The Chinese government placed strict controls on the funeral of a bishop in Shandong province. Restrictions were placed on photography and the number of mourners at the service for Bishop Joseph Li Mingshu of Qingdao, who died of lung cancer at 93 on June 15. Even the bishop’s 92-year-old sister had to rush to the funeral after receiving a late message from other Catholics. She had not received any official notice of his death. The funeral for the bishop, recognized by the Vatican and China, was held on June 18 at St Michael’s Cathedral in Qingdao.
Church decries Jharkhand move to cut indigenous benefits
Christian leaders claim that India’s Jharkhand State aims to side-line poor indigenous people who have converted to Christianity.
The state’s legal officers on June 21 gave expert advice to the government that indigenous people who have converted to Christianity have lost their status to merit benefits that the Indian constitution guarantees for the social advancement of indigenous people. The Jharkhand government seems determined to end reservation benefits for those tribal people who have converted to Christianity or other religions, a newspaper says.
Benefits such as job quotas, places in educational institutions and financial assistance for education are reserved for indigenous people following traditional religions. Conversion to Christianity makes them ineligible, the experts told the government, according to local Hindi newspapers.
The move by the state government, run by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), violates the principles of equality and freedom of religion, Christian leaders say.
“The constitution allowed such benefits for the socioeconomic uplift of these poor people. Their faith was not a criterion for this,” said Bishop Vincent Barwa of Simdega, chairman of the Indian bishops’ office for indigenous people.
Religion will become the basis to discriminate against people suffering disadvantages, the bishop said. It also sends a clear message that one should not change religion to Christianity, or change only to Hinduism, if one wants to enjoy state benefits, he said.
The hidden agenda is to target Christians because the government considers Christians the biggest threat as many are well educated and have begun questioning policies and programs, the Oraon tribal bishop said.
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Indian Catholic priest speaks at British parliament on Yoga
A Catholic priest is telling the British House of Lords of the benefits of yoga to mark International Yoga Day 2018 on June 21. Fr Joe Pereira told AsiaNews that he has been practicing Iyengar Yoga for 50 years, adding that his Kripa Foundation has used it “to help in the rehabilitation of people with alcohol and drug problems.
“The Kripa Foundation offers an intense program of yoga and meditation designed especially for people who undergo treatments and recovery sessions [from drug addiction].”
The Indian priest says that yoga has “the power to help us get in touch with the true inner self and to transcend the world of Prakriti [physical matter] and of materialism and to operate from a level of awareness which brings us to our essential ‘uniqueness’.”
New bishop of Ranchi to strengthen the faith of everyone and support those in need
“I will work to strengthen everyone’s faith,” said Msgr Felix Toppo, whom Pope Francis appointed on June 24 as the new Archbishop of Ranchi, Jharkhand, replacing Msgr Telesphore P. Toppo, who resigned after 34 years at the head of the archdiocese.
“In Jharkhand the faith of Catholics and Christians in general is very strong,” Msgr Toppo said about the pastoral work that awaits him. “I will work for the spiritual care of the population, to improve their living conditions and, as much as possible, strengthen faith even more.” For Msgr Toppo, “it’s still early to say what I’ll actually do. It will depend on the needs of the population. Of course, I want to boost the right practice of faith, support children education, work with young people without neglecting adults. We will continue the spiritual preparation and the catechesis.”
Abetting gang rape charges against priest ‘fabricated’
Police in India’s Jharkhand State have arrested a Jesuit priest on charges of aiding and abetting the abduction and gang rape of five social activists, but church officials say the charges are fabricated.
Father Alphonse Aind, principal of Jesuit-run Stockmann Memorial Middle School in remote Kochang village in Khunti Diocese, was sent to custody on June 22, a day after the June 19 rape case was reported.
The priest, two Ursuline nuns and two teachers were interrogated on June 21. Police released all but the priest.
The social activists and the two nuns were part of a team holding a street play in the school to create awareness about the trafficking of girls at the invitation of priest, who is also the local parish priest.
Six men on motorcycles took the women to a nearby forest area and raped them on June 19.
Police say they have arrested two suspects and are searching for the others. The priest has been “falsely implicated in nine serious charges including abetting crimes like rape deliberately to deny him bail.”
Paralysed man from Kerala is an inspiration to many
Hailing from Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram, a man named Thaha stands tall in life, in spite of being paralysed.
Thaha never succumbed to self-pity, but instead braved the odds and made a living for himself using social media as his tool.
This specially-abled man has been making umbrellas for the last five years, and with the help of Unni and Manoj Pillai, he has been selling his products through platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp. Thaha says he learned to make umbrellas from the Father in his Church and now earns a living by it.
“I know God is with me, there is nothing to be ashamed of. There is no point of sitting idle because of a disease, we must fight it out and not indulge in self-pity, do what you can best,” said Thaha, who became paralysed a few years ago after meeting an accident.
