National

Commission rejects Indian Christians’ plea to change poll date

The Election Commission of India has turned down a request to change the election date in West Bengal and Assam from Maundy Thursday. The All India Catholic Union (AICU), the largest laity movement in Asia, submitted a petition asking the commission to reconsider holding polls on April 1, the day before Good Friday, in the […]

India asserts Dalit converts have no right to contest polls

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has reiterated that Dalit people who converted to Christianity or Islam will not be allowed to contest elections, shattering the hopes of this socially poor group once again. Church leaders say the adamant stance of the government run by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will only add to […]

Indian nun charged with trying to convert Hindu teacher

Police in India’s Madhya Pradesh state have charged a Catholic nun with violating the state’s stringent anti-conversion law after she was accused of trying to allure a Hindu teacher to Christianity. Police registered charges against Sisters of Destitute Sister Bhagya, principal of Sacred Heart Convent High School in Khajuraho of Chhatarpur dist-rict, on Feb. 22, […]

High Court dismisses rapist priest’s plea to marry survivor

The Kerala High Court has dismissed the plea of Robin Vadakkumchery, a former Ca-tholic priest convicted of raping a minor, to grant him bail so that he could “marry the survivor.” The court said it could find no merit the petition. Dismissing the plea, Justice Sunil Thomas stated that granting the plea would be like […]

Uttar Pradesh assembly passes religious conversion bill amid din

Amid protests by the Opposition, the Uttar Pradesh Legisla-tive Assembly on February 24 passed by voice vote a Bill aimed at curbing religious conversions by fraudulent or any other undue means, including through marriage. The Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill, 2021 seeks to replace the ordinance promulgated in November 2020 that […]

Withdraw all steps taken on deep sea fishing: Kerala bishops

The Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council has asked the state government to withdraw all steps it had taken on deep sea fishing off the coast. The act of the Kerala government to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with a foreign firm without consulting the fishermen community or heeding the coastal people’s concerns is objectionable, says a […]

Pope Francis prays for stability in Myanmar

Pope Francis prayed Feb 7 for justice and national stability in Burma as tens of thousands protest the Feb. 1 military coup. “These days I am following with great concern the developments of the situation that has arisen in Myanmar,” the pope said Feb. 7, using the country’s official name. Burma is “a country that, […]

Indian tribal families caned for embracing Christianity

A village court in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand has ordered families who converted to Christianity to be caned, fined and excommunicated from the community. Three Korwa tribal families from Khala village of Dhurki in Garhwa district embraced Christianity on Jan. 22, according to media reports. “There are reports of religious conversion in the […]

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Pope: Red Cross’ humanitarian work shows that fraternity is possible

New Vatican document lists ‘grave violations’ of human dignity