The top court in southern Indian Kerala state has closed a case involving a Catholic school accused of barring a Muslim student from wearing a hijab, after the student’s counsel informed the court that she no longer wished to continue her studies there. Justice V. G. Arun of the Kerala High Court accepted the submission from the girl’s lawyer that she “was not willing to pursue the case as she had made up her mind to leave the school.” School principal Sister Helena Alby of St. Rita’s Public School in Palluruthy, Ernakulam district, welcomed the ruling, saying, “Our stand is vindicated. We were praying for justice.”

The school maintains a strict uniform policy that bars religious attire, and officials said the student’s parents had agreed to the rule at the time of admission in June, Sr Helena Alby said.  She said the parents also give a written undertaking to comply with the school’s codes, including its uniform policy. However, the student reportedly came to school three times in early October wearing a hijab despite repeated reminders to follow the dress code. The issue escalated after local groups, mostly Muslims, entered the campus on Oct. 10, accusing the school of discrimination.

Two days later, the state’s Left Democratic Front government directed the school to permit the student to wear the hijab, a move the school said exceeded the government’s authority since the school is affiliated with the federally administered Central Board of Secondary Education. The court did not examine the merits of the case after the student’s withdrawal, effectively closing the dispute. Political observers said the hijab row may have been politically motivated ahead of next year’s state assembly elections.

Clad in her religious habit and barefoot on the track, Sister Sabina Joseph stunned spectators at the Kerala State Masters Athletics Meet by sprinting past hurdles and competitors. The first-place finish of the member of the Sisters of the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the 55-plus category on October 22 marked a triumphant return to the sport—decades after her last race.

“I wanted to compete one last time before retiring,” said the 56-year-old native of Ennapara village in Kerala’s Kasaragod district, who will step down next March from her role as a physical education teacher in a Upper Primary School at Dwarka in Wayanad district. “This race was my farewell to the track.” Kerala’s Education Minister V Sivankutty commended Sister Sabina Joseph’s achievement, calling it a symbol of willpower. He said that Sister Sabina’s win shows that age and circumstances are no barriers to achieving goals. He described her dedication as an inspiration to both her students and the public. A former national-level hurdler in her teens, Sister Sabina first made headlines while in ninth grade, later representing her university in intercollegiate meets. Though she shifted focus to teaching after moving to Wayanad in 1993, her athletic spirit never waned.The crowd erupted in cheers as she crossed the finish line. Her performance reminded many of the quiet power of perseverance.

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Father Antony Kattiparambil as the new bishop of Cochin in Kerala. The announcement was made on October 25. Fifty-five-year-old Father Kattiparambil is currently serving as the judicial vicar of the diocese of Cochin. The bishop-elect was born on October 14, 1970, in Mundamveli, as the youngest of seven children of the late Jacob and the late Treesa.

He completed his schooling at St. Louis School, Mundamveli, and his pre-degree course at Aquinas College, Edacochin. He holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Kerala University and a Bachelor of Philosophy from St. Joseph Pontifical Seminary, Alwaye. The bishop-elect began his priestly formation in 1986 at Mount Carmel Petit Seminary, Fort Cochin, and completed his minor seminary studies in 1990. He pursued philosophical studies at St. Joseph Pontifical Seminary, Alwaye (1990–1993), and later moved to Rome for theological formation at the Collegio Urbano (1993–1998). He completed his theological studies at the Università Urbaniana, Rome (1993–1996), and was ordained a priest on August 15, 1998 by Bishop Joseph Kureethara. He also earned a Licentiate in Biblical Theology from the Università Urbaniana (1996–1998) and a Licentiate in Canon Law from the same university (2013–2016). The Diocese of Cochin has 182,324 Catholics, 134 diocesan priests, 116 religious priests, 545 religious sisters, and 78 parishes.

Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão presented the book, “A Church on a Journey: The Archdiocese of Goa and its Governors” by Fr. Joaquim Loiola Pereira on 13 October, at St Joseph Vaz Spiritual Renewal Centre, Old Goa. Published by New Age Printers, the book chronicles five centuries of the Archdiocese’s history. The launch featured reflections, hymns, and a call to preserve the Church’s legacy. Cardinal Ferrão actively praised the book, stating, “a labour of love” and “a narrative of faith, leadership, and community that has journeyed for over five centuries.” He commended Fr. Pereira’s “discretion, grace, and quiet faithfulness” over three decades, noting that the book captures “the spirit of the times and the character of the bishops who shepherded the faithful through peace, growth, and transformation.” He highlighted their roles as builders, reformers, and visionaries.

Around 40 nuns engaged in fighting human trafficking in India spent three days at a Church media institute learning various forms of media that they could use in their mission. The October 3-5 workshop aimed to equip the AMRAT (Asian Movement of Women Religious against Human Trafficking) members with media knowledge so that they can report crimes against women and children, including trafficking, to the authorities, said Holy Cross Sister Regina Rozario, the project coordinator in the movement’s national team.

The AMRAT is part of “Talitha Kum” (“Little girl, I say to you, get up”), the international network of consecrated life against trafficking in persons. The October 3-5 training that focused on digital storytelling and cyber safety was conducted at the Media College of NISCORT (National Institute of Social Communication, Research and Training) managed by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, at Vaishali, on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border. The participants came from various women congregations that serve in the regions of Bihar, Delhi, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, North East, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.

In the last week of August, floodwaters swept through parts of India’s mountainous Jammu and Kashmir region with unprecedented, unimaginable force. In Hindu-majority Jammu, villages like Mandal, Akalpur, Akhnoor, Bari Brahmana, and Samba, families watched helplessly as homes were damaged, food stocks ruined, and entire neighbourhoods submerged. 

Within hours, hundreds of people were forced to abandon everything and take shelter wherever they could find space. By the time the waters began to recede, at least 165 families had lost their homes and belongings. Hunger and fear gripped the survivors.

The difficulties faced by flood-affected people prompted the Catholic Social Service Society (CSSS) of Jammu to step forward. With the support of Caritas India, the Church agency launched emergency relief efforts on Aug. 31, barely three days after the floods struck. The team was led by Father Senoj Thomas and included a small group of staff and a dozen volunteers who quickly mobilized to reach families before conditions worsened. Food was the most urgent need for victims as many spent days with little food. Food ration kits came to them as a lifeline.

Each family received rice, wheat flour, cooking oil, salt, sugar, pulses, spices, biscuits, and even a packet of Nutri, a nutritional supplement that many mothers use to prepare meals for children. These kits contained enough items for families to live on for two weeks, giving them enough time to recover and rebuild some stability after the chaos of the floods. The CSSS carefully reached out to the affected family and ensured they were treated with dignity throughout the process. Lists were prepared in advance, names were called, and distribution happened in an orderly way.

At the start of the Hindu holy month of Shravan in late July this year, banners appeared in parts of Goa declaring that “Goa bans beef” for the entire month. The order issued by a Hindu group had no official sanction, yet it carried weight.

Shravan, dedicated to Lord Shiva, is traditionally a period of fasting and abstinence for devout Hindus. Many refrain from meat altogether, and beef — considered taboo by orthodox Hindus — is especially sensitive. This time, the observance took on a sharper edge. The self-styled “gau rakshaks,” or cow protectors, began conducting extrajudicial checks on cattle and beef transporters. Their vigilance led to a sudden shortage of beef across the state.

Since 2022, when the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) returned to power with a coalition government, such shortages have become more frequent. In December 2024, ahead of Christmas, beef traders went on strike after repeated attacks by cow vigilantes. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, a loyalist of the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS or National Volunteers Corps), has been outspoken in his endorsement of right-wing Hindu groups.

“Earlier, people used to come to Goa for the sun, sand, and sea,” he said at an event organized by the Goa-based Sanatan Sanstha, which backs the BJP’s idea of a Hindu Rashtra. “Now they visit Goa’s beautiful temples, culture, and villages. This is Goa’s culture.” Sawant added that the state should not remain a “bhoga bhoomi (land of enjoyment)” but become a “yoga bhoomi (land of yoga).”

Beneath Goa’s postcard-perfect beaches, a deeper contest is unfolding — but that is not about whether Goa should retain any Christian identity.

