The Catholic bishops in India have urged the federal and Madhya Pradesh governments to stop “the age old bogey of conversion” to repeatedly tarnish “the dedicated services” of its people.
“The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) is deeply saddened at the recent happenings in the state of Madhya Pradesh and particularly in the Catholic diocese of Jabalpur,” says a press statement issued by conference secretary general Archbishop Felix Machado of Vasai.
The May 31 appeal came a day after Bishop Gerald Almeida of Jabalpur and Sister Ligy Joseph, in charge of an orphanage, filed for anticipatory bail against their possible arrest in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The two were named in a case under the state’s stringent anti-conversion law.
The CBCI statement pointed out that the diocese of Jabalpur has witnessed the state machinery targeting three of its institutions. The first was on March 2 when members of state Commission of Child Rights and the commission’s district head visited St Joseph Boys and Girls Boarding in Ghoreghat along with some police-men. The following day, the same team visited JDES Boys and Girls Boarding at Junwani and the third incident occurred on May 29 at Asha Kiran Child Care Institute, Jhinjhari, Katni.
“What is common in all the three incidents is that the officials entered the premises without prior permission, searched the premises, took away some files and questioned the children if they were forced to go to church and if they were forced to read the Bible,” the statement explains.
The bishops’ conference points out that although the three boarding and hostels “cooperate whole heartedly in complying with all legal and government requirements,” the teams that visited them sought to unnecessarily harass the management and the children.
“They tried to make false allegations against the management and show how the children are getting converted to Christianity,” the press statement says.

A peace and solidarity pro-gram in the northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya has addressed pressing national issues while promoting unity, justice, and peace.
“From the targeted violence against Christians and tribals in Manipur to the relentless attacks on Church personnel and institutions and the disturbing normalization of hate speeches, our country is witnessing a wave of alarming events,” lamented Chri-stian Brother Sunil Britto, the main organizer of the program that was held June 10 at Nongpoh in the RiBhoi district of Meghalaya.
More than 300 people, including priests, brothers, nuns and lay people from Meghalaya and Assam attended the program organized by the RiBhoi unit of the Conference of Religious India (CRI). The program also included a silent rally, where participants displayed posters advocating peace, solidarity, and justice for all. The rally served as a powerful reminder of the urgent need for collective action and social change, Brother Britto said.
The event featured peace songs and dances by Nathalie Warjri, St. Stephen Convent Hostel girls, Claretian aspirants, and Salesian aspirants expressing the spirit of unity and harmony thro-ugh their performances.

A court in a central Indian state has rejected the bail applications of two protestant pastors and a woman arrested on charges of alleged religious conversion. The district court in Satna, Ma-dhya Pradesh state, rejected the bail applications of pastors Roshan Faster, Mayaram Ningwal, and Aarti Saket on June 6.The accused will remain in police cu-stody till June 17, a police official said.
“It is a difficult time for us. We are working with our legal team for the next course of act-ion,” Minakshi Singh, a Christian activist, told on June 7.
The pastors and the woman were arrested from Motwa village under the Majhgawan police station in Satna district on June 4.
The arrests came after a local man named Manoj Kori complained to the Hindu group, Bajrang Dal (Brigade of Hindu god Hanuman), about a Christian prayer meeting being held inside a house. Members of the Bajrang Dal, accompanied by the police, reached the house and took Faster, Ningwal, and Saket into their custody.
Ashish Jain, a sub-divisional police officer of Chitrakoot, said a case has been registered against them under various sections of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021, which prohibits religious conversion through unlawful means.

