A Catholic priest who faced a police complaint for a social media post protesting recent anti-Christian violence in the Indian state of Manipur committed suicide on Sept. 13, with his body found hanging from a tree in a cemetery.
A spokesman for the Diocese of Sagar in India announced the death of Father Anil Francis in a statement to the press on Sept.15, saying, “We are extremely pained and sad over the death of Fr. Anil Fran-cis, who was known for his commitment to the works given to him and dedicated to the values preached by him.”
According to the statement, Francis’s death is under police investigation and the diocese is cooperating fully. It also noted that in a suicide note, Francis had requested that his body be cremated.
The suicide came shortly after Francis had posted an image to social media depicting a woman wrapped in the colors of the Indian flag being held by two men, with a mob behind them, with the text, “Wounded Manipur: 2 women paraded naked, gang-raped, not none arrested since two months. We are ashamed. When will peace prevail? Pray for Manipur.”
“We realize that Fr. AniI Francis was under tension and pressure over an FIR lodged against him over a post he had shared on Manipur violence on social media,” the diocese said in its statement, referring to the police complaint.

Christians in a southern Indian state have urged the provincial government to end discriminatory education policies that adversely impact Christian-run schools receiving state funds.
The Christian community runs around 6,000 of the estimated 8,403 schools in Tamil Nadu that receive government aid, and hence are referred to as “aided schools.”
“Most of them are in villages where the government is unable to provide education for want of infrastructure,” said Father Antonysamy Solomon, secretary of the education commission of Tamil Nadu Bishops Council (TNBC).Top of Form
He said the roughly 6,000 schools, which include close to 2,500 Catholic schools, have played a pioneering role in educating several generations in Tamil Nadu for more than a century.
“The government agreed to provide aid because of the community’s contributions. But it is discriminating against us and favoring only government schools now,” Father Solomon said.
The state government provides breakfast for students in primary schools run by it. Students passing out from the 37,211 government schools also benefit from a 7.50 percent special quota in admissions to higher education courses like medical and engineering.
A monthly stipend of 1,000 rupees (US$12) has been announced recently for female students from government schools to help them pursue higher education.

Hardline Hindu activists stormed a Christian school in central India, accusing it of disrespecting a Hindu god and demanding a police probe against its nun-principal.
The move “seems to be part of a well-orchestrated conspiracy to target our school,” said Sister Sarita Joseph, principal of the St Mary’s Convent School at Deori in Madhya Pradesh state’s Sagar district.
A mob gathered at the school gate on Sept. 26 to protest the alleged removal of a sketch of Hindu god Ganesh from the notice board.
Some of the protesters forced their way inside the office of the principal and began questioning her.
The school staff sought police help as the protesters continued sloganeering. They demanded action against the principal and the withdrawal of government recognition for the school.
The school is managed by the nuns of the Congregation of Jesus (CJ) in the Sagar diocese of the Eastern Rite Syro-Malabar Church.
The mob left the school campus only after the police assured them of a thorough probe.
“It is totally a false allegation,” Sister Joseph told UCA News on Sept. 28.
The nun said the police took statements from her and other staff members on the alleged removal of the Ganesh sketch.

Pope Francis has approved the establishment of the permanent diaconate in the Philippines.
In a letter dated 17 August 2023, the Vatican’s Secretariat of State informed Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, president of the Philippine Bishops’ Conference (CBCP), that the Holy Father has allowed the establishment of the permanent diaconate in the ecclesiastical circumscription of the country, as per the Church’s rules and documents.

Pope Francis on August 26 appointed Father Mathew Nellikunnel as the bishop of Gorakhpur diocese in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
The new bishop was vested with the insignia of the episcopal office by the cardinal and Bishop Thuruthimattam.
He is elder brother of Bishop John Nellikunnel of Idukki, Kerala.

The survivors of Odisha’s anti-Christian violence and their supporters have demanded the implementation of the Supreme Court’s 2016 order on compensation to the Kandhamal victims.
They demanded in a memorandum prepared by about 2,000 people who observed on August 31 the 15th Kandhamal Martyrs’ Day Baliguda, a town in Kandhamal, a district in the eastern Indian state of Odisha.

Sept 1, 2023: A delegation from Skopje in North Macedonia, the birthplace of Saint Mother Teresa visited Kolkata, the base of her charity works around the world. The delegation visited the Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity to pay their homage to the saint.

A private Mass was celebrated in a luxury hotel for United States President Joe Biden, a devout Catholic.
The US embassy in the Indian capital requested Father Nicholas Dias, secretary of the liturgy commission of the archdiocese of Delhi, to offer the private Mass with Biden.
Father Dias celebrated the Mass at 9 am on September 9 at Maurya Sheraton Hotel where the US president stayed during the G20 Summit.
President Biden sought divine blessings ahead of the Summit in the Indian capital.
A few Catholics also attended the Mass celebrated in the private room of the president.
President Biden reportedly wanted to receive the Holy Communion before the September 9-10 summit began.
The president also read the intercessory prayers. Father Dias and President Biden also shared about the Catholic faith.

Christians and their institutions are increasingly facing hatred being spread by the Hindutva fringe elements in the country, says Father Suresh Mathew, editor of Indian Currents weekly, published from New Delhi.
The Capuchin priest was addressing a seminar in connection with the annual general body meeting of the Association of Catholic Educational Institutions in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
More than 200 principals from various Catholic educational institutions in the two northern Indian states attended the Sept 6-7 program designed to stress how Catholic institutions should read the signs of times and act accordingly.
The event at St. Peter’s College, Agra, took a close look at the rising attacks on educational institutions, especially in northern India.
Talking on the topic “Public Relations and Crisis Management,” Father Mathew, through video presentations, threw light on several potential perils faced by the educational institutions run by Christians and suggested remedies to overcome them.
He stressed the need for public relations officers in every school to deal with the situation whenever the institution faces problems from the Hindutva forces. “The PRO should gather facts, assess situation and prepare appropriate information to offer to the media,” the priest added.
On many occasions, problems are created by the idiosyncrasies of the institutions, Father Mathew said and urged the institution heads to put their houses in order first.
Sharing this view, chief guest Keshav Chaudhary, Additional Commissioner of Police, said children should be taught how to combat injustice in society and be the voice of the voiceless.

Religion and nationality are inseparable for most people living in South and Southeast Asian nations, confirms a report of a survey Pew Research Center released on Sept. 12.
In Buddhist majority countries of Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Thailand, more than 90 % people believe religion and their national identity are linked, and being Buddhist is important to be part of their nation, said the report of the Pew survey conducted in 2022 in six countries in South and Southeast Asia.
In the same manner, almost all respondents in Muslim-majority Indonesia and Malaysia believe being Muslim is important to be truly Indonesian or Malaysian, the report said.
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The only exception was multi-religious Singapore, where 56 % respondents said living among people of different religions, ethnic groups and cultures makes their country a better place to live. However, a small percentage (4 %) said it makes their country a worse place to live.
In the three Buddhist-majority nations, more than 90 % of the people said Buddhism is “a religion one chooses to follow.”
The majority in these three nations (80 % and above) also said Buddhism is “a culture one is part of” and “a family tradition one should follow.” They also (more than 75 %) said Buddhism was “an ethnicity one is born into.”