The NGOs that intend to receive foreign funding will now face tougher rules with the Union Home Ministry making it clear that such organisations must have existed for at least three years and spent Rs 15 lakh in voluntary activities to be eligible to receive money from abroad.
In a notification, the Home Ministry also said office bearers of the NGOs seeking registration under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act must submit a specific commitment letter from the donor indicating the amount of foreign contribution and the purpose for which it is proposed to be given. The FCRA rules were issued about two months after the central government had amended the law under which providing Aadhaar numbers of the office bearers of the NGOs was made mandatory, office expenses were brought down to 20 percent of such amount and election candidates, government servants, members of any legislature and political parties were prohibited from accepting foreign funding.
Indian Theological Ethicists Respond to COVID-19 Pandemic
The 30th annual conference and meeting of the Association of Moral Theologians of India (AMTI), conducted online on 15, 22 and 29 October 2020, focused on “Covid-19: Ethical Challenges.” The conference emphasised that Covid-19 Pandemic has raised great ethical challenges in the field of healthcare, migration, democracy, faith practices, use of technology, etc. New ethical principles have to be formulated to address these challenges. Inaugurating the conference on 15 October 2020 by Bp Stephen Chirappanath, Apostolic Visitator for the Syro-Malabar Faithful in Europe. In the Presidential Address, Dr Shaji George Kochuthara highlighted some of the theological challenges that Covid-19 poses: developing a theology and spirituality that makes lay people mature and independent in their spiritual life; a Family-centred, People-centred theology; to strengthen our social commitment; to engage the public square more effectively; to develop further a theology of Suffering, a theology of Hope, etc. The conference conducted in three sessions had nine papers. Besides, twenty eight participants shared their personal experience in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Kerala Latin bishops call for debate on reservation
The Kerala Region Latin Catholic Bishops’ Council (KRLCBC) has called for discussions by the government with Dalit as well as other backward communities in connection with the implementation of reservation for economically weaker sections (EWS) among forward communities.
Pope appoints Mangalore priest as ‘Chaplain to His Holiness’
Pope Francis has appointed Mangalore diocesan priest Father Alfred Rayan D’Souza as “Chaplain to His Holiness. A Chaplain of His Holiness is a priest to whom the Pope has granted this title. They are addressed as monsignor and have certain privileges, such as regards ecclesiastical dress. Presently, Father D’Souza is serving as second secretary at the Apostolic Nunciature in the Republic of Croatia. He hails from Pangala in Udupi district.
Father Swamy’s confreres condemn ‘fabricated’ charges against him
The Jesuit congregation is hopeful that the case against 83-year-old Father Stan Swamy will be shattered in the court, as there is no evidence to establish that he was in some way connected with the violence against Dalits at Bhima Koregaon.
The imprisoned priest’s close associate, Fr Joseph Xavier, alleges that Swamy hasn’t visited Pune for the last 15 years. Fr Swamy, a member of the Jesuit’s Jamshedpur province, was on October 8 arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), India’s counter-terror task force for his alleged links with Maoists.
Prime Minister Modi mourns death of Jesuit savant
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among those mourning the death of a Spanish Jesuit who contributed a new style of writing in Gujarati and translated many mathematical concepts into that Indian language.
Father Carlos Gonzalvez Valles died on Novem. 9 in Madrid, capital of Spain. The priest, who was popularly known as Father Valles, had turned 95 on November 4.
Massive Christian protest in India over blocked church refit
More than 10,000 Christians demonstrated in India’s Arunachal Pradesh State on Nov. 2, accusing the government of violating their right to worship by refusing permission to renovate a church.
Christians have been protesting since Oct. 6 when police in Tawang on the India-China border arrested Joseph Singhi, a pastor of Tawang Christian Revival Church, a neo-Christian sect. He was arrested on charges of maintaining a church on government land without permission.