A Catholic bishop and a nun named in a case under the stringent anti-conversion law have filed anticipatory bail applications against their possible arrest in a central Indian state.
Bishop Gerald Almeida of Jabalpur and Sister Liji Joseph, in charge of Asha Kiran (ray of hope) Children’s Care Institute, a home for destitute children filed bail applications before the district court on May 30 in Katni district in Madhya Pradesh.
Both were accused of violating the state’s anti-conversion law in a police complaint by Priyank Kanoongo, chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights.
Kanoongo has accused Bishop Almeida, chairman of the orphanage, and the nun of forcing three Hindu children in the orphanage to convert to Christianity.
“This is a blatant lie to target the orpha-nage,” Father Thankachan Jose, a diocesan priest helping out with the case, told UCA News on June 1.
“The orphanage,” Father Jose said, “has been engaged in building the lives of the abandoned or orphaned children on railway platforms since 2005.”
“Our purpose is not to convert anyone but to rebuild their shattered lives,” the priest said.
He challenged Kanoongo to prove the allegation with “one credible case” rather than “misusing his official position.”
Such false cases will harm “poor children who get a place to stay, food, clothes and facilities to study,” the priest said.
The hearing of the case against the bishop and the nun, slated for last week, was postponed after the investigation officer failed to submit the records of the case.
The court is likely to take up the case for hearing in a day or two, Jose added.

In its efforts to fight drug and substance abuse among young people in Arunachal Pradesh, the diocese of Miao has opened a deaddiction facility for girls and women.
“Drug menace is a big problem across Arunachal Pradesh and it feeds on the future prospects of the nation,” said Bishop George Pallipparambil of Miao, who on May 24 opened the Auxilium Wellness Centre at Namphai II in Changlang district.
The Salesian prelate described the center as “a dream-come-true project for all the people of Arunachal Pradesh, especially in the eastern part. We hope this facility for girls will not only bring people out of addiction but also contribute to the overall health of the people all over Arunachal Pradesh.” According to a latest national survey, Namsai, Lohit, Dibang Valley, Upper Siang, Anjaw, Tirap and West Kameng in Arunachal Pradesh are among the 272 worst drug-abuse districts in the country.
Speaking at the function, the chief guest, Ibom Tao, the Additional Deputy Commissioner of Miao, said, “Drug and opium abuse is destroying our society and this center is a need of the hour because there are so many addicted people here.”

Fifty years of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) and its sterling contri-bution deserved to be celebrated. The event held in Bangkok over a span of 18 days last October was graced by a large number of Church leaders, representatives of the people of God, and a host of experts.
This momentous occasion provided an opportunity to envi-sion the future of FABC’s service and renew its commitment to its mission in these critical times. Like the previous ones, the assembly in Bangkok exuded an atmosphere of friendship, bon-homie, and pastoral and cultural exchange. The much-awaited final document was officially released on March 15.
Reading through it, I found it challenging to identify a clear vision that holds together the enti-re document, lending it strength and consistency. The absence of a unified vision is palpable in the whole document. There is an attempt to give some semblance of cohesion by resorting to the biblical narrative of the visit of the three Magi and referencing various moments of their journey. While analogies and metaphors can be helpful to a certain extent, relying solely on them may risk appearing superficial and merely attempting to fill gaps in the document.
One would expect that there would be an effort to recall and reassess the significant steps FABC had taken in the past, its vision, orientation, and build upon the achievements already made.

A Catholic priest in India has quit pastoral ministry saying he wants to clean up his Eastern rite Syro-Malabar Church, which he alleged deviated from the teachings of Christ.
Father Ajimon Puthiyapramabil of Thamarassery diocese in southern Kerala state announced his decision on May 13 to pursue what he calls the “prophetic mission” of Christ.
“…But from today I am entering the prophetic mission, one of the missions of the Christian priesthood,” the 46-year-old priest said in a letter to the parishioners of Sacred Heart Church in Mukkom where he last served.
The Syro-Malabar Church based in Kerala witnessed a series of scandals in the past four years including court cases and street protests involving priests and bishops. Allegations of lack of financial transparency and a protracted liturgical dispute were top among them.
“I took this decision after two years of discernment,” Father Puthiyapramabil told UCA News on May 19.
“I know I cannot speak up my mind being in a parish ministry, therefore, I decided to quit. It does not mean that I quit my priesthood,” he added.
Father Joice Vayalil, vicar-general of the diocese, however, said the diocese was not aware of the priest’s decision.

