Bishop Wilfred Chikpa Anag-be of the Diocese of Makurdi in Nigeria has called for action to address escalating insecurity in Nigeria’s Benue State, which has led to the closure of over 15 parishes in his diocese.
In an interview with ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, during the seventh Inter-national Theological Conference organized by the Institute of Consecrated Life in Africa, Anagbe urged the Nigerian government to prioritize security to restore hope and enable dis-placed persons to return to their ancestral homes. “Benue state is like the epicentre of what is ha-ppening. In my Diocese of Ma-kurdi, I have lost about 14 to 15 parishes now,” the bishop said. “When I mean parishes, some parishes have about 20 ‘outsta-tions,’ some have about 15. It covers almost 20-25 kilometres. So, the demography of the state and the diocese is shrinking.”
Anagbe clarified that the closure of parishes owing to inse-curity is also being witnessed in the Otukpo Diocese as well as in the Katsina-Ala Diocese. Both are located in embattled areas of Nigeria. The bishop expressed concern about the constant re-ports of killings and kidnappings in the country, emphasizing the role of the Nigerian government to protect lives and property.
“Every day we must hear about killings and kidnappings. And it is not for the people to defend themselves because the protection of lives and properties is in the hands of the govern-ment,” the Catholic leader explained. He said authorities in Nigeria should “do the needful thing,” adding: “We have been plunged into untold hardship. It is not just Makurdi but the whole of this country. As you travel from any part of this country … until you arrive, you are not safe.”
Trump can’t dictate China policy to the Pope, says Vatican’s top diplomat
The Vatican’s top diplomat has said that a controversial deal with China on the appointment of bishops will continue “regard-less of reactions that may come from America” during the new Trump administration.
Italian Cardinal Pietro Paro-lin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, spoke to reporters on the sidelines of an event at Rome’s Jesuit-run Gregorian University on artificial intelligence and international humanitarian law.
Asked about tensions that arose between the White House and the Vatican over China du-ring the previous Trump admi-nistration, which included then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warning that the Vatican risked “losing its moral authority” for its approach to Beijing, Cardinal Parolin indicated there would be no change of course.
“We’ve gone forward with China regardless,” Cardinal Pa-rolin said. “We renewed the accord for another four years,” he said, referring to the most recent renewal in October. “The dialogue [with China] continues, in small steps but it continues,” he said. “I confirm this approach, regardless of reactions that may come from America.”
Veteran Italian political analyst Massimo Franco called Cardinal Parolin’s comments “a preventive move in view of an attack the [Trump] administration against the strategy of détente between Pope Francis and the regime of Xi Jinping”. In a piece for Corriere della Sera, Italy’s newspaper of record, Franco suggested that Pope Francis and his allies may be concerned with the support for Trump and his hard line on China among con-servative Catholics in America and elsewhere.
U.S. bishops will speak out ‘loudly’ if Trump’s mass deportation rhetoric becomes reality
The U.S. bishops are taking a wait-and-see approach to what President-elect Donald Trump does with his campaign promise to carry out mass deportation of immigrants who are in the country illegally. But the bishops say they are prepared to speak out forcefully if Trump does advance the controversial proposal in a way that undermines human dignity.
That was the message delivered by leadership of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on the first public day of their fall assembly, held in Baltimore on Nov. 12, one week after Election Day. ”We are waiting to see just what exactly takes shape,” said Bishop Mark Seitz, head of the USCCB migration committee, who spoke to members of the media alongside USCCB president Archbishop Timothy Broglio and Bishop Michael Burbidge, chairman of the USCCB’s pro-life committee. If the Trump administration moves forward in a way that violates basic human rights, Seitz said the bishops are prepared to “raise our voice loudly.”
Seitz, the bishop of the Diocese of El Paso, has pushed back against the Texas state government’s attempt to restrict Catholic ministry to migrants in his diocese. He said that the bishops were “concerned” about Trump’s immigration rhetoric on the campaign trail but that they “don’t want to get ahead” of the administration before it announces its concrete plans.
“We know that very often the reality is different from the rhetoric,” he said. “We’ll watch and respond as needed.”
Forgive nations’ debts in Jubilee Year, Pope Francis urges COP29 climate summit
With financing the major focus at the United Nations climate change conference, Cardinal Pietro Parolin delivered directly to world leaders Pope Francis’ appeal that weal-thy nations use the upcoming 2025 Jubilee Year to forgive debts “as a matter of justice.”
Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, made the comments on behalf of the pope Nov. 13 during the second and final day of the World Leaders Climate Action Summit at the COP29 climate conference. Head of the nine-person Holy See delegation, Parolin emphasized that increasing financial assistance for developing nations to combat the effects of climate change is a crucial priority for the pope.
