After publication of his letter to Pope Francis questioning the pontiff’s teachings, Father Thomas Weinandy has resigned from his position as consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine. The Capuchin Fran-ciscan priest is former executive director of the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat of Doctrine and Canonical Affairs, serving in the post from 2005 until 2013. He expressed loyalty to the pope but at the same time told the pope that “a chronic confusion seems to mark your pontificate.” He released his letter to several Catholic and other media outlets November 1, including Crux. The priest told Crux, a Catholic news outlet, he did not write the letter in an “official capacity,” and he was alone responsible for it.
French priest receives human rights award for genocide research
An Oct. 26 ceremony on Capitol Hill honoured French priest Father Patrick Desbois for his work for nearly two decades in researching and telling the story of genocides past and present.
But the event also challenged the audience to be vigilant and to take more responsibility for the world around them.
“We have an obligation to follow the path of Father Desbois,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland, noting that the French priest continuously proved every human life matters and that everyone should speak up for human rights.
“We need people like you,” Rep. Randy Hultgren, R-Illinois, told the priest after urging the audience to always be vigilant because “so much evil is still present.”
Mumbai church among seven Indian sites awarded by UNESCO
With seven out of 16 awards, India bagged the highest number of awards among all the participant nations in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Asia Pacific Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation for 2017. While the award for merit was given to three Indian historical sites, the others four sites were given honourable mentions in the UNESCO awards, announced on November 1. Four of the awards winning structures are in Mumbai. The 16 winners of the UNESCO award are from six countries: Australia, China, India, Iran, New Zealand and Singapore.
Colombo cardinal wants govt to ban tutorial classes on Sundays
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo has called on the Sri Lankan government to ban tutorial classes on Sundays.
“I wrote to the president to ban tuition classes from 6.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. on Sundays,” said Cardinal Ranjith addressing a Catholic Teachers Day program at St. Joseph’s College Colombo on Nov. 3. He said Christian children need also to attend Sunday school. “Children do not have time to play or enjoy their childhood today because they run to tuition classes,” he said.
The cardinal said Buddhist children also fail to go to the temple on Buddhist holy days due to tutorial classes. A Buddhist teacher, Ananda Rashown, who fights to ban tutorial classes said all religious leaders should pressure authorities to stop such classes on Sundays and Buddhist holy days.
“Anyone who conducts classes on Sundays should be punished,” he said. Tutorial classes on Sundays have come in for strong criticism from teachers and some parents claiming it has an adverse effect on children.
However, others argue that a ban on tutorial classes takes away the right of people to work on Sundays and that the government has no right to enforce such a ban.
The pope bans sale of tobacco in Vatican
Pope Francis has personally decided that markets inside the Vatican will no longer sell cigarettes as of January 1, 2018. The Vatican spokesman, Greg Burke, explained that “the Holy See cannot contribute to an activity that clearly damages the health of people.” Indeed, according to the World Health Organization, every year smoking is the cause of more than seven million deaths throughout the world. Cigarettes were a source of revenue for Vatican markets, as they sell products tax-free, at a price much lower than Italy’s. However, the Pope said “no profit can be legitimate if it puts lives at risk.”
Don’t decorate graves with plastic: Goa Church official
In view of Nov. 2 All Souls Day, Catholic Church officials in Goa have advised not to use plastic and other toxic items to decorate graves to beat pollution and to safeguard environment.
The Church’s social welfare wing Caritas, in a letter to all parish priests and chaplains in the state, said these items should be shunned particularly on the occasion of All Souls Day, when Catholics visit and decorate their ancestors’ graves and pray for the departed souls.
Lay Catholic dedicates his life to Kashmir’s abandoned
Inside a two-story building within the crowded Bakshi Nagar area of Jammu and Kash-mir state, 35-year-old Emma-nuel Appan is preparing break-fast for aged and abandoned charity home residents in his care. Wearing a T-shirt and with a rosary around his neck, the young Catholic layman hands out cups of tea. It has been more than a year since Appan volunteered to work at the Little Teresa Home for the elderly and destitute managed by a charity called “Friends of Birds of the Air.” This charity movement, began operating some 25 years ago in southern Kerala state and has since spread to most other states. The Little Teresa Home opened three years ago. It provides food, shelter and medical care as well as emotional support to residents, who are mostly aged between 70-80.
