A group of Dalit Christians in the Purathakudi-Magizhambadi panchayat, Trichy district (Tamil Nadu), have complained about caste discrimination by non-Dalit co-religionists at the St.Francis Xavier parish church, this despite a 2015 high court order allowing them to participate in church activities, inclu-ding the annual festival.
The local parish comes under the Diocese of Kumbakonam and serves about 3,000 households, half of them Dalits and half non-Dalits. Dalit Christians complain that they have been excluded from the church’s annual festival.
“During the celebration, no flag, torch-light, or car processions are carried out in our streets. The dominant Christians do not allow us to touch cars or adorn them with garlands,” some local Dalits said.
“We are completely ignored in all religious and cultural activities of our church. Even after the peace committee met 14 times, there was no consensus to let Dalits participate in the processions,” they explained.
The local festival falls on 3 December. After the court’s ruling in 2016, it was celebrated by Dalit and non-Dalits only in 2017. The Madurai bench of the High Court this year again ordered the authorities, the bishop of Kumbakonam and the parish priest to take the most appropriate steps to involve Dalits in the annual festival.
The top clergy “has taken a stand in favour of the dominant Christians,” Dalits lament, a charge non-Dalit Christians reject, saying that logistical factors explain why the procession avoided some areas.
Father R Arockiadoss, vicar forane in the Lalgudi area, said the diocese is ready to implement the high court’s decision. “Our bishop did his best to bring both groups together to organise the car procession.”
“Although the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court ordered to take the car procession in Dalit streets, this has not been done yet,” said Fr Raj, former national secretary of the Office for Schedule Castes & Backward Classes (SC/BC) of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI).
Indian nuns pledge to eradicate human trafficking
Catholic nuns working agai-nst human trafficking in various parts of India have pledged to li-ve the values of the Indian Consti-tution and continue their mission with renewed vigor.
Around 170 nuns from 80 women religious congregations gathered November 24-26 at Proggaloy, Barasat, North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, to share their adventurous and successful moments as well as the challenges they faced while combating hu-man trafficking.
The meeting was the 13th annual general body meeting of Amrat Talitha Kum India which is affiliated to Talitha Kum Inter-national.
Bishop Shyamal Boss of Baruipur, who led the inaugural Mass, reiterated the significance of working against human tra-fficking and appreciated the women Religious for their tireless and courageous efforts to check the social menace. He also hailed the nuns’ contribution in enhan-cing the Church’s effective pre-sence in the country and the world at large.
PM Nair, a renowned retired police officer who was the re-source person of the day, shared his personal interventions in rescuing children and his attitude of Christ-like compassion to the victims and survivors of Human Trafficking. He said he was “so happy to interact with so many sisters in the divine and universal Mission to work on preventing human slavery.”
Malaysia Christian body snubs state program over Xmas song
A major inter-church group in Malaysia’s Christian-ma-jority Sarawak state has reje-cted an invitation to participate in a state-sponsored Christmas program after the organizers declined to replace a popular but commercial song for the celebration. The Association of Churches in Sarawak (ACS) president Donald Jute said the group will not be involved in “A Christmas Carol, Sarawak in Diversity” program on Dec. 3 after the main organizer TV Sarawak (TVS) claimed it could not meet its request to replace the song Jingle Bell Rock with O Holy Night, the Malay Mail reported on Nov. 24. “The association expressed its regret that the request was not entertained by TVS,” Jute said in a letter to the Sarawak Unit for Other Religions (Uni-for), a focal body for various religious bodies to liaise and interact with state and federal agencies. The broadcaster said it rejected the request to change the song due to “religious elements” and “protocol” from the Film Censorship Board of Malaysia and the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission, he said.
The trust-deficit in China’s authoritarian regime
A recent surge in pneumonia cases in China highlights a significant trust deficit that exists between the Chinese population and the government.
On Nov 13, a notable surge in respiratory illnesses, particularly affecting children, was reported by China’s National Health Commission. The release of its report brought back echoes of the pandemic, sparking concerns among social media users about the emergence of a “new virus from China.”
In response to these fears, the World Health Organization (WHO), which had previously criticized Beijing for a lack of transparency during the Covid pandemic, called for additional information from China.
In turn, Beijing reassured the public that “there has been no detection of any unusual or novel pathogens.”
Chinese authorities attributed the increasing cases to the lifting of Covid restrictions, the onset of the cold season, and the presence of familiar pathogens such as influenza, mycoplasma pneumonia, and SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19.
