A social activist from Tamil Nadu, southern India, has received this year’s Raoul Wallenberg Prize, a prestigious award given by the European Council.
The ceremony took place in France and Arokiasamy Vincent Raj, popularly known as Evidence Kathir, received the award online on January 19. The award, given every two years, carries a cash prize of 10,000 Euros equivalent of 842,770 rupees, besides a citation.
“I am happy for Evidence Kathir. I wish him good luck for what he is doing for the Dalits and the Tribals,” said Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K Stalin in his congratulatory message.
Kathir runs a 25-year-old non-profit organization in Madurai that works mainly for Dalits and the Tribals in Tamil Nadu.
He and his team reach out when atrocities against Dalits and Tribals take place. He trains human rights defenders especially the youth in Tamil Nadu.
The award is seen as “a great honor” for all Dalit activists and the human defenders in Tamil Nadu.
Kathir says he has been committed to the human rights issue for the past 25 years. “It is a challenging job and I feel its great recognition for my work,” he adds.
Reinstate survivor nun immediately: Christian women movement
The Delhi chapter of the Indian Christian Women’s Movement (ICWM) has demanded immediate reinstatement of the rape survivor nun in her congregation.
The movement, representing women from various Christian denominations across the country, on January 22 met Archbishop Anil J Couto of Delhi to present him a statement to pass on to Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli.
The statement refers to the victim in the historic nun rape case where Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jalandhar was accused of raping a nun multiple times inside a convent in Kerala, southern India.
A court in Kerala on January 14 acquitted the prelate saying the prosecution failed to prove his guilt.
The ICWM-Delhi statement asserts that the movement “stands in complete solidarity with the victim/survivor nun who broke the silence against continuous abuse and exploitation by Bishop Franco Mulakkal” of Jalandhar.
“As women, we are feeling completely outraged and humiliated by having to prove our pain and trauma, time and time again. We are sick and tired of proving why there was a delay in filing a report. Why there was a delay in speaking up? How could we endure it for such a prolonged period of time? Because it has been instilled in us to respect the men of cloth.”
The statement points out that the bishop and nuns have “a fiduciary relationship” and the prelate should have protected those serving the Lord under him. “Instead, women in the Church are feeling unsafe and vulnerable, open to abuse in their congregations and Churches. Anyone who dares to speak against the powerful men of cloth are isolated, neglected and targeted for speaking up,” the statement bemoans.
Observing that “this travesty of justice and denial of respect to women in the Church has gone on long enough,” the movement demands an end to “inappropriate behaviour by priests, Bishops and any other in power.”
Nun rape case: ICWM’s open letter to Indian Churches
The Indian Christian Women Movement, an ecumenical group, has issued an open letter addressed to the leaders of various Churchesin the country.
We, as women of the Chur-ches, waited for the verdict impa-tiently, we were so sure that the accused will be indicted.
In our estimation, all evidence pointed to the guilt of Franco Mulakkal. All that remained was for the guilty verdict and for the Church to acknowledge its connivance and announce, in no uncertain terms, its agreement with the strongest punishment that he deserves.
But, this was not to be. Mulakkal was acquitted of all charges; and the survivor Sister was left to deal with the consequences of crimes she did not commit.
In the text of the judgment, as submitted to the court, words have been written about the nun; intimate details enumerated which should shame every Christian woman, let alone a sister who has dedicated her life to obedience and submissiveness to authority in the church.
Her defence was downplayed and she was left in the lurch by the Church. This has been the most difficult – feeling let down by the Church to which she had avowed allegiance.
For us as women of the Church this betrayal has been the most painful to accept. We call on the leadership of the Church to account for their attitude ever since the survivor Sister courageously spoke out about her ordeal. The Church did not react as it should have – letters of appeal she sent to the leadership of the Church were ignored; the church remained silent in the face of her humiliation in the court.
Nun arrested after hostel girl dies by suicide in Tamil Nadu
A Catholic nun was arrested in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu after a 17-year-old girl died by suicide.