A central focus at COP29 is establishing a new target for climate financing from deve-loped nations to developing ones to replace the $100 billion annual goal set 15 years ago and reached in 2022. As much as $500 billion to $1 trillion annually could be required to fully fund climate actions at scale, according to a review by the World Resources Institute. Developing nations alongside climate activists have called for financing to come in the form of grants, rather than loans that further deepen debts.
“Efforts should be made, in particular, to find solutions that do not further undermine the development and adaptive capacity of many countries that are already burdened with crippling economic debt,” Parolin said. “Indeed, ecological debt and foreign debt are two sides of the same coin, mortgaging the future.”
Parolin then repeated a request Francis made in May ahead of the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year “directed to the more affluent nations …that they acknowledge the gravity of so many of their past decisions and determine to forgive the debts of countries that will never be able to repay them. More than a question of generosity, this is a matter of justice.”
Agra Catholic college alumnus among world’s largest history prize winners
A former student of Agra’s St Peter’s College has brought glory to the Catholic institution by wi-nning the world’s largest history prize this year. Tripurdaman Singh is among nine research scholars to win the Dan David Prize that celebrates the next gener-ation of outstanding historians, archaeologists, curators and digital humanists. The prize money of US$300,000 each is given to support their research. Father Mathew Kumblummottil, who was Singh’s principal, said he joined St Peter’s College in the ninth grade and passed the twelfth grade with Commerce, before moving to the United Kingdom for further studies. The college is managed by the archdiocese of Agra. “As a student, he was a very soft-spoken person but very talented, particularly in debating and creative writing,” recalled the 66-year-old priest, who is now the parish priest of St Peter’s Church, Bharatpur, Rajasthan. Father Kumblummottil said he has “only very happy memories of him. He makes it a point to contact me whenever he is in Agra.”
The priest told that Singh was born in 1988 in the royal family of Bhadawar near Agra.
Nun who became “mother”to Malappuram Muslim women
Church lead ers have mourn ed the death of a well-known so-cial worker and reformer, who had become “am-ma” (mother) to hundreds of wo-men, mostly Mu-slims, in Kerala’s Malappuram dis-trict. Apostolic Carmel Sister Marienie succumbed to cancer on October 21 at a private hospital in Kozhikode, Kerala. She was 58.
“Her passion for the people of Nilambur [Kerala] was palpable in everything she dreamt and did for them,” Sister Maria Nirmalini, Apostolic Carmel superior general told Matters India October 23. Sister Marienie was a crusader of women’s empowerment in Nilambur, a town in Kerala’s Malappuram district, as the director of Fatimagiri Social Service Centre since 2010. She had worked tirelessly for their welfare and brought several changes in their lives, Sister Nirmalini said.
“Her empowerment of women, awareness programs and relief and comfort during floods were well appreciated,” said Sister Nirmalini who termed Sister Marinie’s “untimely death” as a big loss to their congre-gation as well as to the people of Kerala.
Moral theologians address challenges in biomedical ethics in India
Around 60 Catholic moral theologians from across India have spent three days in Secunderabad, Telangana, to address mounting ethical challenges in the country’s healthcare system. “Biomedical Ethics: Developments and Challenges in the Indian Scenario” was the theme of the October 18-20 conference of the Association of Moral Theologians of India (AMTI). Keynote speaker Doctor P. Ranganadham, a renowned neurosurgeon in the state, lamented the erosion of ethical standards in the medical field. The senior consultant in neurosurgery from Aster Prime Hospitals expressed concern over the commercialization of healthcare. He stressed the need to view medicine as a service rooted in compassion, not a profit-driven business. The doctor commended the government’s Ayushman Bharat initiative for enhancing access to healthcare for economically disadvantaged populations. Bishop Gerald John Mathias of Lucknow, who inaugurated the event, highlighted the vital role of moral guidance in healthcare, setting the tone for three days of profound reflection Bishop Udumala Bala of Warangal, who led the final day’s Mass, emphasized the importance of healthcare professionals upholding ethical principles and urged moral theologians to promote these values amid rapid advancements. The conference addressed a variety of pressing bioethical issues, including assisted reproductive technologies (ART), surrogacy, euthanasia, and the ethical dilemmas surrounding the withdrawal of life support for terminally ill patients. Other topics included medical tourism, organ donation, mental health, challenges faced by the transgender community, and the growing role of artificial intelligence in healthcare. Pope Francis’s appeal for a “culture of encounter,” where no individual is marginalized or excluded from medical care, served as a moral compass for the discussions. The participants highlighted the need for a strong ethical framework to brace these complex issues.
