Catholic bishops in a south-ern Indian state have expressed their condolences to the families of 49 expatriate workers, most of them Indians, killed in a fire mishap in Kuwait. A major fire broke out in a six-story building in the Mafreg area in southern Kuwait on June 12. Nearly 150 people were living in the block when the fire broke out on the ground floor. The cause of the fire is unknown but the presence of more than 20 cooking gas cy-linders in the overcrowded build-ing caused it to spread quickly. Kuwait’s interior ministry has reported 49 deaths. Among them, 42 are Indians and others are from Egypt, Nepal, Pakistan, and the Philippines. Most victims died due to suffocation while 50 others sustained injuries. “Twenty-four of them were from Kerala state and many of them are Christians,” Fr Jacob Palakkappilly, spokes-person of the regional Kerala Ca-tholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC), told on June 13. “It is really heartbreaking,” the KCBC said in a statement on June 13. The loss their families suffered is be-yond words, the bishops observed. “The Catholic Church shares the grief of the family members,” added the bishops. They were the breadwinners of their families, said Fr Palakkappilly, and added that we are waiting for more details. The Kerala government has announced compensation to each family and has sent its health minister Veena George to Kuwait. The Indian government has rushed federal minister Kirti Vardhan Singh to Kuwait. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condo-lences and announced compen-sation for the victim’s families. “My thoughts are with all those who have lost their near and dear ones. I pray that the injured re-cover at the earliest,” he said. Low-paid, blue-collar workers from Asian nations live in over-crowded accommodations in the six Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) nations. Kuwait relies hea-vily on foreign labor in industries like construction. Kerala is known for migrant workers. Among its 33 million people, close to 3 million people are expatriates, according to reports.

Catholic bishops have appealed to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make his new term “inclusive” by treating all citizens equally and upholding the country’s constitutional values. Modi was sworn in for another five-year term on June 9 after his pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with the help of allies, se-cured 293 seats in the Indian parliament. The coalition government was formed after the BJP, accused of following a Hindu-first policy, failed to win the required simple majority of 272 seats in the 543-seat Lok Sabha (lower house). The seven-phased national polls ended on June 1, and results were declared on June 4. The bishops appealed to the coalition government “to work diligently towards upholding constitutional values, ensuring justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity for all citizens.” “It is imperative that the government remains inclusive and committed to the welfare of all sections of society, particularly the marginalized and vulnerable,” said the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) in a statement on June 9. The bishops said the elections highlighted “the strength of India’s democratic ethos.” The opposition accused Modi, who came to power in 2014, of following policies to turn India into a theocratic Hindu nation in his third term. India witnessed 147 incidents of violence against Christians in 2014, and the number of such incidents spiraled to 599 by 2022, according to records of Christian leaders. Most opposition political parties cobbled together a loose coalition with a slogan to “save constitution” that stresses secularism. But they could win only 234 seats, 38 less than the required number to form a government. The bishops acknowledged “the spirited participation of all political parties” in the elections, which they said exhibited the vibrancy of Indian democracy. “In the ultimate analysis, it is the triumph of Indian democracy. It’s the victory of faceless Indian voters,” said analyst Ashutosh Talukdar from northeast India’s Assam state. In three Christian-majority states in the northeast – Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizo-ram – BJP’s allies were humbled.

The Indian government has drawn up a plan to bring peace to the volatile northeastern region housing the nation’s only three Christian-majority states after the mammoth national elections end early next month. “Peace in the northeastern states, including Manipur, and end of various conflicts, is a priority,” said an official with India’s internal security ministry. People in Myanmar’s Christian-majority Chin state have family relations with people in the Christian-dominated Indian state of Mizoram. India is planning to seal the Myanmar-India border and end the free movement of people. The Indian government has termed the ethnic violence in Manipur as part of narco-terrorism. However, tribal Christians have accused the pro-Hindu government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of supporting Hindus. “The government is taking stock of the situation in Manipur and Mizoram,” the official told. “Ethnic clashes cannot be checked by force,” he admitted. On May 17, led by a Church group, warring tribal Christians and Hindus in Manipur met for the first time to end the one-year-old sectarian strife. Over a dozen influential leaders from the Meitei Hindu and Kuki Christian communities attended the first-ever meeting held at Bosco Reach Out, a Salesian house in Guwahati, Assam, the largest northeastern state bordering Bangladesh. According to a senior Mizo-ram government official, a fresh batch of 1,430 refugees from Myanmar have taken shelter in the state since May 17 after fighting between the army and armed rebels escalated in the military-ruled neighboring nation. The cash-starved Mizoram government has sought financial aid from the federal government to settle the migration crisis. In Mizoram, which shares borders between Bangladesh and Myanmar, Christians form close to 90% of the state’s 1.1 million people. Nagaland has witnessed many armed struggles over the years with demands for separation from India. The Naga rebellion reached its zenith in 1956 and the state has reported massacres throughout years of struggle. People in 6 districts of the Christian-majority Nagaland refused to vote in the ongoing national election to stress their demand for a separate state. Christians account for 87% of Nagaland’s 2.2 million people.