It is believed by Chinese experts to be linked to the emergence of an “immunity gap.” This gap arises from a decline in antibodies against respiratory pathogens within the general population. While the outbreak was primarily noted in the capital, Beijing, it also affected north-eastern Liaoning province and other regions in China.
“China’s approach to handling the outbreak highlighted the limitations of a tightly controlled media environment”
But was the Chinese public convinced by this explanation?
Sri Lankan minister flays Cardinal Ranjith on Easter attack probe
A Sri Lankan cabinet minister has accused Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of not cooperating in the ongoing probe into the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, which rights activists say is making tardy progress after 55 months.
Tiran Alles, public security minister, criticized the head of the Catholic Church in the Island nation while speaking in parliament on Nov. 23.
The cardinal’s “actions were fuelling racial and religious conflicts,” Alles said.
The minister said that the probe into the 2019 bombings inside three Christian churches was nearly 90 percent complete. But the 76-year-old cardinal lacks urgency, he alleged.
Alles said 23 people are in remand in connection with the case “but the cardinal is reluctant to provide updates.”
Church sources said they have no information on the update the minister expects from the cardinal or Church officials.
“The problem needs to be solved or else the same thing will continue for another ten years,” he told lawmakers. The cardinal has been critical of the ongoing investigations and court cases, claiming that they were biased.
In September, the cardinal called for an international probe into the Easter bombings after a UK-based broadcaster claimed the country’s worst-ever terror attack was an inside job by the government.
“Cardinal Ranjith has issued letters to the authorities against various officials who follow different religions in connection with the Easter Sunday attacks,” Alles further alleged.
Thousands, mostly Christians, flee besieged Myanmar town
Sylvester and his family had no time to think before fleeing their home amid non-stop aerial bombardment and artillery shelling in the civil war-hit eastern Myanmar.
The 65-year-old quickly packed some clothes and important documents like the national registration card and left Loikaw along with his wife, son, and 91-year-old mother in a car on Nov. 14.
“We realized we can no long-er stay safe, especially due to our concern for my elderly mother,” Sylvester, who goes by a single name, told on Nov. 22.
Sylvester’s family is among an estimated 40,000 people, mostly Christians, who are said to have fled Loikaw, a town of some 51,349 residents as per the 2014 census.
Ever since the junta took power in February 2021, armed resistance has been developing against it. The junta targets Christian churches and villages, reportedly suspecting them to be hiding grounds of resistance forces.
The shelling since then destroyed several churches in eastern Kayah state (formerly Karenni) and the recent offensive also da-maged the Christ King Cathedral in Loikaw.
The latest exodus began as fighting intensified between ru-ling junta forces and armed rebel groups, including the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force, over the control of Loikaw, the capital of Kayah state.
Loikaw, which serves as a nerve centre of the junta administration in the region.
became a war zone as the junta retaliated with indiscriminate air strikes and artillery shelling to keep the rebel forces, which included Christians, at bay.
Catholic pastoral centre in Loikaw attacked and occupied by the Burmese army
A Catholic pastoral centre attached to the cathedral in Loikaw, where internally displaced people have sought refuge for months as part of the ongoing civil war, has been attacked and occupied by the Burmese army. This was reported by Bishop Celso Ba Shwe of Loikaw, the capital of Kayah State in eastern Myanmar. Even holy sites, the bishop said, were not spared from military operations, at a time when the military junta was struggling to wage war on the ground. “The Burmese army tried to take the Christ the King Cathedral complex three times,” he reports. “As a local bishop, I, together with the priests, tried to convince the military generals of the importance of the religious sites and asked them to leave the place to spare, where displaced people are also welcomed. However, on the night of November 26, the military deliberately fired artillery shells at the community centre several times, hitting the roof of the pastoral centre’s chapel. The ceiling was destroyed by artillery shells. For security reasons, “in consultation with the priests, we decided to leave the Pastoral Centre. Shortly before our departure on November 27 , 50 soldiers came and occupied the building to use it as a base and shelter.” About 300,000 people live in Kayah State, Myanmar’s smallest state, which is predominantly mountainous and inhabited primarily by the Karenni ethnic group. The Diocese of Loikaw is located here with around 93,000 Catholic believers. The Bishop’s describes the situation in the area as dramatic: “The Burmese army has used heavy weapons, combat aircraft, armoured vehicles and mobile defence systems. As a result, people in both the cities and the countryside are fleeing in different directions. Some fled to the northern part of the state or to areas of Shan State. Among the refugees were old and sick people, people with disabilities, women and some young people who, until a few days ago, were housed in the community centre in Loikaw, where around 80 have already been housed in the past few months, including 10 priests and 16 religious
No Christmas in Bethlehem
Christmas display in Bethlehem is cancelled by Palestinian authorities ‘in honour of Hamas martyrs’ as Israel continues to battle terrorists in Gaza
The annual Christmas dis-play in Bethlehem has been cancelled by Palestinian authorities ‘in honour of Hamas martyrs’ amid the ongoing conflict with Israel.
