A Catholic priest says he has not overcome the trauma of kidnap and robbery even a week after the incident.
“I am alive today only because of God’s grace. I was afraid the gang would kill and bury me at a place that nobody would find out,” says Father Dominic Pulickapadavil, a member of the Society of Montfort Missionaries, who was kidnapped by an armed gang on June 1 near Madikkeri in the southern Indian state of Karnataka.
The 60-year-old priest, on transfer from Mysore to their mission in Kerala’s Kasargod district, was going to his new place in the car of his cousin Tomy Isaac, who lives in Mysore. “My cousin offered to drive me to the new place in his car. We had a pleasant journey to Madikkeri.”
However, when they were proceeding to Sulliya Road on the way to Kerala around 10:30 am, a gang of nine armed men overtook their car and blocked it. Masked men armed with gun and knives then broke the car’s windows and pulled out the priest.
The men, who spoke Tamil and Malayalam, snatch the priest’s mobile and laptop before pushing him to their car blindfolded. “I had no idea about my cousin. After a long distance, in a remote village, they brought my cousin by another car. We both were taken together to some remote places and somebody brought our car at Hirisave,” Father Pulickapadavil told Matters India June 8.
Filipino prelate gets another top Vatican post
Pope Francis has appointed Manila’s former archbishop Cardinal Luis Tagle as a member of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
Cardinal Tagle’s appointment, along with several other leading churchmen including Myanmar’s Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, was announced by the Holy See’s press office on June 1.
The Congregation for Divine Worship forms the part of the Roman Curia — the administrative institution of the Holy See — that handles most affairs relating to liturgical practices of the Latin Church and some technical matters relating to the sacraments.
Its functions were originally exercised by the Sacred Congregation of Rites, set up in January 1588 by Pope Sixtus V. The current prefect is English Archbishop Arthur Roche, whom the Pope appointed as a cardinal on May 29.
Cardinal Tagle’s appointment to the congregation was welcomed by Filipinos around the world.
“Congratulations, Your Eminence! May the Lord be with you and guide you as you undertake yet another mission for the Roman Curia,” a group of Filipino domestic workers in Italy posted on social media.
On Dec. 8, 2019, Pope Francis named Cardinal Tagle as prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, a post he still holds
Catholics living in the United States said the appointment showed yet again the pope had the utmost trust and confidence in the Filipino cardinal.
“Another appointment at the Vatican by Pope Francis? I am not surprised given his [Tagle’s] humility and love for the Church,” Arlyn Reyes from New York told.
On Dec. 8, 2019, Pope Francis named Cardinal Tagle as prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, a post he still holds.
He is also the first Filipino to be afforded the title of cardinal-bishop, the highest rank within the College of Cardinals.
India is facing a firestorm over ruling party officials’ comments about Islam. Here’s what you need to know
India is trying to contain the diplomatic fallout as outrage grows in the Muslim world following derogatory comments made by ruling party officials about the Prophet Mohammed.
The United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Oman, and Iraq are among at least 15 Muslim-majority nations to have condemned the remarks, which were described as “Islamophobic,” with several countries summoning India’s ambassadors.
The incident sparked protests in neighbouring Pakistan and prompted calls from around the region to boycott Indian goods.
India’s Hindu nationalist ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) disciplined the two officials involved, but the firestorm involving India’s major Arab trade partners is yet to die down.
Here’s what you need to know.
At the centre of the controversy is Nupur Sharma, now suspended national spokesperson for the BJP — the party of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On May 26, Sharma made comments during a televised debate on an Indian news channel about the Prophet Mohammed that were widely deemed offensive and Islamophobic.
Thailand just decriminalized cannabis. But you still can’t smoke joints, minister says
On June 9 Thailand became the first country in Asia to decriminalize cannabis — but tough penalties will still apply to those who use the drug to get high, according to the minister who spearheaded the change.
Speaking to CNN in an interview ahead of the move, Thai Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said he expected legal cannabis production to boost the economy but cautioned that recreational use of the drug remains illegal. “It’s a no,” said Anutin, who is also a deputy prime minister. “We still have regulations under the law that control the consumption, smoking or use of cannabis products in non-productive ways.”
Under decriminalization, it is no longer a crime to grow and trade marijuana and hemp products, or use parts of the plant to treat illnesses. Cafes and restaurants can also serve cannabis-infused food and drinks — but only if the products contain less than 0.2% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the plant’s main psychoactive compound.
Harsh penalties remain in place under the Public Health Act, including up to three months in jail and an $800 fine for smoking cannabis in public.
One-on-one with priest leads Japanese atheist to baptism
Kazuhiro Sasahara met the priest suggested by his Catholic wife, a member of Kitami Church on Japan’s island of Hokkaido
One-on-one with priest leads Japanese atheist to baptism
Kazuhiro Sasahara was born into a family of the Buddhist Jodo Shinshu sect but considered him-self an atheist. Because his wife, whom he met as a student, was baptized as an infant, their wedding was held in a Catholic church and their three children were baptized as infants.
“I went to church once a year at Christmas and I didn’t say anything about the faith of my wife or children, leaving that to my wife. Besides going to church on Sundays, my wife doesn’t say much about her faith. However, compared to the beginning of our marriage, statues of Mary and crosses have multiplied all over the house,” said the 63-year-old Japanese man.
