A member of India’s parliament has criticized Pope Francis for comparing gossiping with coronavirus. “I’m not sure about this, Your Holiness… Sometimes it seems like Covid might be a tad bit worse…” tweeted Varun Gandhi, a member of the Lok Sabha (peolple’s house), the lower house of parliament. The 40-year-old politician belonging to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party was referring to Pope Francis’ remarks on August 6 that gossiping is a “plague worse than Covid” that is seeking to divide the Catholic Church.

India’s poor deserve better than this
Concerns are being raised about whether the needs of poor and marginalized communities in India are receiving enough attention in current government policies. Observers say


