It is heartening to know that India’s Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal by some Dalit Catholics from Kumbakonam diocese in Tamil Nadu state in southern India. On the other hand, it is shocking that these poor Dalit Catholics had to approach the courts, as reported by UCA News, to give them their rights against caste discrimination, which is enshrined in the Indian Constitution and also goes against the very basic teaching of Catholicism. St. Paul, in his letter to the Galatians (3:27-28), points out, “You are baptized into union with Christ, and now you are clothed so to speak, with the life of Christ himself. So, there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, between slaves and free, between men and women; you are all one in union with Christ Jesus.” Once baptized in Christ, people join the family of the Church and become one with all the People of God. They can no longer be identified or discriminated against by their caste, colour, race, or gender.

The Indian Church’s campaign for this Lenten season plans to reach out to some 10,000 people with disabilities, helping them with care, support, and devices for assistance, say officials. Cari-tas India, the social service wing of the national bishops’ forum, on March 9 launched the national campaign in New Delhi, promi-sing to collaborate with the Delhi Archdiocese and Conference of Religious India, the national forum of men and women reli-gious congregations in the count-ry. The initiative “aims to support 10,000 persons with disabilities through early detection, care and support, assistive devices, and livelihood opportunities” Patrick Hansda, Caritas India’s public. relations officer, told on Mar 10. Catholic Church communities across the globe launch campaigns to raise funds and create aware-ness on social issues during Lent, a seven-week period of prayer and abstinence that begins on Ash Wednesday and leads to Easter. Archbishop Anil J. T. Couto of Delhi opened the Indian Church’s campaign, which Caritas will execute in collaboration with Chetanalaya (Hindi for ‘abode of awareness’), the social service wing of the archdiocese.” It is our firm hope that people will be inspired by this campaign in their own context, reaching out to those marginalized or rejected by socie-ty,” Archbishop Couto said while launching the campaign. Handsa said that since the archdiocese is “already rendering the service on disabilities, Caritas India collabo-rated with it.” He said they also plan to collaborate with the Con-ference of Religious India ”for the effective reach to the needy.” Members of the conference work in most regions of all 28 Indian states and eight federally ruled areas of the country.

“Accelerate Action” to gua-rantee gender equality and wo-men’s rights, focusing on impa-ctful solutions, inclusivity and intersectionality, is this year’s call for International Women’s Day on March 8. A promising demon-stration of such action is the out-reach by an India-based network of Catholic women called Sisters in Solidarity (SIS), established in 2019 to provide holistic support to a nun survivor of clergy sexual violence (CSV) and to her compa-nions. However, SIS members also respond in other capacities to sexual violence and other gend-er equality issues in the Church and broader society. Pertinent to the SIS response is its combined feminist theological and social science sensibility that undersco-res the commitment to gender equality and women’s rights in the Church and society. Anchored in understanding women’s experi-ence of sexual violence as a first principle, SIS and like-minded support groups assert that the traumatic psychological impacts on women from the onset of vio-lence through to complete healing, range from a swirl of mixed and swinging emotions (especially when the perpetrator is a known authority figure whose responsi-bility is to protect), to serious psychological dysfunctionality and self-harm. Emotional impacts may be worse in contexts that place a high premium on virginity, link sexual purity to women’s bodies, family and community honour, and resort to a range of discriminatory silencing and punitive tactics, in-cluding stigmatization by fami-lies, communities, work, religi-ous, and other institutions. This generates shame, self-blame guilt, fear, anger, feelings of a loss of self-worth, and an overall sense of hopelessness and despair. Sur-vivors of sexual violence, inclu-ding SIS-supported survivors, also find it difficult to access justice.

Hubert Praveen grew up thinking that only people of other faiths, namely Hindus and Muslims, can be religious fanatics. The 43-year-old father of two now has a different understanding of life and faith after he completed a course on theology. “We say Hindus and Muslims are fanatics. But we are no less when it comes to our own religion and faith,” Praveen, a resident of the southern Indian city of Bengaluru told. He said his understanding changed after he completed an online theology course on Dialogue and Evangelization with St. Peter’s Pontifical Institute in Bengaluru (Bangalore) in southern India. The seminary trained some 1,000 people in two online courses–one year certificate course and a two-year diploma course since 2024. Praveen said these courses help laypeople like him appreciate faith and lead a life without being judgmental. Praveen was among 142 people–laymen, nuns and religious brothers–who completed the online certificate course and attended years’ convocation on Feb. 23. The two-year online diploma course in theology covers subjects such as Biblical Studies, Systematic Theology, Moral Theology, Canon Law, Liturgy and Missiology. Praveen says the certificate course helped him understand that regular churchgoers are not “holier than thou” than those who may not go and go less frequently. “Before I took this course, I was proud that my faith was the right faith. But now I see people of other faiths as the children of the same God and we all will meet in the same heaven after death,” he said.
The seminary founded 50 years ago offer these courses online and through regular postal mail, describing it as “theology coming to visit you right on your doorstep, to make learning easy. “The seminary also admit lay people and nuns for canonically valid degree and licence courses as regular students, who have to physically attend the classes. Ashok Kumar, a retired banker from Vijayawada diocese in southern Andhra Pradesh state also appreciated the online course. For engaging in Church’s “administrative and mission work, we need qualified people who can preach and teach,” Kumar told.

