The Supreme Court of India has given temporary relief to priests and nuns who were asked to pay income tax for the salary they earn working in government-funded educational institutions.

The top court on May 9 asked authorities to maintain the status quo of not collecting such taxes and agreed to hear an appeal against an order of the Madras High Court in Tamil Nadu state.

The Supreme Court was hearing a challenge filed by the Institute of Franciscan Missionaries of Mary to a March 20 order of the state court that said missionaries, Catholic priests and nuns should not be exempt from paying tax on government-assisted salaries.

The top court posted the case for a final hearing on Aug 7.

“We are happy that we got temporary relief,” said Father L. Sahayaraj, deputy secretary of the Tamil Nadu Bishops’ Council.

He said the Church in the state was determined to fight the case.

He told ucanews.com that Catholic priests and religious serving in government-aided educational institutions did not have any income because their salary is contributed to their convents or houses “so they cannot be asked pay income tax.”

The state court ordered an end to this exemption on the basis that they received their salaries in their individual capacity and that surrendering salaries could only be treated as “application” of their income.

Their choice of application did not merit tax exemption, the court order stated.

The Delhi High Court on May 28 was moved for implementation of the national commission to review the working of the Constitution (NCRWC) proposal on population control and ‘two-child norm’ as a criteria for government jobs, aid and subsidies.

A public interest litigation (PIL), filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, sought direction to the Centre to ascertain the feasibility of implementing the 24th recommendation of the NCRWC (Justice Venkatchaliah Commission) on population control.

In his plea, Upadhyay said the right to clean air, drinking water, health, peaceful sleep, shelter, livelihood and education could not secured for citizens without effective population control.

Stating that the government has not implemented the NCRWC proposals, the petitioner sought withdrawal of statutory rights like the right to vote, contest, property, free shelter and free legal aid.

Upadhyay requested the court to direct the government to spread awareness on population explosion and provide contraceptive pill, condoms and vaccines to economically weaker section and below poverty line families.

He also sought direction to the law commission to prepare a comprehensive report on population explosion within three months and ways to control it.

Sister Carmel Madathiparampil began working in Africa as a missionary since 1993.

That was the year, the Daughters of St Paul, started the African mission project to commemorate the birth centenary of Servant of God Thecla Merlo, who founded the congregation along with Blessed James Alberione. It also coincided with Madathiparampil’s 25 years in the congregation. While in India, she worked in Mumbai, Delhi, Secunderabad and Shillong.

She began her African mission as community animator of Zambia. She shared with Lissy Maruthanakuzhy about her work in Africa.

It is 25 years since she has been working in Africa. In 1993, our congregation decided to launch a missionary project – open 15 new communities in countries where we were not yet present.

“The countries chosen were: Angola, China, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ivory Coast, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, Uruguay, Vietnam, and Zambia.

I was among many sisters who responded. I was chosen for Zambia. I was excited. But I had to search the world map to find its location. I was thrilled to go to Africa.

I felt a new enthusiasm surging in me, like the one I experienced when I first decided to become a Daughter of St. Paul. I truly wanted to be a true daughter of St. Paul, emulating the saint’s apostolic zeal. Like him I wanted to go to the whole world and proclaim the Good News of Jesus.

I always experience new challenges in my mission in Africa. I see in the people of Africa a great thirst for the Word of God and for spiritual matters. The more I see this thirst, the greater is my response to respond. Like St. Paul who made himself all things to all people, nothing can stop me from spending myself in the mission.”

“The African people are very welcoming of missionaries. They are very respectful, generous, supportive, kind hearted, ready to collaborate, open and receptive.”

The Supreme Court of India has given temporary relief to priests and nuns who were asked to pay income tax for the salary they earn by working in government-funded educational institutions.

The top court on May 9 asked authorities to maintain the status quo of not collecting such taxes and agreed to hear an appeal against an order of the Madras High Court in Tamil Nadu State.

The Supreme Court was hearing a challenge filed by the Institute of Franciscan Missionaries of Mary to a March 20 order of the state court that said missionaries, Catholic priests and nuns should not be exempted from paying tax on government-assisted salaries. The top court posted the case for a final hearing on Aug.7.

