A new church built beside a destroyed one, where a Protestant Christian was burnt alive in Kandhamal – the epicentre of the 2008 anti-Christian riots in eastern India’s Odisha state – is a sign of hope and renewed faith, say Church leaders. The Catholic Church of Archangel Michael in Gudrikia, a substation under the Padangi parish in Kandhamal district, was blessed on May 26 by Archbishop John Barwa of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar. The new church was built near an old church, which was attacked during the 2008 anti-Christian riots. The rioting Hindu mob destroyed the church after burning alive Mathew Nayak, a school teacher, for refusing to give up his Christian faith. “The new church is a sign of hope and faith among Christians, as it comes following the worst anti-Christian violence,” said Father Sebastian Thottamkara, the parish priest in Padangi.
Indian court upholds Christian army officer’s termination over prayers
A court in India’s national capital has upheld the termination of a Christian army officer for “indiscipline,” after he persi-stently refused to lead a weekly religious parade, considering it against his faith.
Officer Samuel Kamalesan “has kept his religion above a lawful command from his superior. This clearly is an act of indiscipline,” said the Delhi High Court in its May 30 order. The court upheld the termination.
Kamalesan, a Protestant Chri-stian, was terminated in March 2021, four years after he joined the army, without providing him any benefits, such as a pension or gratuity. He joined the force as a Lieutenant and was appointed the troop leader of a squadron com-prising Sikh soldiers.
As the leader of his troop, Kamalesan was required to lead the troop in a weekly parade to a Gurudwara, a Sikh temple, and join prayers inside the innermost temple, its sanctum sanctorum, with temple priests. Kamalesan refused, stat-ing that his Christian faith does not permit him to do so, according to court records.
Kamalesan’s petition in the High Court challenged his termination and sought rein-statement.
The federal government opposed the petition. Government attorney told the court that Kama-lesan’s refusal was “only on the ground of his religious beliefs” and it “has an adverse effect on the morale and motivation of the troops he commands.”
The court ruled Kamalesan’s “persistent refusal to fully parti-cipate in weekly regimental reli-gious parades, despite extensive counseling and opportunities for compliance, justified the action taken by the respondent.”
Kamalesan said that several Christian troop leaders, including himself, have led and continue to lead troops to the regiment’s Hindu temples, and conduct prayers, offerings, and the Arati as ritual worship inside the inner-most temple. “Without the army uniform, I may be a Catholic. But with the uniform, I’m part of my regiment and will follow the disciplines of the force. Our regimental identity is above reli-gion, caste, and community,” he told on June 2.
Indian Christians urge president to end abuse by Hindu radicals
Indian Christians have sought President Droupadi Murmu’s intervention to end the rising religious persecution against them by hardline Hindu groups in many parts of the country. Christians of different denominations, united under the banner of the national front Rashtriya Christian Morcha, handed a memorandum addressed to Murmu to the district collector of Jabalpur in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on June 9. Atul Joseph, who led the 50-member delegation, said the top district official assured them that he would forward their petition to the president for her consideration. “We were forced to write to the honorable president as Christians continue to face violent attacks and false cases of conversion in different parts of the country daily,” Joseph told on June 10. The four-page memorandum stated that Christians, who comprise 2.3 percent of India’s 1.4 billion people, “always upheld the constitutional values” and “secular and democratic principles” of the country. “Despite this right-wing Hindu groups constantly targeted us to the extent that in many states, even holding a routine prayer meeting has become troublesome for us,” it said. The memorandum further highlighted the plight of Christians of Dalit (former untouchables) and indigenous origins, saying, “they have been discriminated against and forced to bear increasing hostilities and violence.” The Christians also sought Murmu’s intervention in stopping the gross misuse of anti-conversion laws in many states, such as Uttar Pradesh in northern India, and central states like Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Christian churches and prayer gatherings are targeted by hardline Hindu mobs by wrongly labelling them as religious conversion activities.
Fresh violence in India’s strife-torn Manipur state
Fresh violence has erupted in India’s Manipur after the arrest of a prominent leader of a Hindu Meitei radical group, prompting authorities to tighten security in the strife-torn north-eastern state. Prohibitory orders were imposed at midnight on June 7, banning gatherings of more than five people in any location. Internet and mobile data services were also suspended, officials reported. The security measures will remain in effect for five days in the five restive districts of the northeastern state. The latest outbreak of violence erupted after the federal probe agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation, arrested A. Kanan Singh, leader of the Arambai Tenggol, an armed group representing the majority Meitei community.
He was picked up from the Imphal airport on June 7 for his alleged involvement in the ethnic violence that began on May 3, 2023, in the hilly state adjacent to civil war-torn Myanmar. The federal agency also reportedly took four of Singh’s associates into custody for interrogation. This upset the Meiteis, who protested at the airport and blocked roads to demand their immediate release. A government notification warned of the “imminent danger of loss of life and/or damage to public/private property, and widespread disturbances to public tranquillity and communal harmony” due to the violent protests. It also expressed apprehension that some antisocial elements might use social media to incite passions among the masses, which could have serious repercussions for the law and order situation. A Christian leader from the state confirmed that “there is unrest in many places in the Hindu majority Meitei areas.” “The latest violence seems to be a ploy on the part of Meiteis to delay the federal government’s efforts to restore peace in the state,” he told on June 9.
