Church leaders have criticized the authorities of one of India’s most famous Hindu temples for suspending four employees because of their Christian faith. The managers of the Sri Venkates-wara temple, popularly known as the Tirupati temple, in southern Andhra Pradesh state, announced on July 19 the suspension of employees for “following other religions.” The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), a trust managed under the state govern-ment, manages the temple, billed as India’s most popular and richest.
“The employees were reportedly following the Christian faith, which violates the code of conduct,” of the temples, TTD said in a statement posted on social media. The decision was taken following a vigilance report and review of supporting evidence, the trust said. The temple report-edly owns assets and properties worth about US$30 billion, making it one of the richest in the world. The TTD’s administrative board manages 12 temples and sub-shrines, employing some 14,000 people. Father Robinson Rodri-gues, public relations officer of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), termed the deci-sion a violation of constitutional rights.

A verdict by the Madras High Court in the state of Tamil Nadu could serve as a guide to resolve several cases across India where state officials have delayed staff appointments at Church – run educational institutions, Church officials say. Father Maria Charles, secretary of the Indian Catholic bishops’ Office for Education, called the court order “a blessing,” as many Christian-run, government-aided educational institutions face staffing problems nationwide. Charles told on July 23 that the verdict from the highest court in the southern state regarding staff appointments at Jesuit-run Loyola College could be des-cribed as a “guiding verdict safeguarding the rights of religious minorities.” The court ordered the state government on July 14 to grant approval for 19 appointments –18 assistant professors and one librarian – made by Loyola College, an autono-mous institution for higher education based in the state capital, Chennai.

India’s federal agency responsible for protecting the interests of religious minorities has sought details about the rising anti-Christian attacks in eastern Odisha state, following the latest incident where a Hindu mob attacked and injured 30 Christians. The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) on June 27 sent a letter to the chief secretary, the state’s top bureaucrat, instructing him to “get the matter investigated and send the report to the Commission within 21 days.”
The statutory body’s response followed a June 26 complaint from A.C. Michael, a Christian leader and rights activist based in New Delhi, the national capital. Michael, in his complaint, said a crowd of approximately 400 people “launched a coordinated assault” against Christians in remote Kotamateru village in Odisha’s Malkangiri district on June 21. The village has some 70 households, but only 11 of them are Christian. “More than 30 Christians were injured in the violent attack, and among them, 20 sustained grievous injuries,” he said. Michael termed it “a violent and targeted attack,” adding that tensions in the region had been escalating for several days prior to the incident, with Christians receiving repeated threats.
The Christians were attacked while they gathered to pray over the seeds they were preparing to sow, seeking God’s blessing for a fruitful harvest and the upcoming season. “It was during this peaceful gathering that the mob attacked them without provocation,” he stated in the complaint.
The news of the attack reached authorities late due to the village’s remote location and limited communication options. “One resident managed to contact a pastor from outside the village, who immediately informed the Malkangiri Police Station. Police arrived shortly afterward,” the complaint said.
The injured were moved to the district hospital, while others sought refuge in a nearby church building, which is now serving as a temporary shelter, Michael said, while seeking adequate compensation and rehabilitation for the victims. Michael told on July 1 that he was happy about the commission’s “swift response” to his complaint.

A call to protect Indian activists from state repression was made on the death anniversary of Father Stan Swamy, an 84-year-old Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist who died as an undertrial five years ago. Political leaders from the ruling alliance in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Swamy’s home state, endorsed the call by Jesuits and rights activists for legal measures to protect activists working for the socially and financially disadvantaged. Swamy, weakened by age and Parkinson’s disease, died in a Mumbai hospital on July 5, 2021, after being repeatedly denied bail on medical grounds despite suffering from multiple age-related ailments. At a memorial gathering on July 5 in Swamy’s native village of Viragalur in Tamil Nadu, activists and priests called for the enactment of a special law to protect human rights activists in the country. The demand for law was among seven resolutions adopted at the gathering of more than 5,000 people, including Catholic bishops, priests, nuns, and political leaders.

