Cover story

Religious life: Prophetic or Professional?

P. A. Chacko, S. J. Religious life in the Church is a call that challenges men and women to walk the radical way. It is a consecrating invitation to face existential challenges of the common man and womanby being a part of their struggle prophetically. Hence, it is apostolic. You are an apostle of the […]

Three Churches in India Work in a More Synodal Way

Bp Raphael Thattil, ShamshabadJ I have received a letter of Cardinal oswald Gracias referring to the letter of the Pope Francis to the Bishops of india in which he said the key word is “invited.” ‘They are not forced to take pastoral care,’ which means the syroMalabar faithful are not forced to take pastoral care from […]

Justice in the Lord’s Court

Dr Rosemary Varghese The Catholic Church is under a dark shadow with the unfortunate series of events that have followed in quick succession. On the one hand, a Bishop stands accused of a heinous crime and on the other, nuns come out of their cloisters for the first time in the history of Kerala to […]

The key word is ‘invited’, not forced to take pastoral care from the Syro-Malabar Bishops

My Dear Brother Bishops, It is ten months since the letter of Pope Francis extending the jurisdiction of the Syro-Malabar Church to all parts oflndia was sent to us. We had a meeting in November at St Pius College, Goregaon, where all our Archbishops reflected on the implications of the October 19. 2017 letter of […]

The Choice of Rite is for the Faithful

Abp Kuriakose Bharanikulangara Faridabad In a letter issued by the Bombay archbishop there is this sentence: “The key word is invited. They are not forced to take pastoral care from the Syro-Malabar bishops. Anyone who puts pressure on them could go against the letter and spirit of the Pope.” There is a reference in it […]

Turned too much to the West than to the Indian Ethos

Abp Albert D’Souza, Agra You must be aware of the recent Supreme Court verdict on homosexuality. What is your response? The issue was skyjacked by the global influence of certain lobbies. I feel a little disappointed that our Indian culture has not been upheld. For, in all other matters, cultural fundamentalism was the pointer. But […]

Church responds to decriminalizing consensual gay sex

On September 6, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court unanimously struck down a ban on homosexuality, drawing applause from various groups. Among those welcoming the verdict was Father Stephen Fernandes, secretary of the Office for Justice, Peace and Development under the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India. In a statement issued on the same day […]

Spiritual Corruption

Kuruvilla John, IAS (Retd.) O judgment, thou art fled to brutish beasts, And men have lost their reason! … If you have tears, prepare to shed them now. These words of Mark Antony in the celebrated funeral oration in Julius Caesar should be reverberating these days in the mind of every right thinking person in […]

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

Goans oppose tourism project near 16th century basilica