Christians in India’s Odisha seek their right to belief
Christians in India’s Odisha have demanded that their constitutional right to freedom of religion be safeguarded amid rising religious persecution under the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which rules the eastern state. “Our people are assaulted, threatened, and forced to give up their faith in Jesus. This is the new situation in which we live in this state,” said Bishop Pallab Lima, who heads the United Believers Council Network India (UB-CNI). Lima told on June 11 that some 60 complaints, including violent assaults, threats, social boycott, denial of burial grounds, etc., were lodged with the police in the past few months. “The state’s police registered 32 FIRs [first information reports providing initial details of the crimes], but no action was initiated against the per-petrators,” he said. Lima alleged that the perpetrators belong to radical outfits associated with the BJP, which has been in power in Odisha since June last year. “The aggrieved Christians,” he said, “staged peaceful protest marches at 25 of 30 district headquarters in the state on June 9 to highlight their plight to the authorities.” The protesters also handed over petitions addressed to Indian President Droupadi Murmu, calling on her to protect Christians’ right to practice and proclaim their faith without any disturbance from anybody.
7 jailed for forcing Christians to flee villages in India’s Odisha
Seven people were sent to judicial custody by a court in India’s eastern Odisha state for attacking Christian families in villages and forcing them to flee their homes after they refused to give up their faith in Jesus. The incident was reported from Narayanpatna and Bondhugaon in Koraput district on June 10. At least 60 indigenous Christians, including women and children, were forced to spend the night in a nearby forest, after which they trekked to their relatives and friends’ houses in the area the next day, Church leaders said. “We are happy that police arrested seven persons on June 12 and a local court remanded them in judicial custody the same day,” said Bishop Pallab Lima, head of the United Believers Council Network India.
Strategy seen in attacks on priests in eastern India
Christian leaders in eastern India claim that the increasing incidents of robbery and assaults on priests in the region are systematic and part of a larger agenda to weaken the Church’s mission. In the latest incident, five masked men broke into the vicarage of a Catholic parish in Simdega diocese, in Jharkhand, during the early hours of June 9. The robbers “brutally assaulted” Samsera parish’s priest, Father Ignatius Toppo, and his assistant, Father Roshan Soreng, before stealing an undisclosed amount of money from a safe, according to Father Agustin Dungdung, the principal of the Church-run school in the parish. Father Dungdung, who resi-des in the parish house, was also attacked. In the past two years, “churches in eastern Indian states have increa-singly faced such attacks,” Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas of Daltonganj told on June 12.
Don Bosco HRD mission Dhobasole marks one year of service to leprosy patients
As Don Bosco HRD Mission Dhobasole, West Midnapore completes one year of service to the Leprosy patients and their families, the team reflects on its humanitarian efforts to bring relief to patients in a leprosy hospital and rehabilitation villages. Nestled in Anchuri village, near Anchuri railway station, the government-run Bankura Leprosy Hospital serves patients from across West Bengal and neighbouring states. Despite leprosy being declared eradicated, thousands still suffer, particularly in underserved regions of India. Bankura hospital, with its 500-bed capacity spread across ten blocks, provides free medical care, food, and treatment. However, patients face extreme social stigma—ostracized by their families and communities, they often seek refuge in government and non-government facilities. A visit by Don Bosco HRD Mission Dhobasole last year revealed the lack of basic necessities. There are 350 men and 150 women patients, many live in discomfort, without proper storage for belongings, mobility aids, or essential medical equipment.
CCBI Inaugurates New Headquarters in New Delhi, Marking Historic Milestone
The Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI), the national episcopal conference for the Latin Catholic Church in India, celebrated a landmark event today with the solemn blessing and inauguration of its newly renovated General Secretariat at 9-10, Bhai Vir Singh Marg, New Delhi. His Eminence Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão, President of the CCBI, presided over the inauguration ceremony. His Excellency Leopoldo Girelli, Apostolic Nuncio to India and Nepal inaugurated the building. Archbishop Peter Machado, Vice President of the CCBI, blessed the office block, while Archbishop Anil Couto of Delhi blessed the residential section of the building. The event signifies a significant chapter in the history of the Episcopal Conference for the Latin Catholic Church in India.
New leader for Jalandhar diocese
The Vatican has appointed a new bishop for India’s Jalandhar dioce-se in Punjab, four years after Bishop Franco Mulakkal stepped down des-pite a court clearing him of charges of raping a nun. The Vatican named Father Jose Sebastian Thekkum-cherikunnel as the new bishop on June 7. The 63-year-old priest serves as the financial administrator of the diocese. The diocese, which has been without a bishop for nearly seven years, has not announced the date of Episcopal ordination. Retired Auxi-liary Bishop Agnelo Rufino Gracias of Mumbai has been serving as its Apostolic Administrator since Sept. 20, 2018, a day before police arrested Mulackkal based on the complaint made to law enforcement. The bishop elect also comes from Kerala but was ordained a priest in 1991 for the Jalandhar diocese based in Punjab, the Sikh-dominated northwestern Indian state. In 2004, Thekkumcheri-kunnel obtained a Licentiate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Urban University in Rome. He served the diocese in various roles across parishes and at the diocesan seminary. Additionally, he held the positions of chancellor and judicial vicar of the diocese. In 2022, he was appoin-ted as the financial administrator.