Religious persons in the Catholic Church should first become disciples of Jesus before trying to make others His followers, says former Supreme Court judge Justice Kurian Joseph.

“Becoming a disciple of Jesus is a difficult task whereas becoming a devotee is easy. Our call as religious is to become disciples and make people disciples of Jesus,’ Justice Joseph told the general plenary assembly of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate, India’s first indigenous religious congregation for men.

The January 4-8 assembly, now underway at Jerusalem Retreat Centre, Thrissur, is expected to evaluate the relevance and impact of the 187-year-old congregation’s ministries and revisit its vision and orientation for the next ten years.

Faced with the evil done to children, “no one can remain silent,” says Bishop John Rodrigues, rector of the Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Bandra (Mumbai).

The prelate was addressing the Mass on December 28 for the feast day of the Holy Innocents, which commemorates the massacre of children ordered by Herod, king of Judea, with the aim of killing Jesus. In his homily, Bp Rodrigues said: “They proclaimed and bore witness to Christ even before they could speak. We pray for all children that they are safe and grow up with love and understanding.”

The bishop also spoke against “abortion, abuse, neglect, child labor, child trafficking, child soldiers.”

“Christ, the light of the world, came to save the world. And yet we see evil and darkness around. We are called to be children of the light,” he explained.

Father Cedric Prakash of the Jesuit Gujarat Province has just returned from the Middle East after a three-year stint with the Jesuit Refugee Service there. On his religious vocation he says: “That is a long story: to cut it short – it was a CALL – and I said “YES” to it – and I have not regretted that decision for a single moment, ever since. I believe I am called to serve Jesus through His people. I try my best to do so: willingly and joyfully!”

Fr Cedric is an internationally acclaimed human rights and peace activist and recipient of several awards including the ‘Legion of Honour’ from the President of France and the ‘Kabir Puraskar’ from the government of India.

He was in the Middle East for three years from January 2016. He was invited by the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region to work among the refugees and displaced in the Region (Syria, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Lebanon). He was based in Beirut, Lebanon and entrusted with the responsibility of advocacy and communications for the Region. He spoke in an interview “The current scenario for human rights activism in India is very bad. We hear about threats, intimidation, arrests, foisting of false cases and even death for all those who take a stand for human rights, justice and peace.”

Lynching has become the new normal. The Government is wedded to crony capitalism: “we have seen it in demonetization and how they have mainstreamed corruption. The poor become poorer everyday.

“The fascist, fundamentalist forces must be put in place. We must hold political parties accountable for their misdeeds and ensure that they focus on Governance and on serving the people. Too much of ‘fekuism’: myths, lies, false promises have been foisted on the nation. We must ensure that we exercise our franchise and motivate all others to do so too. We need to educate people on our Constitutional values and fundamental rights. We need to engage with the media and also be active on it. Yes all of us can do plenty to stem the rot that is taking place in the country.”

“Christians and the Church in India must play a very active role in addressing the ills of the country. We cannot be fence-sitters. We have to be vocal and visible for a more just, free and equitable India. This I believe is what Jesus expects from us today.”

India’s Latin-rite bisho-ps were gathering in the hold-ing their plenary assembly in the seaside town of Mahabalipuram in southern India’s Tamil Nadu State.

The Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) of the Latin-rite bishops, was held its 31st plenary assembly at the Joe Animation Centre from January 8 to 14 on the theme, “Evangelii Gaudium,” or “The Joy of the Gospel,” the Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Francis that deals with the Church’s primary mission of evangelizations in the modern world. Several speakers, including a nun and a lay man are scheduled to address the bishops on various aspects and ways to promote the “Joy of the Gospel” in the Church in India by upholding the ministry of love and compassion.

The CCBI plenary meeting will also look into the present situation of the Church in India.

Most Rev. Dr Filipe Neri Ferrão, Archbishop of Goa and Daman was elected as the new President of the CCBI by the 31st Plenary Assembly of the National Episcopal Conference of India. Most Rev. Dr George Antonysamy Archbishop of Chennai-Mylapore and Most Rev. Dr Anil Joseph Thomas Couto, the Archbishop of Delhi were re-elected CCBI Vice president and Secretary General respectively. According to Fr Alathara, the CCBI, with 132 dioceses and 189 bishops, is the largest bishops’ conference in Asia and the fourth largest in the world.