After his retirement from years as a principal of elementary and junior high schools, Sasahara engaged in after-school children’s classroom activities with the board of education until April of last year.
At that time, “I thought it might be better to have the same faith as my wife.” He did not believe in God’s existence, but as his remaining years “shortened” he wanted to go into the future “with the same attitude as my wife with whom I’ve shared life for so many years.”
His wife, a member of Kitami Church on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, suggested that he meet the parish priest, Father Masahiro Uesugi of Sapporo Diocese. Since July 2020, they have met once a month.
“At the time, I didn’t have any strong desire for baptism or to attend any study sessions,” said Sasahara. “I just wanted to talk with the priest. I talked about books I had read, movies I had seen, TV dramas, and the state of the world today, and the priest talked about his interests.”
Rights supporters urge authorities not to arrest activist Sri Lankan nun
Activists called on Sri Lankan authorities not to arrest an activist nun who has supported anti-government pro-testers.
Sister Mary Sonali of the Congregation of the Apostolic Carmel was summoned by police June 7 to record a statement about an arson attack.
Shehan Malaka Gamage, a social activist and national convener of the Coalition of Catholic Lay Organizations, said June 8 that Sister Sonali was accused of aiding violence and inciting people to set fire to houses.
“We stand against the continuing state repression and the large number of arrests. Police have arrested many social activists to satisfy the needs of politicians and by now they have begun to touch the clergy as well. That is a very serious matter,” Gamage said.
“Several Buddhist monks were recently imprisoned on absurd charges but eventually the court released them. Even Father Cyril Gamini was prepared to be arrested in the same manner, but the police failed,” he said.
Father Gamini is former director of the National Catholic Center for Social Communications and has been an outspoken critic of how government agencies handled the investigation of the Easter 2019 attacks — including two on Catholic churches — that killed 279 people in three cities.
Synod: the place of women, the liturgy and Church governance
France has published its first synthesis of what Catholics who participated in the synodal process believe should be top priorities for their Church
“It is not only a question of women exercising much more responsibility in leadership, which must be done. Their place is also expected at the heart of sacramental life,” the document notes.
The exercise was tedious, given the magnitude of the expectations, dreams and regrets that more than 150,000 Catholics in France expressed over the last few months while participating in the synodal process.But Bishop Alexandre Joly of Troyes and his national team that is accompanying the Synod on Synodality were able to take the diocesan syntheses and turn them into a 10-page report, which was published on Thursday.The text is divided into three main chapters – the importance of “finding inspiration in the Word of God”, the urgency of “proposing meaningful and credible signs in society” and the need for “places of fraternal dialogue”. It is meant to help the bishops reflect further on the issues when they meet in an extraordinary plenary assembly June 14-15 in Lyon in the presence of lay invitees.The latter will have no decision-making power, but “for the first time” they will be able to participate “in all the working sessions of the assembly”, according to the French Bishops’ Conference (CEF).
Muslim-majority Indonesia eager to welcome pope
Indonesia has officially invited Pope Francis to visit the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation. Country’s Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas met Pope Francis at the Vatican on Wednesday and deli-vered the invitation letter on be-half of President Joko Widodo.
Archbishop Yohanes Harun Yuwono, chairman of the Indonesian bishops’ Commission for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, said Catholics are elated about the invitation as they are eager to see the Pope.
Christians make up 24 million of Indonesia’s estimated population of more than 270 million. Catholics account for about 7 million. The country has six organized religions— Buddhism, Catholicism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam and Protestantism — and around 200 traditional beliefs.
Pope Paul VI visited Indonesia in 1970 and Pope John Paul II in 1989. Pope Francis was supposed to visit Indonesia, Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea in 2020 but cancelled the trip due to the Covid19 pandemic.
The Catholic Church in Chile has lost all credibility
When running an errand in the centre of Santiago, the capital of Chile, Gina always stops at the Catholic cathedral. She 67-year-old stays there for about 20 minutes, thanking the Lord for her health and entrusting her son who lives far away. She also prays every night at home. But she has not been to Mass for the past ten years.”After all that has happened, all the sexual abuse, we no longer trust. How can we go to Mass and confess before a priest?” she exclaims.” In Chile, all the indicators of trust in the Church are down, except for popular piety,” says Eduardo Valenzuela, a sociologist of religion at the Pontifical University of Chile.” What characterizes this piety is that it does not require the mediation of a priest,” he admits.
It is not a crisis of Christian faith, but a crisis of faith in the Catholic Church. A crisis with no end in sight Pope Francis’ visit to Chile in January 2018, and the weeks following it, caused an earthquake in the Chilean Church that really brought the sexual abuse crisis to light.
$2M relic stolen, angel statue beheaded at Brooklyn church
Police say someone busted into the altar at a New York City church, stole a $2 million gold relic and removed the head from a statue of an angel at some point late last week.
The incident happened between 6:30 p.m. Thursday and 4 p.m. on May 26th at St. Augustine’s Catholic Church, known as the “Notre Dame” of Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighbourhood.
The church was closed for construction at the time. Camera recordings from the church’s security system were also stolen, the church’s pastor said. The Diocese of Brooklyn called it “a brazen crime of disrespect and hate.”
The diocese said the thief or thieves cut through a metal protective casing and made off with a tabernacle dating to the church’s opening in the 1890s.