A Catholic college president in India spoke about the Buddhist Vesak holiday, which commemorates Gautama Buddha, saying he cherishes a hope “that our multi-cultural, interfaith encounters form communities of awareness and the different religious principles and teachings that should benefit all of humanity.”
This month, Vatican published the message “Christians and Buddhists: Working together for Peace through Reconciliation and Resilience” to mark the holiday, which takes place on May 24. “The noble teachings of our respective traditions, and the exemplary lives lived by those whom we revere, bear witness to the abundant benefits of recon-ciliation and resilience,” said Cardinal Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, the prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.
“When forgiveness is sought, and broken relationships healed, those who were estranged are reconciled and harmony is restored. Resilience empowers individuals and communities to recover from adversity and trauma,” he continued.
“It fosters courage and hope for a brighter future, since it transforms both victims and the perpetrators and leads to a new life. Reconciliation and resilience unite to form a potent synergy that heals past wounds, forges strong bonds, and makes it possible to meet life’s challenges with fortitude and optimism,” the cardinal added.

Superiors of Catholic religious congregations of men and women in India have stressed the need for inter-congregational collaboration for the betterment of the Church amid increasing hostility against Christians. The Conference of Religious India (CRI), the national body of major superiors of Catholic religious congregations, heard several such calls at its May 14-17 gathering in Bengaluru, a southern Indian city. “When we come together, it not only helps us promote innovation and creative thinking among ourselves but also helps us effectively address several pressing problems,” said Apostolic Carmel Sister Maria Nirmalini, the forum president.
“We find the need to enhance inter-congregational collaboration for better networking,” Nirmalini told. Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore asked the gathering to contemplate strategies to arrest the increasing persecution of Christians in the country. The CRI under Nirmalini has initiated a healthcare programme for elderly nuns after the survey found that 64% of nuns were elderly or in-firm. Nearly 190 congregations participated in the survey. More than 61% of the elderly nuns are retired because of physical inability, the survey said. The survey found that 40% of the participating congregations had no facility to look after their elderly. The meeting stressed the need for priests, brothers, and sisters to spare time for the youth and families rather than spend time in institutionalized jobs.

The Commission for Migrants of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) launched the project “Supporting Informal Mi-grant Workers: Access to Entitlements” to ensure all migrant workers have equal access to basic rights and services. The CCBI Commission for Migrants, together with the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC), envisioned this project as a way to address the challenges faced by informal migrant workers in accessing essential services such as healthcare, education, and social protection. The project will also focus on raising awareness about the rights of informal migrant workers and advocating for policy changes to better protect this marginalized group. While inaugurating the project, Metropolitan Archbishop Most Rev. Anil J.T. Couto the Secretary General of CCBI and CBCI said, “This project is a testament to our commitment to serving the community and providing essential services to those in need. I am confident that this initiative will have a positive impact on the lives of many individuals in our city.” Archbishop Couto expressed his hope that this project will serve as a model for other cities to follow in addressing the challenges faced by marginalised populations.

The routine administration of the Church of South India (CSI) has come to a standstill following a top court order that restrained a court-appointed panel from exercising its power. “We do not know what to do and whom to report as there is no one to manage the daily affairs,” said an official working at the crisis-ridden Church headquarters in the southern city of Chennai. The official, who did not want to be named, said on May 29 they did not know if they would get their salaries for this month as the Supreme Court had restrained the high court-appointed administrators from managing the finances. “We are also uncertain about holidays and annual leaves. We do not know how to deal with this situation,” added the official with the leading Protestant denomination. The Madras High Court in Chennai, the capital of southern Tamil Nadu, on April 12 appointed retired Justices R Balasubramanian and V Bharathidasan as administrators of the Church. They were given the administrator’s powers to handle the Church’s finances and directed to conduct elections to the Synod, the apex decision-making body of the Church. The high court intervened after a section of the laity alleged corruption charges against former Synod moderator Bishop Dharmaraj Rasalam. However, on May 22 the top court in the country issued the restraining orders and posted the matter for hearing on July 8. The CSI was formed in 1947 after India’s independence from Britain as a union of Protestant denominations. Its counterpart in north India is known as the Church of North India (CNI). The CSI has 24 dioceses including one in neighboring Sri Lanka. Among them, 14 have bishops. The administrators have appointed bishops in charge of some of the other dioceses. But following the apex court order, they asked the bishops and other officials to refrain from exercising their powers. Kollam-Kottarakkara diocese in southern Kerala state is headed by a bishop in charge appointed by the administrators.