“Right to freedom of religion is our constitutional right. But the state government does not allow us to construct churches. Where can we gather and worship our God?” asked Taw Tebin, who participated in the protest in state capital Itanagar organized by the ecumenical Arunachal Christian Forum (ACF).
He said Christians from all denominations joined the peaceful protest to attract the state’s attention to their grievances. “No other religious community faces restrictions on constructing their religious worship places,” Tebin told on Nov. 3.
Christian leaders like Tebin say the state government, run by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), discriminates against Christians, who form the largest single religion in the state.
Christians comprised some 30 percent of the state’s 1.3 million people in 2011. In 2001, they accounted for only 18 percent of the population, official census records show.
Jesuit college waives fees for poor students amid pandemic
Loyola College of Arts and Science, one of the Jesuit institutions in Tamil Nadu, has come forward to sponsor the academic fees of poor students amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The college is located in Mettala near Salem but in Namakkal district in Tamil Nadu. It was started in 2015, affiliated to the Periyar University, Salem.
It is one of the nine colleges the Jesuits manage in Tamil Nadu. The college has 1,075 students, including 442 girls, coming mostly from Namakkal and Salem districts. Matters India interviewed College principal Jesuit Father Maria Joseph Mahalingam about the work of Jesuit educational institutions in Tamil Nadu “The Periyar University extended the deadline for admission until October 30. Our Jesuit community analyzed local people’s financial situation and made a comparative study of admissions in the previous academic years. We also studied the college’s fee structure. Each semester, a student needs to pay 9,500 rupees for Arts and 10,000 rupees for the Science course. The college’s fee structure covers the expenses of special training for the Union Public Service Commission exams, English coaching and Computer Education. The financial crisis due to the continuing lockdown and the inability of bright students to pay the necessary college fees prompted us to offer the maximum scholarship to the needy.” said the college principal “Loyola College, Mettala, charges only 5,000 rupees from the first year students for the first semester while the semester fee is 10,000 rupees. For the orphan, semi-orphan, differently-abled students, some have paid only 5,000 rupees for the entire year while they need to pay 47,000 rupees including the college, hostel and examination fee for two semesters.”
Jesuits to start St Xavier’s University, Meghalaya
The draft bill was brought by the education department and the same was approved by the cabinet.
The bill will be placed in the autumn session of the State Assembly on November 5.
Speaking to media persons, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said, “St Xavier’s is one of the most successful uni-versities in the country. The Calcutta Jesuits have established St Xavier’s University, Kolkata at New Town in Kolkata in 2017.”
The St Xavier’s University Meghalaya will be run by the Jesuits of Kohima Region work-ing in the North East. Before submitting the Letter of intent to the Government, a team of Jesuits visited other Jesuit universities in the country. This is the third Jesuit University in the country after Xavier University Bhuba-neswar (XUB), Odisha and St Xavier’s University Kolkota (SXUK) West Bengal.
The Meghalaya government has set up a regulatory board under the Meghalaya Private Universities (Regulation of Esta-blishment and Maintenance of Standards) Act, 2012.
The regulatory board will ensure that private universities maintain the standards of infra-structure, teaching, research, examination, and extension of services, fee structure, and safeguard the interest of the state.
Hindu groups want to deny benefits to Indian tribal Christians
Right-wing Hindu groups in India have stepped up a campaign seeking to strip tribal Christians of government concessions with the aim of stopping more indigenous people converting to Christianity.
A group of right-wing Hindu activists marched through Jhabua town in the central State of Madhya Pradesh on Nov. 4. They shouted slogans asking the government to remove tribal people who have converted to Christianity from the list of beneficiaries.
“The benefits of reservation meant for tribal people should strictly be given to only those who have not converted to any other religion,” protest leader Azad Prem Singh told media.
India’s constitution guarantees social benefits such as re-served seats in government jobs and educational institutions along with educational fee concessions and financial support for socially poor Dalit and tribal people to help them move to the social mainstream.