The Supreme Court on April 9 said people are free to choose their own religion, even as it lashed out at a “very, very harmful kind” of “public interest” petition claiming there is mass religious conversion happening “by hook or by crook” across the country.
Instead, a Bench led by Justice Rohinton F. Nariman said people have a right under the Constitution to profess, practice and propagate religion.
“Why should a person above 18 years not choose his religion? What kind of a writ petition is this? We will impose heavy costs on you… Withdraw it or argue and risk the consequences,” Justice Nariman asked petitioner – advocate Ashwini Kumar Upa-dhyay.
Justice Nariman reminded Upadhyay of the fundamental right under Article 25 of the Constitution to freely profess, practice and propagate religion, subject to public order, morality and health. “Why do you think there is the word ‘propagate’?’” Justice Nariman asked the petitioner.
Religious conversion is being done through a “carrot-and-stick” approach, Upadhyay had claimed in his petition.
Justice Nariman said every person is the final judge of their own choice of religion or who their life partner should be. Courts cannot sit in judgment of a person’s choice of religion or life partner.
Religious faith is a part of the fundamental right to privacy. Justice Nariman reminded Upadhyay of the Constitution Bench judgment which upheld inviolability of the right to privacy, equating it with the rights to life, of dignity and liberty.
Upadhyay’s petition was dismissed as withdrawn. His plea to approach the Law Commission or the High Court with the plea was not expressly allowed by the Bench.
The petition alleged that the court should direct the federal and the state governments to control black magic, superstition and religious conversion being done through threats, intimidation or bribes.
“There is not even one district which is free of black magic, superstition and religious conversion… Incidents are reported every week throughout the country where conversion is done by intimidating, threatening, luring through gifts and monetary benefits,” the petition had alleged.
Further, the petition said the federal and state governments were obligated under Article 46 to protect the SC/ST community from social injustice and other forms of exploitation.
Miao diocese marks World Health Day
The diocese of Miao marked the World Health Day with the inauguration of a modern dental care unit at the only Catholic hospital in the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal.
“Proper health care is big concern in Arunachal Pradesh, particularly in Changlang district,” said Somlung Mossang, who represents the Borduma-Diyun constituency in the state legislative assembly.
Inaugurating the clinic in Krick and Bourry Memorial Hospital at Injan in Changalang district on April 7, he said people of Arunachal Pradesh often are compelled to travel to neighbouring Assam for their basic medical treatments. “Due to the long journey undertaken many have lost their lives on the way to the hospital. It also results in huge expense of money,” he added.
The dental care wing will cater to agrarian people of nearby areas such as Miao, Jairampur, Nampong, Manmao, Bordumsa, Diyun, Nampahi, Balinong and Kharsang. They can now avail hassle-free and affordable round the clock dental treatment, saving both money and time, Mossang said.
The diocese of Miao set up the hospital in 2016 as a response to the people’s request for a better health care facility within Arunachal Pradesh.
Speaking on the occasion, Bishop George Pallipparambil of Miao congratulated the doctors and the Sacred Heart Sisters of Pala province in Kerala and the nurses for their dedicated healthcare service to the people. Echoing the theme of World Health Day 2021, the Salesian prelate said, the dental care unit will now help the hospital serve the people and build a ‘fairer and healthier world.’
Mizoram urges Churches, NGOs to help contain Covid-19 cases
Mizoram Health Minister Dr Lalthangliana on April 7 urged churches, NGOs and local volunteers to revive efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19 as the state has registered a spike in coronavirus cases since March last week, an official statement said.
The health minister held interaction with representatives of churches, NGOs, Mizoram Village Council Association and Aizawl City Local Council Association in view of spike in Covid-19 cases.
Christians form 87% of the state’s 1.12 million people.
The minister urged the leaders to make collective efforts and take immediate preventive measures to avoid the situation from going from bad to worse, the statement said.
The health minister said that the state has registered a spike in Covid-19 cases since late March following the relaxation of COVID-19 protocols.
He said that at least 32 Covid-19 cases were reported in the first week of April and most of the patients came from other states. “With the rising Covid-19 cases, our present situation is hard to explain,” he told the meeting. The meeting discussed the need to review night curfew, church service, sports activities, screening of Myanmar nationals, who sneak into the state and stepping up vigil at various entry points along international and inter-state borders.
India’s top court dismisses bid for federal anti-conversion law
Catholic Church leaders have welcomed India’s top court dis-missing a petition that sought a federal law to check religious conversion and black magic.
