From New Delhi to the North East, and From the Bangalore to Patna, hundreds of well-meaning, saddened, shocked and indignant protesters stood up for the arbitrary arrest of an 83 year old Jesuit who has spent most of his life to bring social justice to the tribal communities of Jharkhand. At around 4 in the […]
Tonight, as hundreds of Catholics in Bihar at home and elsewhere, watch Archbishop William D’Souza SJ perform the traditional ritual dedication of the Pascal candle on their TVs, laptops or mobile phones, via the Newsnet YouTube channel, they will be bound together in celebration and worship. Behind this effort is a three member team, one […]
To all those bleeding heart ‘liberal’ Christian ‘activists’ demonstrating against the NRC in India and demanding that Rohingya Muslims should be included in the list of persecuted refugees, here’s a wake up call. Ever heard of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army militants? they are so-called Jihadists. Right inside the Bangladesh refugee camps. These creeps are […]
I saw ‘The two Popes’ on Netflix last week. Now I see that the two actors, Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins have been nominated for the Oscars. This is a well-directed and beautifully filmed movie that covers and idealizes the story of the two recent consecutive popes, one a conservative and one a liberal. The […]
“The root cause of the the flood and water-logging in Patna is not the rains but corruption,” reasoned Vishal Mangalwadi, a noted Indian-American public speaker. Referring to the growing politician- public servant- builder nexus that has grown in the country since Independence, he pointed out that this diminishing of honesty is responsible for the growing […]
Patna, Bihar: For the small Catholic community in Bihar, the month of September has special significance. September 9 marks the 100th anniversary of the formation of Patna Diocese (now archdiocese). On Sunday, September 8, most of the churches within the Archdiocese, – which currently includes the diocese of Bhagalpur (1956), Muzaffarpur (1980), Bettiah (1998), and […]
The One Holy Apostolic Universal Catholic Church has stood strong through the centuries, because of the strong spiritual formation process and exercises in piety that until recently, was the bulwark of pastoral work. But with changing times, greater accent on Bible study and less stress on the Teachings of the Church has brought about a […]
Called to follow Christ through Baptism, the call to be a teacher is a call within a call: for those who are Christian teachers, the question is, “Do we understand that ours is not a mere profession, but a call to spread the light of knowledge and values, so that we can be instruments of […]
“My father’s dream of becoming a footballer has now become my dream and I will definitely fulfill it”, says Preeti , the daughter of a daily wage labourer. In higher secondary school now, she says she had to settle for the arts stream rather than science because of financial constraints. “I am old enough to […]
Patna: The football field at St Xavier’s College was where four girls’ soccer teams showed off their gaming skills under a monsoon sky. While the Football for Women’s Empowerment on the 3rd of July might not have made it to the top of the sporting pages in the local newspapers, there is a distinct possibility […]
Someone sent me a photograph via WhatsApp this Sunday morning from the tiny parish of Sikandra in the Jamui District of Bihar. The Church of St. Francis Xavier hosted a Fathers’ Day event, where the Dads who came to church, whether in their 20s or their 80s were felicitated and handed flowers. Along with today […]
The World Day of Social Communications was formally celebrated on Sunday 2 June – the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord – which falls on the Sunday before Pentecost Sunday. That’s part of the tradition behind this annual opportunity for reflection, established after the Second Vatican Council to generate insights about how we’re all […]