Church leaders have mourned the death of Hindu pilgrims in the latest stampede at the overcrowded New Delhi Railway Station in India’s capital. The deadly crush on Feb. 15 night reportedly killed 18 people and left several injured. Railway officials said the surging crowds scrambled to catch trains to Prayagraj, a city in northern Uttar Pradesh state, for the Maha Kumbh, the world’s biggest religious gathering of humanity. This is the second such tragedy related to the Maha Kumbh festival in recent weeks. On Jan. 29, at least 30 people lost their lives in a stampede at the festival in Prayagraj. Two trains had been delayed at the station, while a third heading to Prayagraj was waiting to depart. “People pushed against each other to get into them and the crush occurred after some passengers slipped and fell on the stairs” leading to the platforms, a spokesperson for Indian Railways said. Opposition leaders criticized the Indian Railways and the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led federal government in Delhi, for failing to manage crowds. “Very unfortunate and sad that we have lost precious lives of Hindu pilgrims,” Father Savarimuthu Sankar, spokesperson of the Archdiocese of Delhi told on Feb.17. He said the administration “learned nothing from the deadly stampede just 15 days ago.” Father Isidore D’Souza, chancellor of Allahabad diocese told that “in both the incidents, the authorities did not expect that such huge crowds would turn out.” Allahabad is the former name of the Prayagraj. People suspect that the exact number of causalities in the stampedes is not made known. “It’s also not clear what exactly led to the tragedies,” D’Souza added.

Church leaders in India have welcomed the Vatican’s decision to add the feast of St. Teresa of Kolkata to the universal liturgical calendar, saying it will help Catholics across the globe emulate the nun’s sense of service to the poor.” This is a great recognition and appreciation of her work for the poorest of the poor and the abandoned men, women and children,” Archbishop Thomas D’Souza of Calcutta told UCA News on Feb.19. The archbishop was responding to the Feb. 11 Vatican decree that said Pope Francis had added the saintly nun to the liturgical calendar, making the feast day Sept. 5, the day of her death in 1997. The Vatican decision “would also provide a tremendous boost to the work of her congregation — the Missionaries of Charity — in all corners of the world,” D’Souza said. The Vatican decree said the decision follows requests from “bishops, religious and associations of the faithful” and also considers “the influence of the spirituality of Saint Teresa of Calcutta throughout the world.”

Police in central Indian Madhya Pradesh state filed a criminal case against a Catholic nun and three others on Feb. 16 for violating the state’s anti-conversion law. Indore city police filed the case against Holy Spirit Sister Sheela Savari Muthu and her three colleagues – two women and a man – after they organized a program for the children of domestic workers. The case is based on the demand of some right-wing Hindu activists. The Hindus wanted action against Christians for allegedly trying to convert some 120 children who attended the health and hygiene awareness camp conducted in a public garden. The police detained the accused for close to nine hours but released them at nine at night despite some 600 Hindu activists shouting slogans against their release and missionary activities. The Hindu mob also tried to instigate the children and women brought to the police station to give testimonies against the nun but failed. They also unsuccessfully attempted to get the nun’s female colleagues to give statements against her inside the police station, eyewitnesses told. “Neither the children nor the women succumbed to their pressure, but still the police, under pressure from the Hindu activists, registered the case,” says an eye witness to the incident, who did not want to be named. Sister Muthu said it was “totally a false case.” “We organized a health and hygiene camp for the domestic workers’ children. We did it in the open public garden with permission from the local government officials,” she told. Within a few hours of the program, people gathered and started shouting slogans against missionaries and religious conversions. “Soon, we sought police help,” she said.” The police took us to the police station.