Archbishop Linus Neli of Imphal has called all Catholics in the eastern Indian state of Manipur to hold intense fast and prayer for reconciliation and peace May 3-5.
“Let us persistently pray for the day when people of all ethnicities and religious commu-nities can live together peacefully in this beautiful land of Manipur,” says a statement the archdiocese issued in early May.
An ethnic clash that broke out May 3, 2023, between the Meitei and Kuki commu-nities led to the death of hundreds and the displacement of 60,000 people. The Meitei people make up 53% of Manipur’s 2.8 million, population; the Naga people make up 24%, the Chin-Kuki-Mizo people make up 16%. Hindus and Christians each make up about 41% of the population, while Muslims make up just over 8%.
The conflict was triggered by an affir-mative action controversy in which Christian Kukis protested a demand by mostly Meitei Hindus for a special status that would let them buy land in the hills populated by Kukis and other tribal groups, and get a share of government jobs. Ethnic violence has been a decades-old problem in Manipur state, where 700 people were killed in 1993 and the govern-ment took a year and a half to restore nor-malcy in the region.
The archdiocese’s statement said that while the situation may have relatively relaxed, “we know only too well the present scenario of ethnic segregation and several hundreds of our people still languishing in great distress, pain and uncertainties in relief camps and in undesirable conditions.” The archbishop recalled the most horrifying and harrowing days – particularly May 3-5, 2023 – saying, “we should fall on our knees to intensify our prayers for genuine reconciliation and peace with justice among all fellow human beings.”
“Like many responsible communities and organisations, the Catholic Church in Manipur has been in the forefront in humanitarian interventions, in peace dialogue, and in con-stant prayer for early solution,” he continued. Quoting Isaiah 57:18-19 from the Bible, Neli asserted, “it is our firm confidence that God will hear our prayers and heal our land, guide and comfort our people, and give peace to those who are far away and peace to those who are near.”

A pro-Hindu group has sought action against a Catholic arch-bishop, accusing him of violating the country’s poll code by trying to influence voters on religious grounds amid India’s ongoing national elections. The Legal Rights Protection Forum (LRPF), aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, wants the Election Commission of India to take action against Archbishop George Anthonysamy of Madras-Mayla-pore in southern Tamil Nadu state. The forum’s April 29 complaint was about an editorial Anthonysamy wrote in the arch-diocesan fortnightly The New Leader Weekly. While highlight-ing India’s current socio-political situation, he also referred to the plight of Christians and Muslims under Modi’s rule since 2014.
The forum alleged it was an attempt “to influence voters on religious lines,” so Anthonysamy violated the election code. In his guest editorial, Anthonysamy, president of the Tamil Nadu Bishops Council, wrote that Chri-stians, who comprise 2.3% of India’s 1.4 billion people, must ensure 100% voting. “Let us all vote,” he wrote, calling the ele-ction a “significant one… an ele-ction between two contrasting ideologies.” Editor Father Antony Pancras said they stood by the guest editorial and denied the allegation it violated the poll code. “The archbishop indeed tried to inform people about the plight of the country’s people, especially the minorities,”

A Hindu nationalist group in India, the world’s most populous country, has demanded a law to control population growth over perceived fears that Muslims could outnumber the majority Hindus. “Hindus generally settle down for one or two children… [but] there are people who say children are Allah’s gifts. This is a matter of deep concern,” said Shriraj Nair, spokesperson of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP or World Hindu Council). Nair said the Indian government “should immediately bring in a Population Control Bill.” He referred to the recent findings of a report by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC), which said the Hindu population declined by nearly 8 percent between 1950 and 2015 while Muslims grew at a record 43% in the 65 years.
“Demography decides your destiny… It’s high time Hindus awakened to this reality. Wher-ever Hindus slipped into minority, what has happened, we all know. Let’s learn from history,” Nair posted on X on May 9.
The EAC report authored by Shamika Ravi, Abraham Jose, and Apurv Kumar Mishra, said that the population of Sikhs went up by 6.58% and Christians by 5.38% in the same period.
“Migration, legal or illegal, is also responsible for change in demography in various parts of the world. But we are not talking migration or birth rate, we are talking conversion,” she added.