Apostolic Nuncio to India Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli has pulled up Tamil Nadu bishops for “a tendency” among priests to set up and manage independent trusts violating the canon law. The nuncio says the existence of such trusts in Tamil Nadu came to his attention during his recent visit to the diocese of Kottar in the southernmost tip of India.
“Even if the aim of such trusts may appear to be praiseworthy, all too often those trusts become financial and political power bases for the priests involved,” says the nuncio’s October 8 letter addressed to the Catholic bishops of Tamil Nadu.
The letter, shared widely in social media platforms, quotes various sections of the canon law to urge bishops of dioceses with such trusts to regulate them guided by the bishops’ conference.
“Priests and religious should not be directly associated with any independent or standalone trusts or societies or For/Not-for-profit companies, unless their involvement has specifically been approved by” the local bishop, the nuncio asserts.
The Vatican representative wants bishops to follow the canon law to punish the offenders according “to the gravity of their offence.”
He has recommended the Tamil Nadu bishops’ conference to formulate “clear guidelines on the subject,” if they are non-existent.
He wants every bishop to ascertain the details of the personal trusts held by any of his priests and instruct holders of existing personal trusts to close them immediately. He also wants the bishops to ensure that no new trust is opened by his priests.
The nuncio wants the diocesan trust or the diocesan social services trust to bring under its control personal trusts of priests that “are of genuine benefit to the life and mission of the diocese.”
The Vatican official urges the bishops to resolve that no trust is set up under “the sole control of a single member of the clergy.”
The nuncio concludes the letter saying his recommendations are for the well-being of the Church in Tamil Nadu. In response to the nuncio’s letter, Bishop Thomas Aquinas of Coimbatore, one of the 18 dioceses in Tamil Nadu, wrote to his priests on October 16 that he is aware of “a couple of priests” who have trusts.

Some right wing Hindu groups in the southern Indian state of Karnataka have objected to naming a private park after Jesuit Father Stan Swamy, who died in judicial custody three months ago.
The park is situated inside the campus of 140-year-old St Aloysius College in Manga-luru, a port city in the state.
The college is part of a network of educational institutions administered by the Society of Jesus in India.
The Mangalore college recently decided to name their park after Father Swamy, who is revered by many for sacrificing his life for the poor tribal communities in Jharkhand, eastern India.
However, Hindu groups on October 6 condemned the college’s decision threatened to protest if the management goes ahead with its plan.
The opposing groups are the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the students wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that heads the federal and several state govern-ments, including Karnataka, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) and Bajrang Dal (the party of the strong and stout).
Sharan Pumbwell, VHP zonal secretary, told reporters that Father Swamy was arrested under India’s anti-terror law — the Unlawful Activities(Prevention) Act – as he had faced serious allegations like promoting terrorism and Maoism.
“It is an insult to society if the park is named after him,” he added. He also said the Hindu groups would protest if the management goes ahead with its plan. The groups have also submitted a memorandum to the deputy commissioner in this regard.
The ABVP secretary suggested that the college could name the park after renowned politicians and college’s alumni such as Oscar Fernandes or George Fernandes, who, he said had contributed to society.
Oscar died September 13 this year, aged 80, while George passed away on January 29, 2019, when he was 88.
Some Catholic leaders say the controversy is unnecessary and urge groups to keep away from the internal matters of private institution.
“The political groups have no rights to interfere with the internal matters of St. Aloysius College,” asserts Jesuit Father Joe Xavier, the director of the Indian Social Institute, Bengaluru, where Father Swamy had served as a trainer and director for years.

The laity council of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) will launch a nationwide awareness campaign against terrorism and the use of narcotics on Oct. 1.
The Save the People camp-aign will see students and youths, religious, political organizations and sociocultural movements participate in a “conscientization process” over a period of three months, said V.C. Sebastian, the laity council secretary, in a press release issued on Sept. 24.
Programs through social media against narcotics and te-rrorism, seminars, discussions, family visits, and formation of local solidarity groups will be part of the campaign, the press release said.
Sebastian said the campaign “will rouse the general consci-ence against the glaring threats of narcotism and terrorism getting worse across the nation and making the common man increasingly worried.”
The anxiety shared by certain political parties about the fast spread of a terrorist agenda to the higher education sector is to be viewed seriously, he said.
The CBCI is the apex decision-making body of the Indian Church. The 14 regions of its laity council, 174 Catholic dioceses, various churches and lay organizations will collaborate in the campaign, ensuring the in-volvement of different religious denominations, people’s representatives and sociocultural leaders.

