]

Christian activists seek govt assurance on Bhopal waste disposal

Christian leaders in central Indian Madhya Pradesh state have urged the government to dispel fears among people before disposing of hazardous waste from the four-decades-old Bhopal industrial disaster. The appeal was made after two people set themselves on fire on Jan. 3 in protests. Protests erupted after authorities moved hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste from the […]

Salesians elect Maltese priest Fabio Attard as Don Bosco’s 11th successor

Pope Francis does not accept Cardinal Koch’s resignation: could continue at least until anniversary of Council of Nicea