Gadyamma, who has been living as a devadasi since childhood, does not want her daughter to follow the oppressive tradition of being a female dancer in Hindu temples.
“I became a devadasi when I was 12 under our village tradition, but I want my daughter to study and lead a dignified life,” Gadyamma (who asked not to use her last name) told Global Sisters Report, while tightly holding her 14-year-old daughter, Dadyamma.
Devadasis are part of a religiously sanctioned ancient system in southern India, where girls are offered as “slaves of god or goddess” — the literal translation of devadasis — just before they reach puberty. As a devadasi, they serve the temple in religious rituals, music, dance, and religious service.
Over the years, this custom became a forced dedication to a life of prostitution and dance, especially to entertain the temple priests and the high caste elites. While temple services are unpaid, girls depend on paid sex work for their living.
The state banned the tradition under the Karnataka Devadasis (Prohibition of Dedication) Act in 1982, though today it continues as a clandestine practice outside temples. (The devadasi system also once prevailed in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra, where it’s now abolished.)

A top court in western India has lifted prohibition imposed on a Christian couple to preach their religion upholding the constitutional right of a citizen to practice and profess one’s religion.
The May 19 order of the Goa bench of Bombay High Court came at a time when Christians face increased hostilities from mostly right wing groups in states ruled by Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party who accuse them of indulging in religious conversions.
Referred to articles in the Constitution that guarantee religious freedom, the court asserted, “The article guarantees to all persons, the equal entitlement of freedom of conscience and the right to profess, practice and propagate religion.”
“The right conferred upon a citizen to profess and propagate religion correspondingly casts a duty on the state and the executive to ensure that every person should be allowed to freely practice, preach or profess his/her belief,” the court added.
“The State has a duty to extend all possible protection to its citizens, through free speech and the freedom of expression, enshrined in Article 19(1) of the Constitution of India to indulge in public discourse and to propagate religious practice. All persons have a fundamental right to form institution, purchase property for their use and to profess and propagate religion,” the court ruled.
The high court order came in response to a petition filed by Joan Mascarenhas E D’Souza, a resident of Goa, challenging what she described as discriminatory prohibition imposed on her preaching ministry in her private property in December 2022.
The petitioner along with her husband Dominic D’Souza had been involved in a preach ministry over 23 years until the district administration imposed curbs alleging it was an attempt at religious conversion.
The division bench of Justice Valmiki SA Menezes and Justice M S Sonak that studied the records conclude that the police had failed to prove the allegations against the couple with reliable documents and held that prohibiting them from preaching their religion infringed upon their fundamental rights.
The prohibitory order infringed up on the woman’s “constitutional right freedom of religion, freedom of conscience and to freely profess, practice and propagate her religion,” the court said.
“It further infringed upon her fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India by curtailing her right to express herself within the institutional building,” it added.

Seventy-five years after Mother Teresa launched her full-time service to the poor in a shelter in the distressed Entally neighborhood of Kolkata, the order she founded, the Missionaries of Charity, has announced that it finally secured ownership of the property.
Although the young Mother Teresa arrived in Kolkata as a Sisters of Loreto missionary in 1928, it was twenty years later when she dedicated herself full-time to the service of the poor and abandoned living in slums around the order’s house in Entally, using a building she came to call the “home of the pure heart,” or Nirmal Hriday.
Although her followers in the Missionaries of Charity have cared for the facility ever since, due to issues related to zoning and occupancy they were only able to secure legal ownership of the property recently. The legal tangles were resolved, according to media reports, on the initiative of a local member of India’s parliament.
“It is a beautiful gesture by the state government to facilitate handing over this place to us,” said Mother Teresa’s successor as superior of the Missionaries of Charity, Sister Mary Joseph Michael.