From The States

Manipur: Jesuit lawyer suggests three-fold legal aid to victims

Jesuit lawyer Father Santhanam Arokiasamy on May 16 proposed a three-fold legal assistance to the victims of the recent violence in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur. Father Arokiasamy, who is the convener of the National Lawyers Forum of Priests and Religious (NLFRP), made the proposals in a letter addressed to the chief justice of […]

Knanaya priest denies permission, couple garlands before closed church

A Catholic couple exchanged marriage vows and garlanded each other in front of a closed church after the groom’s priest defied a court order and refused to issue a mandatory certificate. Had the Kottayam Knanaya archdiocese granted Justin John permission to marry Vijimol Shaji, he would have become the first member of the endogamous and […]

Faith comforts family of Indian Catholic killed by stray bullet in Sudan

An Indian Catholic killed by a stray bullet in Sudan in front of his wife and daughter on April 15 is finally home, with his remains returned to the southern Indian state of Kerala May 19 and laid to rest the next day. Albert Augustine, a former Indian soldier who had been working in private […]

121 churches of 15 denominations destroyed in Manipur violence

As normalcy has limped back to Manipur, Churches have taken stock of the damages they have suffered during the four-day mayhem that ravaged the northeastern Indian state. According to a list publi-shed by the Churachandpur District Christian Goodwill Church, as many as 121 churches and buildings belonging to 15 denominations were torched or destroyed in […]

Survivors of Manipur violence recount bloodcurdling stories

On May 2, a day before Manipur went up in flames, T. Khupminthang, took shelter in the house of his employer, a Meitei, along with his son and three others. The five Kuki tribals were residents of Churachandpur district, but worked in Imphal, capital of the northeastern Indian state. Two of them did not survive […]

Protect humans from wild animals: Cardinal Alencherry pleads

Cardinal George Alencherry, head of the Syro-Malabar Church has termed as “a shame” the increasing cases of wild animals killing humans in the southern Indian state of Kerala. “Incidents of wild animals entering villages and killing and injuring humans are on the rise,” laments the cardinal’s May 19 press statement that cited wild buffalos killing […]

10 people arrested on conversion charges in India

Police arrested 10 people under the stringent anti-conversion law after a raid on a Christian prayer gathering in a central Indian state. Some 70 Christians had gathered at a private residence in Kotwali in the Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh state on May 13 when a police team arrived and stopped their prayer meeting alleging […]

‘Hidden agendas’ behind ethnic conflict in Indian state

Divisive ideologies and agendas are the root cause of an ethnic conflict that has led to violence against Christians and attacks on churches in India’s northeastern state of Manipur, said Indian Archbishop Dominic Lumon of Imphal, the state’s capital city. “Hidden agendas and ideologies contrary to the constitutional and demo-cratic values often infiltrate into the […]

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

Goans oppose tourism project near 16th century basilica