More than 2,000 people have protested against the recently passed Rajasthan Religious Conversion Bill, 2025. The protesters, who gathered at Shaheed Smarak (Martyr Memorial) Park in the state capital of Jaipur on October 5, urged the governor not to sign the bill the Rajasthan assembly passed on September 9.

They also asked the chief minister to stop criminalizing prayer meetings and to take action against hate campaigns targeting Christians, indiatomorrow.net reported October 6. The bill reportedly aims to prevent religious conversions using force, fraud, allurement or coercion, punishable with steep penalties, including life imprisonment. Those returning to their “ancestral religion” have been exempted from the law.

The protesters came together under the banner of the Coordination Against the Religious Conversion Bill, 2025. More than 20 organizations, including the Jaipur Christian Fellowship and Rajasthan Christian Alliance, participated. They resolved that minority communities would continue their state-wide protest until the bill is withdrawn. The central slogan of the gathering was: “Honourable Governor, please refuse to sign this unconstitutional bill and refer it to the President!”

Plans were announced for state-wide rallies, meetings, and signature campaigns in every district of the northwestern Indian state against the bill. Hundreds also signed a memorandum submitted to the governor. Another memorandum was presented to the chief minister. The memorandum documented 13 attacks in seven states in the past 20 days. Protesters demanded protection of fundamental religious rights for Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, and others. Police were urged to stop declaring Christian Sunday prayer meetings as “crimes,” a move that has caused panic in the community. The protesters condemned repeated attacks on prayer meetings by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) and Bajrang Dal members. They criticized the state police for registering cases against clergy and devotees instead of protecting them.

A top court in the western Indian state of Goa has upheld the right of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman to administer its schools, as guaranteed by the rights enshrined in the Indian Constitution. The Goa bench of the Mumbai High Court delivered the order on Oct. 3, made public on Oct. 8, while hearing a petition filed by the Diocesan Society of Education (DSE), the educational arm of the Archdiocese.

The DSE had challenged directives issued in 2024 by the Goa Directorate of Education, which required that staff appointment orders in diocesan schools be authorized by the government agency, rather than the DSE chairman. The DSE, being a minority, “is not bound to follow the procedure prescribed” in the directives, the bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Nivedita Mehta stated. 

The Indian Constitution guarantees the rights of religious and linguistic minorities to manage and administer institutions for the benefit of their people. That right “imposes no such limits or restraints, except to ensure quality education,” the court said. The Archdiocese of Goa and Daman, which operates 138 primary to higher secondary schools, contested the directive, arguing that it curtails the archdiocese’s autonomy in managing its schools. The court quashed the education department’s directive and revived DSE’s autonomy to make appointments, initiate disciplinary proceedings, and exercise administrative control over its schools. The state holds the power to prescribe teacher qualifications and maintain educational standards. The DSE had also challenged specific rules of the education department, which it said curtailed its autonomy in running the schools.

Salesian College (Autonomous), with campuses in Sonada and Siliguri, has extended its support to students, faculty, and families affected by the recent landslides that have ravaged the Darjeeling hills and surrounding regions.

The landslides—triggered by relentless rainfall—have disrupted life across Darjeeling, Mirik, Kurseong, and nearby areas, leaving many displaced and distressed. The college leadership has assured its community that no student will be left behind in this time of crisis.

“Our prayers and thoughts are with all those enduring the difficulties caused by these landslides,” said principal Father Babu Joseph in his message. “Salesian College stands united with our students and staff from the affected regions. We understand the distress many are facing and assure every possible support—academic, financial, and emotional—during this recovery period.”

The college has activated its Office of Student Affairs and departmental heads to reach out to students from impacted areas. Measures include flexible attendance policies, extended submission deadlines, and rescheduled examinations. Counselling and pastoral care teams are also on standby to offer emotional and spiritual support. Father Joseph emphasized that the institution’s mission goes beyond academics. “We are a community rooted in faith and fraternity. In moments like these, our commitment to accompaniment becomes our most vital offering.” The college has urged students and families in need of assistance—academic, administrative, or personal—to contact the college office or their department coordinators without hesitation.