The government in Karnataka has issued an order to check “forced conversions” in the southern Indian state.
State Chief Minister Basa-varaj Bommai on September 28 instructed the district deputy commissioners to become vigi-lant about the conversions in their respective jurisdiction and puni-sh those violating the rule.
The order came five days after the Catholic bishops in the state governor to express their concern about the proposed Anti-Conversion Law in the state.
Bommai said he has received complaints about the forced conversions during his recent visits to various districts and that such activities cannot be tolerated. He reiterated the government plan to bring in a legislative ban on conversions in the state.
Father Faustine Lobo, the director of the regional Pastoral Centre in Bangalore, says the Catholic Church does not involve in any forcible conversions, although it cares to more than 30% of the population with schools and hospitals.
“If we really wanted to con-vert people through our schools or hospitals, we could have done it easily,” the priest told Matters India September 29. He also challenged the government to prov4e if any such incidents had been reported.
However, he expressed concern that an anti-conversion law might result in people taking law into their hands and harassing “Christian workers and our institutions.”

Bishop Sebastian Adyanthra-th of Mandya has hailed the Covid volunteers for their exceptional service to mankind during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Covid posed a serious crisis in Bengaluru and the Catholic laity under the Vincent De Paul Society have played a remarkable role as frontline warriors,” the Syro-Malabar prelate said.
Bengaluru is the capital of Karnataka where Covid19 claim-ed more than 8,500 lives.
The bishop was speaking at the silver jubilee celebrations of the St. Vincent De Paul Society at St. Thomas Church, Jalahalli in Benglauru, capital of Karna-taka. The parish unit of the St. Thomas Church that celebrated the jubilee on September 27 decided to build five houses for the Covid-19 victims as jubilee gifts.
The bishop called upon the society members to imbibe the Vincentian spirituality and increase charity activities in all the parishes of Mandya diocese.
Tom Thomas, a pioneering member of the unit, said his most gratifying moments in life came when he reached out to the needy.
The parish unit of the Vincent De Paul Society worked round the clock to transported Covid patients to hospitals in their ve-hicles, supported their treatment and provide food to their fami-lies. The main tasks included reaching food and medicines to the affected families, help orga-nize hospital admission for those requiring hospital care, assist in swab collection from people with symptoms, provide oxygen cyli-nders, oximeter, masks, gloves, sanitizer and other items irres-pective of people’s cast or creed.
“For us, the work was wor-ship and we experienced the Christian life more meaning-fully,” said Tom Thomas, who has led the lay movement in the parish for more than two decades as the founder president.

Police have launched an investigation into the marriage of a Protestant couple after Hindu activists claimed the bride was a Hindu converted to Christianity in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
Hindu extremists barged into the marriage reception in Indore town on Sept. 29 evening and disrupted the function.
Even though the families of both bride and groom denied the allegations, the ruckus led to the police being summoned.
“The couple and their family members were taken to the police station. The allegations of the Hindu activists were found to be false and they were let off,” Pastor Patras Savil, who is based in Indore, told on Sept. 30.
“The newly wedded couple are Christians and their marriage reception was disturbed based on a false allegation of religious conversion.”
No one from either family spoke to the media about the incident, apparently out of shock and fear. Police have started a probe into the marriage based on a complaint from an office bearer of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajarang Dal, right-wing Hindu organizations opposed to Christians and their charitable work.

Christians in Madhya Pradesh state, central India, are outraged after government agencies began profiling Christian religious leaders working among indigenous people.
A revenue department official in the tribal-dominated Jhabua district summoned Christian leaders and asked them to provide personal information such as their appointment as a priest and the document related to their conversion. The official letter also asked them to certify if they were converted through allurement or force as the government wants to initiate legal proceedings against illegal conversions.
A state law criminalizes religious con-version through allurement or force, making it an offense punishable with up to 10 years in prison. The letter issued on Sept. 13 has also directed them to present details regarding their work in person before the official on Sept. 22 at noon.
“Our 16 pastors have received similar letters,” said Auxiliary Bishop Paul Muniya of Protestant Shalom Church in the district.
Christian leaders say their people face increased hostilities from right-wing Hindu groups opposed to their work in the district in their work among tribal people.
Earlier on Aug. 26, the additional superintendent of police, in a letter to police stations under him directed to assist activists from Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a right-wing Hindu outfit in their drive to close illegal Christian prayer halls and to contain illegal religious conversion activities in the district.

Christians in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh have called on India’s president to provide protection amid open threats from Hindu activists to demolish their churches.
“Hindu activists mostly from Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP—world Hindu Council] have set a deadline to demolish our churches on Sept. 26, alleging they are illegal structures,” said Auxiliary Bishop Paul Muniya of the Protestant Shalom Church based in the state’s Jhabua district, which is dominated by tribal people.
VHP has also issued threats to the indigenous Christians against practicing Christianity and are forcing them to return to Hinduism, he told on Sept. 20.
“We handed over a memorandum to Indian President Ram Nath Kovind through the district collector on Sept. 17 seeking his urgent intervention to ensure the safety and security of the indigenous Christians,” the prelate said.
Bishop Muniya further alleged that local administrators were siding with the right-wing groups and harassing Christians who make up 4 percent of the one million population in the district, leading to a rise in anti-Christian violence.
Father Maria Stephan, public relations officer of the Catholic Church in Madhya Pradesh, said both the revenue and police administration of the district were biased against Christians.