National

Indian Christians protest over persecution

Some 3,000 Christians from various denominations have demonstrated near the Indian parliament, expressing concern over rising incidents of persecution against their community across the country. The Delhi-National Capital Region Christian Fellowship organized the demonstration on Oct. 26 at the Jantar Mantar – an area near parliament allotted for public rallies and protests in New Delhi. […]

Reprieve for Indian Protestant mission amid land row

The top court in India’s Madhya Pra-desh has temporarily stopped the state government, run by a Hindu right-wing party, from taking over a piece of land from a Protestant mission.The Jabalpur bench of the state High Court on Oct. 7 allowed the mission of the Disciples of Christ Church in Damoh district, 15 days to […]

New cardinal boosts global recognition of Indian Eastern-rite church

The elevation of an Indian priest who worked in the Vatican as cardinal adds to the global recognition of the Eastern rite Syro-Malabar Church, says the Church’s spokesperson. Father George Jacob Koovakad, a priest of the Kerala-based Church’s Changanacherry archdiocese, was among the 21 new cardinals named by Pope Francis on Oct. 6. They will […]

Catholic Church mourns death of Indian business leader

Indian bishops have joined the nation’s top leaders and industry captains in mourning the death of Ratan Tata, an iconic business leader, philanthropist, and visio-nary. Tata, the former chairman of Tata Group died on Oct. 9 at 86 in Mumbai, the state capital of Maharashtra. He is credited with putting the Indian conglo-merate on the […]

Indian cardinal wants Church to be a ‘bridge builder’ in Asia

An Indian cardinal attending the Synod on Synodality at the Vatican says the Church in Asia emphasizes its role as a “bridge builder” by developing respect for other faiths. “We no longer refer to them as non-Christian religions or other religions,” said Card. Oswald Gracias of Bombay in an Oct. 7 press briefing, the news […]

Indian govt rejects US religious freedom report

India’s Hindu right-wing government has rejected a United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) report on India, calling the US agency “biased” and the findings “malicious.” The USCIRF ”is a biased organization with a political agenda,” Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters in the capital New Delhi. “We reject this malicious report, […]

Indian bishops seek justice for Christians fighting Muslims’ land claims

Catholic bishops in southern Indian Kerala state have petitioned a parliamentary panel seeking justice for over 600 families, the majority of them Christians, after a Muslim body claimed that their land and homes were once donated as charity for Muslim welfare. Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, president of the Kerala Catholic Bishops Conference, petitioned the Joint Parliamentary […]

Indian court dismisses petition against Missionaries of Charity

A petition seeking a special probe into shelter homes, including those run by the Missionaries of Charity (MC), in a central Indian state has been dismissed by the country’s top court. “Yes, we are aware of the case; but don’t want to comment on it,” said a nun from the Mother House, the headquarters of […]

Salesians elect Maltese priest Fabio Attard as Don Bosco’s 11th successor

Pope Francis does not accept Cardinal Koch’s resignation: could continue at least until anniversary of Council of Nicea