Pope Francis, the leader of the Catholic Church, recently spoke out against conservative Catholics in the United States, calling them “reactionary” and expressing his concern about their influence. This marks one of his strongest criticisms of these influential figures who have been critical of his leadership for over a decade. The Pope’s comments were made […]
Times are bad in India: Manipur has been burning for two months now. Millions of citizens all over are denied their fundamental rights. Corruption and crony capitalism are rampant. Opposition politicians can be bought up and blackmailed by the ruling regime. The mega-project profiteers and the mafia who plunder our precious natural resources destroy the […]
Three masked men tied up a Catholic priest and robbed him of his money in broad daylight in the Raipur archdiocese of Chhattisgarh. Father Varghese Thekkekut, is parish priest of St. Theresa of AvilaChurch at Bagbahra in Mahasamund district. The parish is 89 km east of Raipur, the state capital. The men called on the […]
To say that ‘Manipur is burning’ is not merely a gross understatement, but belies the terrible reality which has gripped the tiny State in North-East India since the third of May, writes Peace Activist Cedric Prakash SJ: For almost fifty days now, Manipur has been experiencing unprecedented violence and mayhem; more than one hundred people […]
Gonsalo Garcia is a name that may not be familiar to many people, but his legacy as the first Indian Catholic missionary to be martyred in Japan is one of great significance. He born on Feb. 5, 1556 in Agashi village in western India’s Vasai (formerly Bassein) area. His father was a Portuguese soldier stationed […]
In this opinion piece, Fr Cedric Prakash SJ touches upon several events that have occurred in the first two weeks of May, most disturbingly the violence in Manipur, also asking some searching questoins The first eleven days of May 2023 have, in many ways, been a defining period of Indian history. Plenty has happened in […]
It was a historic meeting on March 11, when two popes sat side by side in the Vatican. Pope Francis of the See of St. Peter addressed Coptic-Orthodox Pope Tawadros II of the See of St. Mark and his delegation, who are in Rome to celebrate 50 years of Coptic and Catholic relationships. It is […]
St. Catherine’s Home and Orphanage in Bombay (Mumbai) has been caring for single mothers and abused girls for almost a hundred years. Since 1927 the Daughters of the Cross, a Catholic Religious Congregation, have run the home. St. Catherine’s doors are open for abused girls entrusted to them by police and social services. This year […]
In the midst of political and social turmoil in neighbouring Pakistan, from the town of Faisalabad comes a ray of hope. With Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, and the season of Lent overlapping, Christians and Muslims have been provided a special opportunity to come together this year in Pakistan. Every year, the Catholic Diocese of […]
On Saturday 25 March, the small Catholic Community of Buxar will witness the installation of their new Bishop, Most Reverend James Shekhar. The diocese was being administered by Archbishop Emeritus William D’Souza from 2020. The diocese was erected in 2005. His Holiness Pope Francis appointed the 55 year old Fr. James Shekhar as new Bishop […]
In this hard hitting reflection, Cedric Prakash discusses ‘The betrayal of Christ and Constitution‘. For the past couple of days, electronic and print mainstream media in the country, have been highlighting the public ‘promise’ made by the Archbishop of Tellicherry. During a protest rally of some Catholic rubber farmers he offered to help the BJP […]
In a hard-hitting article in the Shillong Times, Salesian priest, Albert Thyrniang, protested the attempts to “Christianize” the swearing-in ceremonies of Meghalaya and Nagaland governments. Such ceremonies, he points out, leaves us with ‘no more right to protest against saffronization and majoritarianism’. “Do not pray to be seen by people… But when you pray, go […]
