From The States

Prelate who took middle path in Bangalore liturgy dispute dies

Archbishop Emeritus Ignatius Paul Pinto of Bangalore, a renowned liturgist who found a middle path to solve the language controversy in the archdiocese, died February 8. He was 98.

The ball is in the court of Rajasthan’s Congress government

A four-century-old chapel in western India dating back to the Portuguese colonial era faces a threat of demolition as the administration aims to acquire land to turn it into a football stadium, local Catholics say. Catholic leaders say the chapel of Our Lady Of Remedies in Daman faces threat due to a controversial beautification drive […]

Evangelical church torched in Madhya Pradesh

Unidentified persons have set fire to a Protestant church in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Police have launched a probe against those behind the burning of the Evangelical Lutheran church under Kesla police station in Narmadapuram district. People came to know about the incident only on February 12 morning when they went the […]

Indian states asked to report on Christian persecution

India’s top court has directed seven state governments to present details of the action taken by their law enforcement agencies in cases of alleged attacks against Christians and their institutions. A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud on Feb. 6 ordered the state of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, […]

India arrests alleged illegal immigration agents over family who froze to death on US border

Three alleged black-market immigration agents have been arrested in western India in connection with the case of an Indian family who froze to death on the United States’ border with Canada last year, police said Wednesday. Deputy Commissioner Chaitanya Mandlik with Ahmedabad Police’s crime branch named the suspects as Yogesh Patel, Bhavesh Patel, and Dashrath […]

Priests, activists welcome justice for long-suffering Papuans

Rights activists in Indonesia’s restive, Christian-majority Papua province have hailed life-term imprisonment for an ex-soldier accused of killing four Papuans. The sentence is the toughest against a member of the security forces long accused of gross human rights violations in the conflict-torn region. Catholic priest and rights campaigner Father John Djonga said the verdict “signals […]

Syro-Malabar Melbourne diocese gets a new bishop

Pope Francis has appointed Father John Panamthottathil of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI) congregation as the new bishop of St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Diocese of Melbourne, Australia. The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the eparchy of Saint Thomas the Apostle of Melbourne, Australia, presented by Bishop Bosco Puthur, who completed […]

Priest, nun die in separate accidents

A 73-year-old Dominican nun and a 36-year-old diocesan priest have died in tragic accidents at two different pa-rts of India. Father Melvin Abraham Pallithazhathu of Bijnor diocese died January 19 when his vehicle fell into a gorge of 500 feet deep at Joshimath in the Chamoli district of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. He […]

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

Goans oppose tourism project near 16th century basilica