The Supreme Court of India on April 9 said persons above 18 years of age are free to choose their religion and dismissed a plea seeking directions to the federal government to enact a nationwide law against religious conversion.
The petition in the form of public interest litigation was filed by Ashwini Upadhyay, a Supreme Court lawyer and a member of the ruling pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
A bench of Justices R.F. Nariman, B.R. Gavai and Hrishikesh Roy disagreed with the demand, directed the petitioner to withdraw it and threatened to impose heavy costs if he persisted with it.
The court directions are “in the right spirit” of the constitution, which guarantees every citizen the right to profess, practice and propagate a religion of choice, said Father Babu Joseph, former spokesperson of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India.
“Several states have enacted laws curbing the religious freedom guaranteed by the constitution and it has had an adverse impact on several communities, especially Christians,” he told.
Indian archbishop fasts to spell out Covid-19 danger
A Catholic archbishop joined an Indian state’s chief minister on a special one-day fast to create awareness among people about the need to protect themselves from Covid-19.
“It is our duty and respon-sibility to protect ourselves and others from the danger of Covid-19,” said Archbishop Leo Cornelio of Bhopal.
Madhya Pradesh’s Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan started a 24-hour fast in state capital Bhopal on April 6 in a specially erected tent.
He said it is time that “we all should take a firm resolution that we will wear masks and en-courage others” to do so to ensure the safety of everyone.
Archbishop Cornelio was among many religious leaders who joined Chouhan on his fast.
“It is high time that we all take the pandemic seriously and prepare to protect ourselves from its impending attack that could be fatal for many and precarious for others,” the prelate told on April 7.
“We need to ensure our safety by following government pro-tocols when we move in public as it is essential to ensure that we do not become a carrier.
“We need to cover our faces and wash our hands regularly as prevention is better than cure.”
Archbishop Cornelio praised Chouhan for his special initiative to reach out to people about Covid-19.
Father Maria Stephen, public relations officer of the Catholic Church in Madhya Pradesh, told that “we are now in a war with Covid-19” and urged everyone to be more serious about their health.
Palm Sunday bombing at cathedral in Indonesia injures Catholics leaving Mass
A suspected suicide bomb attack targeted Catholics leaving a cathedral after Palm Sunday Mass on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.
The explosion occurred March 28 out-side Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral in Makassar, capital of South Sulawesi pro-vince, as church-goers were exiting the cathedral at the start of Holy Week.
Initial reports said that at least 10 worshipers were injured by the blast at the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Makassar.
Fr. Wilhelmus Tulak, who celebrated the Mass, said that the explosion occurred at around 10:30 a.m. local time.
The priest explained that a suspected bomber, who arrived on a motorbike, tried to enter the cathedral but was turned away by security guards. Other reports suggested that there were two perpetrators.
The Associated Press reported that it had obtained a cellular video showing body parts near a burning motorbike at the cathedral gates.
The BBC said that the bombing happened at the cathedral’s side entrance.
It quoted Makassar Mayor Danny Pomanto as saying that there would have been many more casualties if the attacker had struck at the main entrance.
Makassar is the fifth-largest urban center in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation.
A family of suicide bombers attacked three churches, including the Church of St. Mary Immaculate, in Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-largest city, in May 2018.
Vatican statistics show continued growth in number of Catholics worldwide
The number of Catholics and permanent deacons in the world has shown steady growth, while the number of religious men and women continued to decrease, according to Vatican statistics.
At the end of 2019, the worldwide Catholic population exceeded 1.34 billion, which continued to be about 17.7% of the world’s population, said an article published March 26 in the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano.
It marked an increase of 16 million Catholics — a 1.12% increase compared to 2018 while the world’s population grew by 1.08%.
The article contained a handful of the statistics in the Statistical Yearbook of the Church, which reported worldwide church figures as of Dec. 31, 2019. It also announced the publication of the 2021 Annuario Pontificio, a volume containing information about every Vatican office, as well as every diocese and religious order in the world.
According to the statistical yearbook, the number of Catholics increased in every continent except Europe.
At the end of 2019, 48.1% of the world’s Catholics were living in the Americas, followed by Europe with 21.2%, Africa with 18.7%, about 11 percent in Asia (all figures for Asia exclude China) and 0.8% in Oceania.
The yearbook showed the number of bishops in the world — 5,364 — dipped slightly with 13 fewer bishops than in 2018.
The total number of priests — diocesan and religious order — around the world slightly increased from 414,065 in 2018 to 414,336 in 2019.