Bethlehem Municipality announced the plans to do away with the traditional Christmas tree and festive decorations in Manger Square, which has seen Christmas decorations ever since modern celebrations of the season began.
It’s the first time festive decorations will not be seen in the spot which is said to have been where Jesus Christ was born.
The West Bank town’s authorities told The Telegraph normal plans had been scrapped ‘in honour of the martyrs and in solidarity with our people in Gaza.’
The traditional Christmas mass and prayers will still be observed, without the usual Christmas tree or festive lights ‘in-stalled in any part of the city’, which sits just six miles south of Jerusalem, a spokesperson told the newspaper.
Further plans for the festive period in the area are expected to be announced in the coming days.
‘The reason is the general situation in Palestine; people are not really into any celebration, they are sad, angry and upset’, they said.
‘Our people in Gaza are being massacred and killed in cold blood. Therefore, it is not appropriate at all to have such festivities while there is a massacre happening in Gaza and attacks in the West Bank’.
‘This year the situation in Bethlehem is unprecedented and the mood and vibes are extremely sad, and that is exactly what the world should see, and realise that these are not normal circumstances,’ they added.
Vatican’s Mater Ecclesiae Monastery becomes home for contemplative nuns
The Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the heart of the Vatican Gardens that was the “home” of the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, for almost ten years, is to resume its original purpose.
Pope Francis has asked that it once again serve as the residence for contemplative orders “to support the Holy Father in his daily care for the whole Church, through the ministry of prayer, adoration, praise, and reparation: a praying presence in silence and solitude.”
A statement released by the Holy See Press Office on Mon-day, 13 November, said Pope Francis announced this decision in a handwritten letter dated 1 October of this year.
The Pope has summoned the Nuns of the Benedictine Order of the Abbey of Saint Scolastica in Victoria, Buenos Aires province (Diocese of San Isidro) in Argentina, “who have generously accepted the invitation” of the Pontiff, the statement said. In his brief “The Contemplative Life” of 25 March 1994, St.John Paul II canonically established a monastery of contemplative nuns in Vatican City, with the title of Mater Ecclesiae.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI had expressed the desire to reside there after his historic resignation on 11th February 2013. He spent the last years of his life there, assisted by his collaborators and accompanying the Church in prayer until his death on 31st December 2022.The monastery, the statement continued, will now welcome six nuns who, according to the statutes, will form the Mo-nastic Community and will begin living in the monastery in early January.
US bishops’ agency ramps up aid to Gaza amid hopes for indefinite ceasefire
Following a temporary cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas, the U.S. bishops’ inter-national humanitarian aid agency is ramping up its humanitarian assistance to Gaza with the hope that the ceasefire agreement will last indefinitely.
Bill O’Keefe, Catholic Relief Services executive vice president for mission and mobilization, told Crux that the organization is assembling trucks of supplies in Egypt. Meanwhile, CRS staff in Gaza are preparing to receive the trucks and planning how to distribute those resources safely.
The news comes after Israel and Hamas agreed to a four-day ceasefire in the war in Gaza on November 22. In the deal, 50 Israeli hostages captured by Ha-mas during its Oct. 7 terrorist attack will be released, including women and children, in exchange for what Hamas said would be about 150 Palestinian prisoners.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would resume the war after the truce and continue its fight to destroy Hamas and release the remaining hostages. However, Israel also said that the truce would be extended an extra day for every 10 hostages freed by Hamas. The ceasefire goes into effect Nov. 23. The deal was brokered by Qatar, the U.S., and Egypt.
O’Keefe added that CRS continues to pray for the release of hostages, and for the safety of civilians in harm’s way.
O’Keefe applauded the deal, as CRS has long called for a cessation of violence.
“That level of activity is good news, and we are actively and urgently ramping up our humanitarian assistance to take advantage of this pause however long it lasts,” O’Keefe said. “I hope it will last indefinitely, but we are taking advantage of it to meet as many needs of vulnerable Palestinians as we possibly can.”