Mar Aprem Metropolitan, who had led the Assyrian Church of the East in India for five decades, died on July 7 following a brief hospitalization for age-related ailments in Thrissur, Kerala. He was 85. The metropolitan was born as George Mookken on June 13, 1940, in Thrissur, which was then in the Kingdom of Cochin under British India. Educated in India, England, and America, Mar Aprem specialized in Church History. He obtained master’s degrees in Church History from both the United Theological College, Bangalore, and the Union Theological Seminary, New York. He studied theology at Leonard Theological College, Jabalpur. He was ordained a deacon on June 25, 1961, and a priest on June 13, 1965. He was consecrated bishop on September 21, 1968, by Mar Thoma Darmo, Catholicos Patriarch of the Ancient Church of the East. He took the name Mar Aprem Mooken, and was promoted as a Metropolitan of the Ancient Church of the East eight days later in Baghdad. In 1999, he rejoined the Assyrian Church of the East and was instrumental in healing the rift that had developed in the church over the question of hereditary appointments since the 1960s. He served as the president of the Church History Association of India during 1976-1982. Mar Aprem was a prominent personality in Thrissur. He promoted religious harmony. His speech, filled with fun and wisdom, had won several fans across Kerala. He served as the head of the Chaldean Syrian Church in India for about five decades. He wrote some 65 books, prominent among them is his Syriac translation of Daiva Dashakam (Ten Verses To God: The Universal Prayer).

A refusal to compromise by Hindu-majority Meitei and pre-dominantly Christian tribal groups have dampened hopes of esta-blishing a lasting peace in India’s sectarian conflict-torn Manipur state, Christian leaders say. The latest round of talks between Federal Home Ministry officials and a 19-member delegation, mostly from Meitei-run civil society organizations, failed to produce a roadmap for peace in the north-eastern state. The talks were held in the national capital, Delhi, on June 30.
Earlier on June 9, a five-member delegation representing Kuki-Zo tribal groups held a meeting with Home Ministry officials. These and other peace talks involving federal government officials and the warring Manipur groups followed a two-year-old deadly Meitei-tribal conflict that claimed more than 260 lives and displaced about 60,000 people, mostly tribal Christians. During the meetings, the Meiteis insisted on maintaining the “territorial integrity of the state of Manipur” contrary to the stand of the tribals who want to “divide the state with a separate administration” for them. Christian leaders say both the Meitei and tribals tend to “stick to their guns,” which makes peace elusive. “As long as both sides continue to stick to their demands, we do not know how long it will take to restore peace,” one Church leader told, expressing frustration over the stalemate.

A major seminary in the western Indian state of Goa has made its 21 theology students work in farms so that they learn better what is taught in classes. The students of the second, third- and fourth-year theology classes of the Pilar Theological Institute spent the afternoons of July 5 and 6 cultivating paddy and vegetables on a two-acre land owned by the Society of Pilar. “It helps the seminarians gain a deeper understanding of what they learn in class; to have a more contextualised approach to theology,” explained Father John Bennet, director of studies of the seminary, also known as the All India Mission Seminary of the Society of Pilar.
“This exposure can be particularly valuable for the future clergy who may be called to serve where agriculture is a central part of life,” he told Matters India July 7. This way of doing theology, Father Bennet added, emphasizes the importance of the specific cultural, social, and historical context in which Christian faith is understood and lived.
“It acknowledges that theological reflection is not done in a vacuum but is shaped by the unique experiences, perspectives, and challenges of a particular community.”
The students belonged to the dioceses of Dumka and Daltonganj in Jharkhand, Purnia and Patna in Bihar, Krishnagar in West Bengal, besides the Pilar theology students.

The Catholic Church in Kerala has launched a dedicated mental health ministry to help communities respond to increasing psychological and emotional challenges, including substance abuse, suicidal tendencies, and family-related issues. The initiative, led by the Catholic Mental Health Ministry (CMHM) under the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) Office for Healthcare, was formally introduced through a seminar held at the Alappuzha Pastoral Centre.  The half-day event gathered mental health professionals, clergy, and Church workers in a collective effort to promote healing and support. Titled ”Manassinu Oru Karuthal” (A Care for the Mind), the program aimed “to empower individuals and communities” in addressing pressing mental health concerns through a “collective and compassionate approach.

A state court in central India has granted permission to conduct an annual Christian convention, protecting the right to practice faith despite opposition from the Madhya Pradesh state administration. “We feel relieved and happy,” Pastor Kamesh Solanki said after the Madhya Pradesh state High Court admonished the state officials on June 16 not to deny permission to the convention on “frivolous grounds.” Solanki, who leads an independent church, petitioned the court to challenge the Khargone district administration’s ongoing refusal to conduct a three-day annual Christian convention that began in 2010. Since the convention, scheduled for May 16-18, could not be conducted, the court instructed the petitioner to file a new application with a revised schedule. When “such an application is filed, the respondent (district administration) shall allow the same and also provide proper security as and when required, and shall not reject the same on frivolous grounds,” the court ruled. Solanki said the permission was denied, stating that the convention, named Atmik Jagrati Mahotsav (Spiritual Awareness Program), could not be conducted due to the India-Pakistan tension.