A Church leader from India’s Manipur expressed optimism after the strife-torn state in north-east region was brought under direct federal rule days after its chief minister resigned.
Chief Minister N Biren Singh from the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) quit on Feb. 9 after facing pressure to step down for failing to stop the continuing violence in the state for nearly two years. The ethnic clashes bet-ween the state’s majority Meitei and minority Kuki communities broke out in May 2023 over economic benefits, land rights and job quotas.
More than 250 people have been killed and over 60,000 displaced, most of them indigenous Christians from the Kuki-Zo group. The office of President Droupadi Murmu on Feb. 13 announced President’s rule, which allows the Delhi-appointed gover-nor to administer the state on behalf of the federal government. Murmu’s office said in a state-ment that the federal rule was imposed because of the situation in which the governance of that state could “not be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of India.”
A Church leader in the troubl-ed state told that “the federal government can work towards healing wounds and restoring peace, provided it is sincere.” Christians have been demanding the chief minister’s dismissal since the violence began almost two years ago.
“The chaos cannot continue indefinitely. There should be an end [to violence],” added the Church leader who did not want to be named, fearing retribution. He said the discriminatory atti-tude towards indigenous commu-nities adopted by Singh, a Meitei, has “divided both the communities to such an extent that they do not like to see each other or share the same space.”

Catholics in India have joined their counterparts across the world to pray for Pope Francis, who has been undergoing treatment for double pneumonia in a Rome hospital. Archbishop Andrews Thazhath, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, on February 19 called on the country’s Catholics to pray for the Pope after the Vatican announc-ed that the pontiff’s condition had worsened. The archbishop said the Pope was diagnosed with a polymicrobial respiratory tract infect-ion. “Recent tests reveal a complex clinical picture, requiring an extended hospital stay for the 88-year-old Pontiff in Rome,” said a statement issued by the conference. Abp Thazhath, while praying for the Pope’s health and recovery, entrusted him “to the mercy and care of Our Lord. Let us join together in prayer for his strength and healing.” Earlier, Major Archbishop Raphael Thattil, head of the Syro-Malabar Church, too urged his people to pray for Pope Francis whose health condi-tion caused concern. “According to the infor-mation we have received, the Holy Father’s health condition is worrying. Therefore, I request all Syro-Malabar Catholics to pray for the Pope,” the major archbishop’s February 19 message said. He urged all churches and institutions under his Church to offer Masses for the Pope and Catholic families to pray for the pontiff during the evening prayers.
Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão the President of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) and the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) has issued a heartfelt appeal to all members of the Catholic Church in India, urging them to join in prayer for the swift and complete recovery of Pope Francis. In a circular addressed to archbishops, bishops, priests, deacons, religious, catechists, and lay faithful, Cardinal Ferrão expressed deep concern for the health of the Holy Father. He called upon the faithful to unite in fervent supplication, seeking God’s healing grace for the Pope, who carries the great responsibility of shepherding the Universal Church. “At this time, as he is facing serious health challenges, let us, as one family in faith, turn to the Lord in earnest supplication, entrusting our beloved Pope to the healing grace of our Divine Physician,” Cardinal Ferrão stated.

An Indian archbishop who led a group of bishops on a Feb. 5 visit to eastern Odisha’s Kandhamal district — the epicenter of anti-Christian violence nearly 20 years ago — has said the land will become a pilgrimage centre for Catholics. “I am sure, one day, this land of martyrs in Kandhamal will become a pilgrimage site for Catholics,” Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore and newly elected vice president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) told UCA News on Feb. 6. He said the 23 bishops accompanying him interacted with many survivors of the 2008 violence that tore through churches and Christian villages in the district. “The survivors are safe now after being rehabilitated by a Catholic Church initiative with the support of the government, but their lives are not without fear,” Machado noted. More than 100 people were killed and hundreds wounded during the attacks that began on Aug. 24, 2008, and lasted more than four months, rendering more than 56,000 people homeless. The violence followed the Aug. 23 murder of Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati, a Hindu nationalist leader in Odisha. Local left-wing Maoist rebels claimed responsibility, but local Hindu groups blamed the murder on Christians instead. The four months of violence left a trail of destruction as over 300 churches and 6,000 homes were razed. Many Christians were forced to flee into nearby forests, where some succumbed to hunger and even snakebites. “Although there is no visible violence [now] against Christians in this region, people can sense hatred and suspicion from dominant Hindu groups,” Father Manoj Kumar Nayak, a survivor of the violence from Tiangia village, told on Feb. 7. Now the parish priest of Our Lady of Miraculous Medal Church in Mondasoru village, which has 300 Catholic families, Nayak said the victim families have been rehabilitated in small houses. But “one cannot miss the lingering fear of the Hindu nationalists,” he added. Nayak said Catholics were reassured by the visit of the Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli on Jan. 31 to Kandhamal district to show solidarity with them. He said the 23 bishops, led by Archbishop Machado, visited Our Lady of Charity Church in Raikia and Nandagiri, where 82 families have rebuilt their lives after being forcibly removed from their original village of Beticola.