The girl took poison January 9 at her hostel at Michaelpatti in Thanjavur district, and died 10 days later.
Sister Sahaya Mary, the 62-year-old hostel warden, was arrested under the Juvenile Act apart from charges of abetting suicide. The place is near Poondi Madha shrine that comes under the diocese of Kumbakonam.
A report in ndtv.com says the girl took poison alleging abuse by her hostel warden and an attempt to convert her family to Christianity.
“In an unverified video that has surfaced after her death, the girl says she may have been harassed and abused because her family refused to convert to Christianity,” the report says.
The ndtv.com report says the news organization could not independently verify the video that surfaced after the girl’s death. Jesuit Father Arockiasamy Santhanam, spokesperson for the National Lawyers Forum of Religious and Priests, says the First Information Report does not mention conversion. “It is the cook up story by the Hindutva elements,” he told on January 21.
According to him, the police had gone to the hospital to collect the girl’s statement.
The priest also explained that the girl had lost her mother eight years ago and her father married another woman.
Indian priest on indefinite fast against uniform liturgy
A Catholic priest in India has launched an indefinite hunger strike against his Eastern-rite Church’s demand that all priests stop celebra-ting Mass facing the congregation in order to have uniformity in the liturgy. Father Babu Joseph Kalathil of Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese started his fast in the arch-bishop’s house on Jan. 12. He said the synod’s decision meant priests turning to the altar during Eucharistic prayer, which was not acceptable to him and his supporters. Fr Kalathil represented the priests of the archdiocese who pledge their full support to him. He followed by Fr Tom Mullanchira and two laymen Prakash P. John and N.O. Thomas continued the fast until Abp Kariyil CMI gave word that Mass facing the people will be followed in the archdiocese. Priests have accused Card. Alencherry and the bishops who support him of causing a rift between priests and the laity by insisting on a uniform liturgy. “If the synod continues with its adamant stand, the archdiocese with more than 500,000 followers will be in turmoil and the future of the church will also be at stake,” he said.
Nun rape case verdict evokes sympathy, support for victim
Support and sympathy for a Catholic nun continue to pour in even a week after a court in Kerala dismissed her case against a bishop.
Additional District and Sessions Court Judge G. Gopakumar on January 14 acquitted Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jalandhar in the historic nun rape case, saying the prosecution had failed to prove the charges against him.
The nun, a former superior general of the Missionaries of Jesus, a Jalandhar diocesan congregation, had in June 2018 accused Bishop Mulakkal of raping her 13 times between 2014 and 2016.
“When it is not feasible to separate truth from falsehood, when grain and chaff are inextricably mixed up, the only available course is to discard the evidence in toto,” said Judge Gopakumar in his verdict.
“In the said circumstances, this court is unable to place reliance on the solitary testimony of a rape victim and to hold the accused guilty of the offences charged against him. I accordingly acquit the accused of the offences,” the judge added.
After the verdict was pronounced, Bishop Mulakkal came out of the court saying, “Praise God.” His supporters hail the verdict as a victory for the Church since those behind the case were its enemies. The prelate reportedly offered Mass in a charismatic retreat center and visited people who had supported him in the media.
However, the verdict sent shock and disbelief among women across the country.
Astrid Lobo Gajiwala, a Mumbai-based woman theologian, says that the judgment is “a huge deterrent to rape survivors coming forward to seek justice, especially in the Church.”
“It tremendous courage for a Catholic nun to go public about being raped by a bishop, in a Church that claims its hierarchy is divinely instituted,” explains Gajiwala, who claims to be aware of “the prolonged physical, psychological and financial toll that this case has taken on the survivor and her supporters. It is unimaginable that she would go through this if it were not true.”
Varanasi ghat reverberates with message of love
The civil society people in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh committed to secularism and composite culture, have initiated a series of programs to promote communal harmony and peace.
