Christmas Celebratory Again In Holy Land Amid Ongoing War; Patriarch Urges Pilgrims To Return
Vatican: Former Choir Director, Manager Convicted Of Embezzlement, Abuse Of Office
Christians in Aleppo feel an uneasy calm amid rebel takeover of Syrian city
Kathmandu synodality forum: Indigenous people, ‘not the periphery but at the heart of the Church’
Indian Cardinal opposes anti-conversion law in poll-bound state
12,000 gather as Goa starts exposition of St. Francis Xavier relics
It was ‘Constitution Day’ once again on 26 November, as the nation remembered with profound gratitude the day in 1949, on which the Constituent Assembly ‘adopted, enacted and gave to ourselves’ a meaningful Constitution. The day was also a reminder that ‘Constitution Day’ for the citizens of India cannot be relegated to just one day- it has to be observed every single day; and secondly, the Constitution belongs to ‘we, the people of India’ and we should never allow it to be desecrated by anyone at any time! Setting the tone for the day, was a momentous address delivered by the Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud in the Supreme Court of India. CJI Chandrachud who took over the reins of the Apex Court just a couple of weeks earlier began his address by stating that the Constitution of India was a social contract between those historically in power and those who had been marginalised. Highlighting the need to enhance the representation of marginalised communities in the legal profession, he said, “The story of the Indian constitution is not just a story of legal text but is a story of human struggles and sacrifices, on undoing the injustices against the marginalised communities of society– the women, the Dalits and the disabled. The marginalised were the first to bring ideas or equality and liberty in the Indian law. The first wave of resistance against colonial power came from indigenous communities.” He went on to add that, “It is essential that th
November 3, 2022, was a special day indeed! On that day, Pope Francis began a four-days historic visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain, where he was given an exceptionally warm welcome! From the time he arrived in Bahrain, he set the tone of his entire visit, by asking the Government of Bahrain to guarantee human rights to all and to abolish the death penalty! Bahrain is ruled by a Sunni monarchy which has been accused of discriminating against the country’s Shiite majority. The words of Pope Francis are certainly music to the Bahraini Shiite dissidents, who are harassed and detained, subject to torture and sham trials; some of them have been stripped of their citizenship or sentenced to death for their political activities.Pope Francis however, kept his best for the pathbreaking address he delivered to a gathering of the Bahraini Royalty, Government authorities, the Diplomatic Corps, religious and civil authorities and other eminent citizens. Using the time-tested symbol of Bahrain’s ‘tree of life’ as a metaphor, Pope Francis struck a chord with the august audience. He said, “here, where the waters of the sea surround the sands of the desert, and imposing skyscrapers rise beside traditional Oriental markets, very different realities come together: ancient and modern converge; tradition and progress mix; and above all, people from various backgrounds create a distinctive mosaic of life. In preparing for my visit, I learned about one outstanding “emblem of vitality
Soul searching queries like, “Whither Kerala Church?” Or “Is it withering away?” are troubling many Christians in and outside Kerala. I am one of them.As a Keralite, I was born in the Syro-Malabar Church. As a teenager in 1950s, while serving as an altar boy, I had the trauma of mumbling replies in unknown Syriac to the priests’ Syriac Mass without understanding what I was mumbling. It was something like playacting.Some of the faithful who ‘saw’ the Mass but did not feel any devotion had their rosary in hand and knelt before the statue of St. Antony, the patron saint of our church. Thank God the Syriac language was shelved and vernacular language, Malayalam, took over on July 3, 1962, which helped for a slightly better participation of the faithful in the Eucharist.Even with that window-dressing, the faithful were treated as a particular class that could not deserve to see the Eucharistic being re-enacted by the celebrant with his back to the people. The justification for this was drilled into me in 1976 by my ordaining Bishop Joseph Powathil of Changanacherry. On the eve of my ordination, I approached him asking if I could celebrate my first Mass facing the people. Out came a thunderbolt reply coaching me into the theological ramifications of the Eastern Rite.He told me, “The Eucharist is a mystery. It should not be seen by the faithful. If they see it, the mystery effect will not have any value, etc.” It was a ten-minute nonstop lecture. In
Has Christianity destroyed our culture? This is the question often asked by many during my school and college days. Teachers and lecturers have also often stated that Christianity has destroyed many of our cultures in Northeast India. The arrival of Christianity in the 19th century is believed to be the beginning of destruction of many cultures in Northeast India.But has Christianity really destroyed our cultures? Personally, I would say ‘No’. In fact, it has come to empower us and enhance our cultures; our standard of living, and an improved way of life. It is unfortunate that some individuals continue to harbor such thoughts when most of them have received their education from Christian institutions.Imagine, what would be the situation in Northeast India if Christian missionaries had not come here. What would have been the standard of living and how disadvantaged would we have been in terms of education? Who developed the Khasi alphabets? Was he not a Christian missionary? In my opinion, most of the scripts of the tribes of Northeast India were developed by Christian missionaries.The contribution of the Christian missionaries to the literature of the tribes is very rich. A concrete example of how the cultural tools and traditions of most of the tribes of Northeast India have been conserved is visible at the Don Bosco Museum, Mawlai. Who started this Museum? Is it not the Christian missionary who saw the danger of losing the rich cultural values of the tribes
The Synod on Synodality was kick-started in October 2021.The first phase, the national level, was to conclude by August 16 and the National Syntheses (NS) were to be sent to the Synod Secretariat at the Vatican.A communiqué from Rene Reid, Director, Catholic Church Reform International (CCRI) states that of 104 NS submitted to the Secretariat, more than half have not been made public. That would include the three NS from the Latin, Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara Churches in India.The CCRI organized a zoom meeting on September 17 to get a world-wide feedback on the progress of the Synod, now that all the NS would have been submitted; and preparations are on for the Continental phase.CCRI’s preliminary survey showed that 93 percent of the respondents were deeply concerned about how the people of God would actually be represented in the Continental phase. Just 60 percent had faith in their bishops for a fair representation. This is far from the spirit of synodality as envisaged by Pope Francis!Representatives from 5 of the 7 Continental groupings participated in the zoom meeting. The notable exception was South & Central America that are often viewed as more participatory than more traditional or institutional ones; and the Middle East.The meeting began with inputs from Europe. Mary Varley of Root & Branch UK began with a report on England and Wales. The takeaway from the 22 dioceses of the territory was dismal. The key word was “dilution,” th
