A six-member team that studied reasons for increased hostility toward Christians in an eastern Indian district have blamed the media and a new government for causing the problem. “A few local daily newspapers played a villainous role in escalating the hate campaign against Christians,” the team said in a March 15 report after touring Balasore district in Odisha state. “The changing of the guard in Odisha state has further escalated the vulnerable situation of Chri-stians,” it added, referring to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) taking power in the state in June 2024. The team of six lawyers, who included priests and nuns, visited villages in the Raibania area and listened to Christian villagers discussing how Hindus opposed burying their dead and conducting religious ceremo-nies. “We interacted with more than 25 affected Christians about ongoing challenges they faced,” said Catholic priest, lawyer and activist Ajay Kumar Singh. He told on March 23 that the fact-finding team toured the Balasore diocesan area, which reported several cases of anti-Christian activities like burial denial and disruption of religious ceremonies. Their re-port said some tribal Christians also faced social boycott threats for practicing their faith. “The triggering point of the unrest” was on Dec. 18, when a tribal-dominated village in the area opposed burying Budhia Murmu, a local santal tribal Christian.
Spanish bishops speak out after leaks of their meeting with Leo XIV
The executive committee of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, (CEE, by its Spanish acronym) meeting in Madrid this week, issued an official statement regarding the leaks