“I choose this life for me and I am in love with it.” “God has made me a multi-tasked person,” he says light-heartedly. Fr Boby John of Jammu-Srina-gar Diocese, who heads the Little Teresa Home, praised the selfless efforts of volunteers such as Appan.
Indian bishops prefer tribal people over elephants
Catholic bishops have joined indigenous people in Jharkhand to oppose a planned corridor for wild life as it threatens to displace thousands of people in 214 villages. The govt. has identified 296 hectares of land plans to build a “wild life corridor” for elephants over four districts in the state. Bp Vincent Barwa said the plan is difficult for people to understand “because on one hand the government claims to be acting to protect the forest and tribal people, but on the other it moves to displace them.” Bishop Barwa, said the pro-Hindu government has made to marginalize tribal people and take over their lands on behalf of industrial companies.
Believers Church files defamation case against Bishop Oommen
The Believers Church has filed a defamation case against the head of the southern India’s top Protestant group for allegedly issuing statements against their supreme head and constitution.
Father Sijo Panthappallil, spokesperson of the Kerala-based Believers Church, issued a statement on October 16 saying their Bishop Joju Mathew of Niranom filed the case against Bishop Thomas K. Oommen, moderator of Church of South India (CSI).
The Judicial First Class Magistrate in Alleppy has admitted the case for issuing what he says are defamatory statements against their supreme head Archbishop K.P.Yohannan Metropolitan and other bishops. The petition claims the Believers Church was established with historical and constitutional episcopacy. Questioning the Church’s epis-copacy and making misleading and defamatory statements against their leaders were unfortunate and motivated by malice and personal hatred, it says. The petitioner states that the ceremonial consecration of K.P.Yohannan as the first bishop of the Church was solemnized by none other than former CSI Moderator Bishop K.J.Samuel in February 2003. The consecration ceremony was attended by renowned personalities in the socio-political spheres. The petition also alleged that the CSI moderator has been propagating that the CSI had never considered K.P.Yohannan as a bishop.
Five Catholic universities to address future of India’s higher education
Kolkata will host a national colloquium on “Future of Christian Higher Education and Contemporary Transitions in India” on November 16 to launch the 80th year of Salesian College Sonada.
“For the first time, the colloquium will witness five Catholic universities of India,” Principal of Salesian College Dr George Thadathil told Matters to India on Oct. 22.
The event will be held at Don Bosco School Park Circus in Kolkata.
Father Thadthil adds, “The topic is pertinent in the contemporary educational scenario in India and the rising number of subtle attempts in the saffronization of educational establishments in the country.”
He expressed the hope that, “the colloquium while exposing the alarming trends in higher education will also inspire a growing number of Christian Institutions of educational excellence to upgrade them- selves to serve minorities and marginalized groups.” Salesian College Sonada, Darjeeling with a campus in Sliguri planes, a constituent college of North Bengal University, has applied for Autonomous status since two years. The Catholic Universities invited to participate in the colloquium include: Assam Don Bosco University Guwahati, Christ University Bangalore, St Xavier University Bhubaneswar, St Xavier University Kolkata, and St Joseph University Kohima, Nagaland.
The colloquium will discuss topics such as: Mission in Higher Education and Contemporary Transitions in India; Church’s Social Concern and Challenges from Corporates in Higher Education.
Among the speakers are: Chancellor of Don Bosco Univeristy Fr V.M. Thomas; Former Principal of Delhi’s St Stephen’s College Dr Valson Thampu; Vice-Chancellor of Christ University Dr Thomas C. Mathew; Professor of Eminence in Sociology & HoD Social Work Tezpur Central University Dr Virginius Xaxa; and Jesuit Higher Education Commission Coordinator Dr Xavier Alphonse.