From The States

India loses fifth Catholic bishop to Covid-19

Bishop Jacob Barnabas of Gurgaon died of post Covid-19 complications at noon on August 26 in a private hospital in New Delhi. He was 60. Bishop Bernabas is the fifth Catholic prelate in India to die of Covid-19 and its complications. The other bishops who died of Covid-19 were Paul Alois Lakra of Gumla in […]

Cardinal Alencherry asked to face trial in land deal case

The Kerala High Court on August 12 said that Cardinal George Alencherry must face trial in the land deal case. The court upheld the verdict of a district sessions court that on August 24, 2019, asked the cardinal and two others to stand trial in the case. The court has dismissed six petitions submitted by […]

COVID-19: Pope donates 100,000 euros to Vietnam

The Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development announced on 24 August that the pontiff is sending 100,000 euros in emergency aid to the people of Vietnam, which is in a state of dire crisis due to the socio-economic fallout from the pandemic. In Vietnam, the pope’s act of solidarity joins the Catholic Church’s action […]

Credibility crisis wake up call for Indian Church: Theologians

The crisis of credibility is a wake-up call for the Church in India, and the best way to regain is to follow Jesus, who “lived what he taught and what he taught, he lived,” say Catholic theologians in the country. The eroding credibility the Church suffers now is caused by forces outside as well as […]

Time for minority voices to be heard: CNI bishop

The death of Father Stan Swamy has taught “minorities to be alive” and unite or else “your voice will not be heard,” says Bishop Paritosh Canning of Calcutta Church of North India diocese. Father Stan, a Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist, died in judicial custody in July while waiting for bail. He was 84 […]

Priests appeal Pope against uniform mode of Mass celebration

All the 456 priests of the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly have written to Pope Francis saying they want to continue to offer Mass facing people, a practice that the Syro-Malabar eparchy has followed for the past 50 years. The memorandum was sent to the prefect of the Oriental Congregation in Rome and the apostolic nuncio in […]

After 60 years of Indian rule, Goa’s Portuguese legacy disappears

As Lorraine Alberto begins her Portuguese class at Goa University, students from the former colony are in short supply. Across Goa, a tiny coastal state once administered by Lisbon, there is little appetite for the territory’s 450 years of European heritage after a few short generations of Indian rule. Ramshackle colonial homes and Bollywood’s increasing […]

Indian Church mourns ‘sin of abortion’ with special day

The Catholic Church in India has observed a “Day of Mourning” in memory of millions of babies aborted across the world. As the country marked the 50th year of its Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, on Aug. 10, church leaders said it had led to the killing of millions of babies in the wombs of their […]

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

Goans oppose tourism project near 16th century basilica