“We are happy that we got temporary relief,” said Father L. Sahayaraj, deputy secretary of the Tamil Nadu Bishops’ Council. He said the Church in the state was determined to fight the case.

He told ucanews.com that Catholic priests and religious serving in government-aided educational institutions did not have any income because their salary is contributed to their convents or houses “so they cannot be asked pay income tax.”

The state court ordered an end to this exemption on the basis that they received their salaries in their individual capacity and that surrendering salaries could only be treated as “application” of their income.

Their choice of application did not merit tax exemption, the court order stated.

The case dates back to 2015 when Tamil Nadu’s income tax department instructed state-funded educational institutions to deduct tax from the salaries of priests, religious brothers and nuns, ending a long-standing convention exempting them.

A church in Tamil Nadu was destroyed in a suspicious arson attack, Matters India learnt on May 11. According to Shibu Thomas, founder of Persecution Relief, the incident occurred on April 24 at Thittacherry, Nagapattinam.

Member of the “Jesus with us” had gathered in the church for a fasting prayer meeting.

The meeting ended late in the evening and after everybody had left, pastor Sachin Paneerselvam, locked the sanctuary and left for his home, 12 km away.

A few hours after reaching, Paneerselvam and his family were getting ready for bed when he got a call from the local Naneelan station at 11 pm that the church building was on fire.

Thomas, who heads Persecution Relief, an ecumenical church group, said Paneerselvam wanted to rush to the church, to help put out the fire and salvage the contents. However, the police were adamant that he should not come to the spot as fire-fighters were battling the blaze. Police said that they would investigate the cause of the fire to ascertain.

Hundreds of Christians and Hindus attended a thanksgiving Mass for two sisters who became full-fledged Catholic nuns after suffering religious persecution as teenagers in Odisha’s Kandhamal district.

While Manjuta Pradhan professed final vows as a member of the Franciscan Sisters of St Joseph on April 27, her elder sister pronounced her vows in the Daughters of Charity two years ago.

However their village decided to honour both the sisters with a thanksgiving Mass on May 4 at Our Lady of Charity Church, Raikia, a major parish under the Cuttack-Bhubaneswar archdiocese.

More than 2,500 people, including some Hindus who had persecuted the two nuns’ family, attended the Mass.

The two nuns hail from Badingnaju (village built on rock), a substation of Raikia.

Assistant parish priest Father T. Francis Kanhar who led the Mass said, the two nuns lived up to the name of their village by remaining like or rock in their faith. “During the 2008 communal violence, they underwent pain, agony, persecution as their Hindu neighbours chased them from their native place. But they remained very strong in their faith in Christ and that has brought them to this state. They have now become an inspiration to many Hindu neighbours. Nothing is impossible in the eyes of God,” the priest told the gathering.

The sisters agreed with their parish priest.

A choir comprising of different Naga tribes and Churches would represent India at the Asia Baptist Youth Conference in the Philippines. The Cantamus choir would represent Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) at the May 21 -24 conference in Baguio city of the Philippines.

In this connection, Cantamus choir would organize a concert to raise funds in collaboration with NBCC and music task force on May 12, at Jotsoma. The choir had performed on the occasion of the 55th Nagaland statehood day along with 400 children. It also represented NBCC at the All Mizoram Baptist Church Youth Triennial Convention attended by more than 900 youths recently.

In Goa a Catholic priest apologised to the poll authorities for a hate speech urging people not to vote for the BJP, Goa’s Arch-bishop Filipe Neri Ferrao urged voters not to cast their ballot for those candidates who “corrupt, communalize, exploit and divide.”

In his message on the eve of Easter Sunday, Ferrao said: “As we stand on the threshold of parliamentary elections as well as by-elections in some of our constituencies, let us pray that our electorate will vote for the forces which empower the weak, the marginalised and the exploited, rather than those that corrupt, communalise, exploit and divide.” Ferrao is the religious and spiritual leader of more than a quarter of the state’s 1.5 million population which is Catholic in religious orientation.

Two viral videos featuring Father Conceicao D’Silva, in which he referred to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah as a “demon” and attributed the cause of late Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s affliction of cancer to the “wrath of God,” went viral in the media, attracting uniform condemnation.

After a complaint was filed by the Goa BJP against the priest, D’Silva apologised to the district administration, which also cautioned him against making hate speeches.