The programs, held under the banner of “Paigam-e-Muhabat (Message of Love), are being held in the wake of hate speech, exclusive and divisive ideologies being spread by the fundamentalist forces.
Under the leadership of Indian Missionary Society Fathers Anand Mathew and Praveen Joshi the campaign was held on January 8 in Assi Ghat on the bank of Varanasi. It was here that three days ago divisive elements had exhibited posters to warn non Hindus against visiting the river bank. The artistes of Prerna Kala Manch, the theater troupe of Vishwa Jyoti Communications of the Indian Missionary Society, presented the message of unity in diversity through songs on fraternal love, unity in diversity, and short skits on communal harmony. Well known poets of Varanasi and around recited poems and couplets during the cultural evening.
The campaign addressed the issue of sectarian exclusivism and appealed people to exercise their franchise in the election to the state legislative assembly which was announced earlier in the day. The poets through their songs appealed people to beware of polarization by the political leaders based on faith and caste.
A street play titled “Bhookh banam Dharm” (Hunger versus Religion) the artistes depicted how the politicians divide the peace loving society so as to polarize the voters in the name of faith, caste and class.
Indian ‘prophet’ stuns politician with surprise gift
A self-proclaimed prophet in the north-eastern Indian state of Mizoram has caused a stir by presenting a black shawl – a symbol of mourning – to Chief Minister Zoramthanga at a Sunday prayer service.
The episode took place at Zarkawt Presbyterian Church in the state capital Aizawl on January 2. Eyewitnesses said Zoramthanga was seated behind the church elders near the altar. At the conclusion of the service, he was approached by local prophet Lal Rinwama, who was seated in the back row with two men, and presented with a traditional Puandum or black shawl.
Zoramthanga did not resist as the shawl was being wrapped around him. However, he quickly put it down on the pew, they added. Mizoram is a predominantly Christian and mostly Presbyterian state, but the tribal roots of its people ensure some superstitions continue, including the belief in local “prophets.”
It is not known why Lal Rinwama, also known as Awmtea, chose to offer the symbol of mourning to Zoramthanga, a former insurgent leader who surrendered in 1986 to join mainstream Indian politics. One person present inside the church later said that the chief minister looked “calm and not much disturbed.”
Scepticism over official claim that Haryana vandals who destroyed a statue of Jesus on Christmas night were drunk
Christian leaders in India have sought an impartial probe into the destruction of a cent-ury-old statue of Jesus Christ at a British-era Catholic church in Ambala in the northern state of Haryana.
Two men were seen on CCTV footage scaling the church compound on Christ-mas night and destroying the statue after breaking open the casket.
Police arrested two suspects after three days and a court remanded them into judicial custody. But church leaders suspect the case may get diluted with the investigating officer saying the suspected vandals were drunk.
“The police officers tasked with the investigation is siding with the suspects and trying to dilute the crime on the plea that they acted under the influence of liquor,” said Father Patras Mundu, parish priest of the Holy Redeemer Church in Ambala Cantonment in the Diocese of Simla-Chandigarh.
The police did not charge the arrested suspects for viola-ting the curfew orders imposed in the city, he said, adding that one of the arrested is a government employee and hence familiar with the laws of the land.
Catholic religious question silence of Indian Church on violence
A group of progressive Catholic religious in India have questioned the silence of the official Catholic Church over the continued violent attacks on Christians and other mino-rity communities across the country.
They want the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) to take up the issue with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to ensure immediate action against the perpetrators of hate crimes against minorities.
They also want regional bishops’ conferences to raise the issue of Christian persecution with respective state governments.
The Forum of Religious for Justice and Peace, in a letter dated Jan. 10 addressed to Cardinal Oswald Gracias, expressed shock over the silence of the CBCI even as targeted violence against Christians continued unabated in the country.
“During the two days, Dec. 24-25, the media reported seven well-planned attacks on Christian institutions across the country,” while “in the year 2021, there were 486 incidents of violence against the Chris-tian community in India, accor-ding to the United Christian Front,” the forum said.