From The States

Faculty of Medical Sciences in Warangal: Fr. Colombo’s dream comes true

Fourteen years after his death, Fr. Augustus Colombo’s dream of a great university of medical sciences among the last in Warangal, in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, becomes a reality. This afternoon during a Mass presided over by the apostolic nuncio to India Msgr. Leopoldo Girelli, along with Indian Cardinals Oswald Gracias, archbishop of […]

Policies of ‘ethnocide’ must end, including in China

Lately, my attention was drawn to news from Australia in June that reported a ceremony taking place in Queensland to celebrate the renaming of Fraser Island — a World Heritage-listed island that lies just off the east coast — as K’gari, the original name used by the Butchulla people. This recognition and honouring of the […]

Clergy abuse ‘swept under the carpet’ in Indian Church

On June 1, the Vatican accepted the resignation of Indian Bishop Franco Mula-kkal, almost five years after police arrested him on charges of raping a nun. The Vatican “requested” his resignation, said a statement from the apostolic nunciature in India, adding that this action should not be seen as a “dis-ciplinary measure imposed up-on” the […]

Mumbai Christians win fight for burial grounds

The top court in India’s commercial capital Mumbai (formerly Bombay) has restrained a suburban civic body from converting designated burial grounds for other purposes. The Bombay High Court in western Maharashtra state on July 19 asked the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) “not to use the land designated as a burial ground in the city development […]

Indonesian priest faces ‘smear campaign’ over power row

Pro-government media outlets in Indonesia have accused an activist priest of turning local villagers against a state-sponsored geothermal project in Christian-majority Flores Island, which the priest denounced as “fabricated.” Online portal Infopertama.com published a report on July 25 that alleged Divine Word priest, Father Simon Suban Tukan, has been behind protests by villagers against the […]

Elderly Indian nuns get dismal healthcare: survey

The majority of Catholic nuns in India struggle to provide healthcare to their elderly and infirm members because of logistical and financial challenges, says a new survey report. Some 44% of 190 religious congregations do not have any care facility for elderly and infirm members, found the survey by the Centre for Applied Research in […]

Catholic Church is most credible institution in Nicaragua, CID Gallup poll finds

A new survey commissioned by the Nicaraguan media outlet Confidencial and conducted by market researcher CID Gallup of Costa Rica revealed that the Catholic Church is the most credible institution in Nicaragua despite the harsh persecution to which it has been subjected for some years by the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife, […]

First Indian elected to lead Maria Bambina sisters

Sister Venita Fernandes has become the first Indian to head the Sisters of Charity of the Saints Bartolomea Capitanio and Vincenza Gerosa, an international Catholic religious congregation based in Italy. Sister Fernandes, a native of Balli-Fatorpa in the western Indian state of Goa, was elected at the congregation’s 28th general chapter that was held May […]

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

Goans oppose tourism project near 16th century basilica