National

Forum asks bishops, superiors to oppose divisive citizenship laws

An advocacy group for progressive Catholic religious nuns, brothers and priests in India has asked top Church bodies to oppose openly laws that try to divide citizens in the country. “The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR) are divisive, discriminatory and draconian,” the Forum for […]

Cardinal Gracias: Church must ‘shed prejudice’ against women’s leadership

One of the six members of Pope Francis’ advisory Council of Cardinals has acknowledged a bias among the members of the Catholic Church’s all-male hierarchy against giving women more leadership roles, saying he and his peers must “shed this prejudice.” In an NCR interview, Indian Cardinal Oswald Gracias called himself a “convert” to the cause […]

Pope appoints auxiliary bishop for Tura diocese

Pope Francis on Feb. 24 appointed Fr Jose Chirackal as the auxiliary bishop of Tura, a diocese in the northeastern Indian State of Meghalaya. The announcement was made at noon in Rome and its corresponding time (4:30 pm) in India. The bishop-elect was born on July 14, 1960 at Ayiroor near Karukutty in Kerala’s Ernakulam […]

Bishop in India ‘categorically denies the false allegations of forced conversion’

An archbishop in India is denying the accusations of a Hindu nationalist organization that “forced conversions” are taking place in the northern State of Uttar Pradesh. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) – meaning Universal Hindu Council – announced it had identified 30 places in eastern Uttar Pradesh where alleged “forced conversions” by Christian missionaries are […]

Stop claiming benefits under Article 30: BJP to Church

Goa Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao urged the central government to revoke the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), calling the law “divisive” and “discriminatory,” state BJP general secretary Narendra Sawaikar on Feb. 10 urged him to stop claiming benefits under Article 30 of the Indian Constitution, which protects minority educational institutions from government discrimination. “If CAA is […]

Catholic religious support Shaheen Bagh’s women protesters

A group of Catholic religious has expressed solidarity with the women protesters of Shaheen Bagh in the national capital. Around 25 Catholic priests and nuns from Delhi led by Presentation Sister Anastasia Gill on February 2 spent a day with the women who are protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) “The Christian community rejects […]

CAA unconstitutional, say Catholic religious at grassroots

A group Catholic priests and nuns working among the poorest and most marginalized communities in Maharashtra has opposed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as unconstitutional. “The CAA is the first instance of religion being overtly used as criterion for citizenship under Indian nationality laws and therefore fundamentally discriminatory and divisive in nature,” says a press […]

RSS leader slams Church for ‘exploiting and converting’ people

RSS general secretary Suresh ‘Bhaiyyaji’ Joshi on Feb. 9 accused the Church of exploiting and converting people to Christianity by taking advantage of their “ignorance and poverty.” Stating that he had no objection if someone embraces Christianity on his own, Joshi said that forcible religious conversion of people should be considered a criminal offence. The […]

Eviction-facing Indian Catholics to fight Muslim charity’s claims

Goans oppose tourism project near 16th century basilica