The largest increases were seen in Africa and Asia, with a growth of 3.45% and 2.91 percent, respectively, followed by Europe with a 1.5% increase and the Americas with about 0.5% more.
At the end of 2019, 40.6% of the world’s priests were serving in Europe, while 28 percent of priests were in Africa and Asia.
Vatican bars gay union blessing, says God ‘can’t bless sin’
The Vatican decreed March 15 that the Catholic Church won’t bless same-sex unions since God cannot bless sin.
The Vatican’s orthodoxy office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a formal response March 15 to a question about whether Catholic clergy have the authority to bless gay unions. The answer, contained in a two-page explanation published in seven languages and approved by Pope Francis, was negative”.
The note distinguished between the church’s welcoming and blessing of gay people, which it upheld, but not their unions. It argued that such unions are not part of God’s plan and that any such sacramental recognition could be confused with marriage.
The note immediately disheartened advocates for LGBT Catholics and threw a wrench in the debate within the German church, which has been at the forefront of opening discussion on hot-button issues such the church’s teaching on homosexuality.
Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, which advocates for greater acceptance of gays in the church, predicted the Vatican position will be ignored, including by some Catholic clergy.
Catholic people recognise the holiness of the love between committed same-sex couples and recognize this love as divinely inspired and divinely supported and thus meets the standard to be blessed, he said in a statement.
The Vatican holds that gay people must be treated with dignity and respect, but that gay sex is intrinsically disordered. Catholic teaching holds that marriage, a lifelong union between a man and woman, is part of God’s plan and is intended for the sake of creating new life. Since gay unions aren’t intended to be part of that plan, they can’t be blessed by the church, the document said.
The presence in such relationships of positive elements, which are in themselves to be valued and appreciated, cannot justify these relationships and render them legitimate objects of an ecclesial blessing, since the positive elements exist within the context of a union not ordered to the Creator’s plan, the response said.
God does not and cannot bless sin: He blesses sinful man, so that he may recognize that he is part of his plan of love and allow himself to be changed by him, it said.
Vatican Now in Crisis Management Mode with German Bishops
In January, two Vatican cardinals wanted to summon the president of the German bishops’ conference to Rome and correct him about a media interview in which he expressed his dissent from Church teaching in a number of areas. Such a meeting, which some believe should have been used to give the Vatican’s formal opposition to the Synodal Path, never happened and now the German bishops are blazing ahead unfettered, drawing grave concerns of possible schism.
Jesuit Cardinal Luis Ladaria, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Cardinal Kurt Koch, the Swiss president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, were concerned about comments Bishop Georg Bätzing made in a lengthy interview with the German publication Herder Korrespondenz published at the end of December.
In the largely overlooked interview, headlined “I Want Change” and published over the New Year, Bishop Bätzing of Limburg began by describing himself as a “good conservative because I love this Church and gladly give my life and energy to it. But I want it to change.” He then went on to directly challenge the Church’s teaching and tradition regarding women’s ordination to the priesthood, the blessing of same-sex unions, priestly celibacy and Holy Communion for Protestants. Limiting ordination to men seemed to him “less and less convincing,” he said, adding that “there are well-developed theological arguments in favor of opening the sacramental ministry to women as well.”
Catholic Church ‘has no future’ without women
Women of faith celebrated International Women’s day with discussions on women’s future in the Catholic Church and by exploring if women have been written out of scripture.
“We are talking about the survival of the Church,” said Joanna Moorhead, The Tablet’s Arts editor, who has written widely on the subject of women in the Church for publications including The Guardian, The Observer and The Times.
She told more than 200 participants in The Tablet’s webinar, Do Women have a future in the Catholic Church? that the issue was no longer a women’s issue but an issue for everyone. The question is – does the Church have a future without women?
“Of course it doesn’t. The church has no future without us,” she stated. She also noted the implications of younger catholic women falling away as the Church needs a membership to survive.
During The Tablet’s webinar, Zuzanna Flisowska-Caridi of Voices of Faith recounted her experience of the German Church’s synodal path of reform.
The process has brought together lay people, religious and bishops to discuss four major topics: the way power is exercised in the Church; sexual morality; the priesthood; and the role of women in ministries and offices in the Church.
Zuzanna Flisowska-Caridi, who is part of the commission working on women’s issues, described her experience in Germany as “quite extra-ordinary.”
She said: “Obviously, the process has its limits. But for me, it’s been a really wonderful experience in which lay people, theologians, male and, and female, religious sisters, are all sitting together at the one table, and they’re really trying not to have this hierarchical view. Everyone has his or her voice.