National

Hindu groups want to deny benefits to Indian tribal Christians

Right-wing Hindu groups in India have stepped up a campaign seeking to strip tribal Christians of government concessions with the aim of stopping more indigenous people converting to Christianity. A group of right-wing Hindu activists marched through Jhabua town in the central State of Madhya Pradesh on Nov. 4. They shouted slogans asking the government to remove tribal […]

Family accused of witchcraft murdered in India

Police in the eastern Indian State of Jharkhand have arrested three people for killing three members of one family for alleged witchcraft in a crime described as an “inhuman act” by a Catholic official. The bodies of Birsa Munda, 48, his wife Sukru Purty, 43, and daughter Somwari Purty, 20, of Kuda village in Khunti […]

Agra gets new archbishop

Pope Francis on November 12 promoted and transferred Bishop Raphy Manjaly of Allahabad as the archbishop of Agra, the mother diocese of the Church in northern India. He succeeds Archbishop Albert D’Souza, who has headed the Agra Archdiocese since 2007. Archbishop D’Souza last year turned 75, the canonical retirement age for bishops. Bishop Manjaly was […]

Rome appoints apostolic visitor for Kerala congregation

The Vatican Congregation for the Oriental Churches has appointed an apostolic visitor for the Kerala-based Missionary Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament (MCBS). An October 13 letter from the Apostolic Nunciature in Delhi to MCBS superior general Father Joseph Maleparampil said Rome has appointed Carmelites of Mary Immaculate Father Paul Achandy as the apostolic visiror to […]

UN rights chief urges India to safeguard human rights

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on October 20 appealed to the Indian government to safeguard the rights of human rights defenders and NGOs, and their ability to carry out their crucial work on behalf of the many groups they represent. Bachelet expressed regret at the tightening of space for human rights NGOs […]

Christians angry over blocking of church construction in India

A Christian group in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh is mulling a protest after the state government prevented construct-ion of a church because it says it was illegal. Arunachal Christian Forum (ACF) has asked the state govern-ment run by the pro-Hindu Bha-ratiya Janata Party (BJP) to qui-ckly resolve the issue in Buddhist-majority Tawang town. […]

Bishops in Kerala on hunger strike for Catholic education

Several bishops in Kerala held a day-long hunger strike October 20 to protest the state govern-ment’s withholding of funds from Catholic schools. The hunger strike was held October 20 in front of the Kerala state secretariat. The prelates participating were Bishops Jo-shuah Kizhakkeveettil of the Syro-Malankara Eparchy of Mavelikara, chair of the Kerala bishops’ education […]

Father Stan Swamy’s bail plea rejected

A special court of the National Investigation Agency on October 23 rejected the bail plea of Jesuit Father Stan Swamy a tribal rights activist arrested for his alleged involvement in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence in Maharashtra. The 83-year-old, who is under judicial custody, had sought bail on health grounds. He is now lodged in […]

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Youth taught to use social media to become Good Samaritans

Pakistan’s oldest priest passes away at 97