Apart from umbrellas, Thaha also knows how to make soap powder, jewellery, paper bags, and LED bulbs. He not only sells but also teaches how to make these products. However, Thaha says bed sores are bigger problem for him, but that does not stop him from doing the work.
Thaha also drives an automatic car customized for him with hand-held accelerator and break.
“I drive to many nearby towns and districts. The car has been customised to suit my needs; the accelerator and break are hand-held for my convenience,” he says.
Legislator sleeps at crematorium to bust ghost myth
A legislator in Andhra Pradesh spent night at a crematorium to convince scared construction workers that there are no ghosts or spirits.
Nimmala Rama Naidu, a first time member of the legislative assembly of the southern Indian state, had dinner at the crematorium in Palakollu in the West Godavari district before spending the night there on June 23 night.
His “brave act” won praises from people such as Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, reports ndtv.com.
Naidu, a member of the Telugu Desam Party, represents Palakollu in the Andhra Pradesh assembly. What bothered the 49-year-old legislator on the first night were not ghosts but mosquitoes, and stench from garbage dumped nearby. The area near the cremation ground had been turned into a dump yard. So for his next sleepover, he came armed with a mosquito net. Images showed the politician sleeping on a bed with a pink sheet, covering himself with a white blanket. The plan was to do this for two to three days to prove to people that no ghost had attacked him.
Pope appoints apostolic administrator for Syro-Malabar major archdiocese
While Cardinal George Alencherry still retains the title of major archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly, Pope Francis named an apostolic administrator to run the Indian archdiocese.
The Pope appointed 71-year-old Bishop Jacob Manathodath of Palghat to be the apostolic administrator “sede plena,” or effective head, of the archdiocese, said a Vatican press release on June 22.
“It shows a grave situation of ethical violations and the inability of the synod to effectively settle the issue,” he told ucanews.com.
In 2011, Alencherry, now 75, was selected by the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church’s decision-making Synod and confirmed by the Pope to be major archbishop and head of the Eastern Church. Pope Benedict XVI elevated him to the College of Cardinals in 2012.
Ucanews.com reported a letter from Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Eastern Churches, said, “There remains the grave and worrying” situation of division between priests, auxiliary bishops and Cardinal George Alencherry.
India’s Mizoram snubs Yoga Day as ‘anti-Christian’
World Yoga Day proved a big hit across India on June 21 as Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the nation to revel in and promote its culture but it was largely ignored in Christian-dominated Mizoram State. While many Catholics in other parts of the country joined the mass group exercises organized that on June 21, some religious groups in the north-eastern state dubbed the event “anti-Christian,” according to local media.
“Ours is a Christian state. We cannot accept yoga because we see it as a part of Hinduism,” said Vanlalruata, president of the People’s Representation for Identity and Status of Mizoram (Prism), a newly floated political party. “We refuse to practise yoga and we will keep opposing this celebration in our state,” he added.
Arunachal chief minister promises to repeal anti-conversion law
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on June 28 announced that his government would repeal the anti-conversion law the north-eastern Indian state passed 40 years ago.
“The anti-conversion law could undermine secularism and is probably targeted towards Christians,” said Khandu while assuring he would introduce steps to repeal the draconian law in the next assembly session to prevent its misuse in future by irresponsible officials.
Khandu was speaking at the tenth death anniversary of Prem Bhai, a Benedictine missionary who is considered the “Saint Paul” of Arunachal Pradesh. He endured repeated arrest, imprisonment, beatings and wore disguises to evangelize in the north-eastern state. Born Henry Gaikwad in the western Indian State of Maharashtra, the missionary was popularly known as Prem Bhai (loving brother). He died on June 28, 2008, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, following a heart attack the previous day. He was 45 at the time of his death. He was buried in Banderdewa, a village near the Arunachal Pradesh capital of Itanagar.
The chief minister said although he had not heard of Prem Bhai earlier, the testimonies of many about the Christian missionary’s efforts to promote communal harmony, peace and love among the people of Arunachal Pradesh have impressed him.
Khandu, 38, expressed concern about the persecution Christians faced because of the infamous law against conversion in Arunachal Pradesh, especially when the state was a territory directly ruled by the federal government. The Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act or the Anti-Conversion Law was passed by the state Assembly in 1978. It says no person should convert or attempt to convert, either directly or otherwise, any person from one religious faith to any other religious faith by the use of force or by inducement or by any fraudulent means nor should any person abet any such conversion.
The chief minister expressed surprise that the discriminatory law against Christians had not been repealed, even though it was not being enforced. He said that in the future there could be a chief minister, chief secretary or director general of police who could have malicious intent, to misuse the Act. “Any misuse of the law leading to torture of people could trigger large-scale violence in the state and could break Arunachal into pieces,” the chief minister warned.