Indian court orders officials to take over disputed churches
The top court in India’s southern Kerala state has refused to set aside its earlier order directing government officials to take possession of six churches in a dispute between two factions of the Oriental Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch. The church properties are being claimed by both the warring Jacobite and Orthodox factions of the Damascus-based church. The factions have been fighting over sharing churches and other assets in Kerala since they split in 1911. A division bench of Kerala High Court on Oct. 17 dismissed appeals from the Jacobite faction, which currently retains the six churches, and asked district collectors of Ernakulam and Palakkad in Kerala to take their possession as per an order of the Supreme Court. India’s top court declared the Kerala-based Orthodox faction the legal heir to all temporal properties of the Oriental church in India in 2017. But the Jacobite faction refused to comply, saying they were in the majority and, hence, the churches and other properties belonged to them. The high court’s order on Aug. 30 directed the district collectors to take possession and file a compliance report on Sept. 30. However, the collectors – the top government officials in districts – could not implement the court order because of opposition from the Jacobite faction, and the Orthodox faction filed a contempt case against the state government. The Jacobite faction sought quashing of the Aug. 30 order, but Justices Anil K Narendran and P G Ajithkumar dismissed its appeals. Advocate Biju Oommen, secretary of the Orthodox Church Association, said the Kerala High Court’s order asking the government to take possession “is the right direction.” Oommen is confident that the court will eventually help transfer the churches to the Orthodox faction, as they are the legal owners, as per the Supreme Court’s 2017 order. “We are now hopeful that we will get back our churches,” he told on Oct. 18. However, the rival faction is unlikely to give up easily.
Catholic leaders want review of Muslims’ land claim in Kerala
Catholic leaders have urged the Kerala government to review a state panel’s report favouring a Muslim charity’s claim over a piece of land, which threatens to evict some 600 families, most of them Catholics. Archbishop Joseph Kalathiparambil of Verapoly has urged the state government to review the Justice M. A. Nissar commission report. In an Oct. 26 statement, the archbishop said these families in a coastal village in Erna-kulam district legally bought the land decades ago and built their homes on it. He said the commission “arbitrarily inclu-ded” these lands as part of properties donated for Muslim charity (as waqf land). The archbishop’s statement said that the government should review the report and restore the ownership of the land to the original owners. The govern-ment appointed the commission in 2008 to examine the “irre-gularities” in the functioning of the state Waqf board. The commission submitted its report to the government in 2009, and the cabinet approved it the following year. The Arabic word “Waqf” literally means detention, and in Islamic Sharia law, it denotes the permanent submission of a person’s wealth or property for charity. The Central Waqf Council and State Waqf Boards manage waqf in India. The prelate asked the government to review the commission report to help the families in the neighbouring Kottapuram diocese, a suffragan of his archdiocese. “None of the victims knew about the inclusion [of their land and homes]” as Waqf properties, noted Father Antony Xavier, the parish priest of Valankanny Matha Church, which is part of the disputed land in Muna-mbam village. Among the 600 families, 400 are Christians, and others are Hindus. He said they started a relay hunger strike a fortnight ago deman-ding to restore their land ownership rights. The families claimed they legally purchased the land, which belonged to a local Muslim institution, Farook College, between 1988 and 1993, paying the prevailing market price and through registered land deeds.
Fresh violence in India’s Manipur amid peace talks
Peace talks in India’s strife-torn Manipur state have suffered a setback after fresh violence broke out when unknown gunmen attacked a police station and set on fire five houses. The attackers opened fire with highly sophisticated weapons at the Borobekera police station in Jiribam district in the early hours of Oct. 19, local officials said. However, the army and state police repealed the attack, and there were no human casualties. A search operation was launched for the attackers across the district. Media reports blamed the armed groups of indigenous Kuki tribal people, who are mostly Christians, for the attack as the houses of the Meitei Hindus were set on fire.
A Christian leader disagreed with the “misleading” reports and said “unknown miscreants” had “set on fire a closed Chri-stian school at the district headquarters on Oct. 18,” a day before the Kuki people attacked the police station and Meitei houses. “We do not know who is behind the violence,” he told on Oct. 21 on condition of anonymity due to security reasons. He said the attacks appeared to be an attempt to ”derail the peace initia-tive taken by the federal government.” “People in the state are fed up with violence and bloodshed. They want peace,” the Christian leader added. The sectarian clashes, which began on May 3 last year, have left about 230 dead, displaced over 60,000, mostly tribal Christian people, and destroyed over 360 churches and Chri-stian institutions. Among the 3.2 million people in the state, 41% are indigenous Kuki-Zo people, mostly Christians, and the influential and wealthy Meiteis Hindus account for 53 percent. The north-eastern state borders the civil war-hit Myanmar. The current violence began when the Kuki people objected to a government plan to grant tribal status to the Meitei Hindus, helping them access reservation benefits under India’s affirmation action policy. The Kuki people allege that the official tribal status will also allow the influential Meitei community to buy land in their indigenous areas, which curren-tly can be sold only to tribal people.