National

Indian Franciscans commit to promote triple dialogue

The annual assembly of the Association of Franciscan Families of India (AFFI) ended on Feb 22 with a yearlong plan to revive the charism of their founder Saint Francis of Assisi. In the four-day event — attended by generals, provincials and other major superiors of Franciscans in India — marked the 800th anniversary of the meeting […]

GRAHAM STAINES FILM

Marking 20th year of the gruesome murder of an Australian missionary and his two young sons in Odisha’s sleepy outback wilderness of Manoharpur in Keonjhar district, Skypass Entertainment released its first film on February 1 in the US. The 112-minute film will be released in India in March and its Australian release is slated for […]

CHRISTIAN BEHEADED IN INDIA’S ODISHA STATE

A Christian man has been found virtually beheaded in an interior village of India’s Odisha State in what family members and many others believe was an anti-Christian attack. They dismiss a police claim that he was killed by politically motivated Maoist rebels. The body of 40-year-old Anant Ram Gand, father of four girls and a […]

Priests, religious have no right to amass: Justice Joseph

A retired Supreme Court judge known for his compassion for the downtrodden has urged Christian priests and religious to refrain from amassing material goods but serve their people. “Priests and religious have to collect only what is left out after feeding the people. They have no right to amass without giving to the people,” Justice […]

South Asian Dalit Christian Conference to be held in Bangaluru

The South Asian Dalit Christian Conference is to be held at NBCLC, Bangaluru, South India, on Feb. 13–14. The topic chosen is “Dalits Witnessing Faith at the Cross Roads in South Asia and Christian Response.” Participants include Dalit Religious, priests, bishops, leaders and activists across South Asian countries. Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, Prefect of […]

Indian Bishops welcome Andhra’s bill to accord Scheduled Caste status to Dalit Christians

The Catholic Bishops’ Con-ference of India (CBCI) Office for Scheduled Caste/BC (Dalits and Backward Classes) has welcomed the Andhra Pradesh’s bill to accord Scheduled Caste (SC) status to Dalit Christians. Already some of the states have passed the same resolution in their assemblies. The resent one was by the Pondicherry assembly. Already the United Andhra […]

Indian court rules change of religion doesn’t alter tribal status

The high court in India’s Chhattisgarh State has ruled that the tribal status of a person will not alter if they change their religion to Christianity, stressing they can still enjoy state concessions aimed at improving the life of indigenous people. The ruling was handed down as the court dismissed an election petition against Amit […]

Church body to pray for defeat of Citizenship Amendment Bill in Parliament

An umbrella organisation major churches in Christian-majority Mizoram has urged its members to organised mass prayers so that the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was defeated in Parliament. In a statement, the Mizoram Kohhran Hruaitute Committee (MKHC) made the appeal to its 16 constituent churches to offer mass prayer during the night service on February 16 […]

Indian bishops slam terror attack on tourists in India’s Kashmir

No action taken against police who assaulted Catholic priests in India