A human rights group in Jharkhand, eastern India, has condemned what it called repeated raids on Jesuit social activist Father Stan Swamy.

“The raids and arrests are part of the government’s growing attempts to stifle dissent and intimidate those who are fighting for justice,” the Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (Grand council of people’s rights in Jharkhand) said on June 12 soon after the police raid.

An eight-member team of the Maharashtra police raided the Bagaicha campus, the 83-year-old priest’s residence at Namkum near Ranchi, the Jharkhand State Capital. The raid that started at 7:15 am continued for 3.5 hours.

The Maharashtra police had earlier raided the priest’s residence on August 28, 2018.

In the latest raid, the police searched the priest’s belongings and took his computer hard disk and internet modem and forced him to give his email and Facebook passwords. Thereafter, they changed the passwords and seized these accounts.

“The Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha condemns repeated raids on Stan Swamy and arrests of other human rights activists,” the statement said.

Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore on June 11 expressed deep sorrow over the passing away of Girish Karnad, a legendary playwright, actor and social activist.

“We have lost a legend in field of literature and arts. Truly our cultural world is poorer today,” Archbishop said in his condolence message.

The archdiocese later stated that the Catholic bishops of Karnataka with the entire Christian community, priests, religious and lay faithful joined the archbishop in conveying heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family.

Karnad was a man of multi-dimensional talented in nature. Theatre was his vocation. He was a prolific writer, thinker, actor, social activist, non-corrupt and fearless speaker. He also left an indelible impression on cinema, Archbishop Machado noted.

The body of Bishop Thomas Thennatt of Gwalior was on June 10 exhumed following a complaint from a Catholic woman who suspected foul play in his accidental death seven months ago.

“The police team took the body for medical examination and brought it back to the graveyard where it will be buried again,” Father Maria Stephen, the public relation officer of the Catholic Church in Madhya Pradesh, told Matters India.

“The body will be buried only after getting permission from the government authori-ties,” he added.

At the time of filing the report, the Church officials were waiting for permission from the government authorities for burial.

On May 11, Judicial Magistrate First Class Nidhi Neelesh Shrivastava, Pohari, district Shivpuri directed the police to investigate the circumstances that led to the prelate’ death and submit its report within a month.

The court order came following Dolly Theresa, a laywoman, approached the court saying she suspected foul play in the bishop’s death.

The woman alleged the diocesan authorities have restrained her from receiving Holy Communion from all churches in the diocese after she filed the petition.

“I had complained to the nuncio and the archbishop of Bhopal about the restriction imposed on me from the diocese, but to no avail,” she told Matters India.

In a rare move the Catholic bishops of India’s neighbour Myanmar have jointly demanded the complete shutdown of the China-backed Myitsone Dam on Irrawaddy river.

Charles Cardinal Maung Bo of Yangon and 18 bishops from 16 dioceses of Myanmar signed the statement after a biannual meeting held in Yangon.

In a statement released on 8 June 2019, they affirmed their constant effort to “engage in constructive dialogue with the government and all the stakeholders, firmly holding the belief that peace is possible and peace is the only way to effective nation building.”

The bishops pleaded for all dam stakeholders “to review the Myitsone Dam project in Kachin State and stop it permanently” for the sake of the country’s people.

“The River Irrawaddy runs through the heart of our nation nourishing millions of our people, flora and fauna with water for livelihood and life,” the statement said.

They also stressed people’s sentiments stating, “To the people of Myanmar, the history of River Irrawaddy is intertwined with our joys and our sorrows.”

The bishops feared the resumption of the mega dam would further displace thousands of people.

The bishops further claim that “Scientists have identified serious fault lines below the rivers’ course and building a dam might expose the lines to greater pressure and consequent mega disasters.”

They fear, “The promised economic benefits that are thought to come from the dam are no match for the social and ecological disturbances that will certainly come.”

The US$ 3.8 billion dam project on the Irrawaddy, Myanmar’s premier waterway, was being built to provide hydro-electricity that would be used almost exclusively in neighbouring China.

Spalding University, USA, has conferred an honorary doctorate on Indian nun, Sister Teresa Kotturan of Nazareth,  at the United Nations  for the Sisters of Charity Federation, on June 3.

Sister Teresa, a member of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Kentucky, serves as the main representative for the Sisters of Charity Federation NGO at the UN.

In this role, Sister Teresa’s primary objective is to take to the global stage of the UN, the concerns of the 3,400 members of the Charity Federation and all those with whom and to whom they minister in 28 countries.

Pope Francis on May 31 appointed Father Joseph Thykkattil of the Arch-diocese of Agra as the bishop of Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh.

Father Thykattil is currently the parish priest of St Peter’s Church in Rajasthan State’s Bharatpur.

This was announced at noon in Rome, corresponding to 3:30 pm in India, according to a press release from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India headquarters in New Delhi.