State authorities in eastern Indian Bihar state have cancelled the church’s license to make sacramental wine saying it violates a law passed in April banning alcohol. Despite the law prohibiting the production and use of alcohol, the government had allowed Catholic churches to continue to use wine for Mass. “All kinds of alcohol are banned […]
The Pope wants bishops to be more diligent in confronting abuse cases. Pope Francis has approved measures to sack bishops who mishandle child sexual abuse cases, a papal decree says. Bishops who are “negligent” in dealing with priests committing abuse will be removed under the new legal procedures. The decree comes in response to long-running […]
The rhetoric gets crazier. Here is a BJP leader in the State of Madhya Pradesh who wants to ‘slap sedition charges on Christians’ for waging war against the country! A MEMBER of the Madhya Pradesh Backward Classes and Minority Welfare Department who enjoys minister of state status, Laxmi Yadav, was present when Bajrang Dal activists […]
Don Bosco School Guwahati now has a replica of its patron saint’s house. The Salesians of Don Bosco installed a replica of the house at Becchi in Italy, in which saint John Bosco or Don Bosco was born and spent his childhood, on the Don Bosco School premises at Panbazar. The structure is to inspire kids to ‘dream […]
Karachi : Pakistan may achieve the infamous milestone of becoming one of the world’s top executioners, with almost 300 inmates already put to death this year and thousands more waiting. Pakistan’s independent Human Rights Commission says 295 people have been hanged in the country — a new record — since December last year, while Amnesty […]
The year was 2012. Water dripping from the feet of Jesus on a crucifix in a Bombay suburb was being hailed as a ‘modern miracle’. Hundreds of feverish Catholics, including nuns and religious and other curious residents flocked to the shrine in a nondescript Mumbai suburb to watch the hypnotic drip. Some even drank the […]
BOMBAY: The bluff has been called. The tunnel vision of fundamentalist groups like the Secular Christian Forum is not the voice of Christians or the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church has clarified that it is not seeking a ban on the play ‘Agnes of God’ although it is offended by its promotional material. The theatre […]
PATNA: The Catholic Church is gearing up for celebrating the jubilee year of the ‘Divine mercy’ , and Bihar plans to celebrate it with a slew of ‘events’ in its various parishes. The Most Reverend Archbishop of Patna William D’Souza SJ on Wednesday, speaking to some 200 delegates, and many ‘youth’ from different parishes, chose […]
For the past two decades, Ravi Bharati the archdiocesan communication centre has been welcoming kids to a ‘summer camp’ of music. On Saturday, the eve of World Music Day, some 42 kids put on a concert for their parents, on the concluding day of their month long camp. The children, aged 10 to 13 showcased […]
The ‘over-promotion’ of International Yoga Day has resulted in vocal protests against it in Assam and other parts of the Northeast. The ‘surya-namaska’r element is raising hackles in certain quarters. Muslims point to the fact that the holy month of Ramadan is on, while some Christian sects object to being coerced to participate in such […]
Mizoram’s protestant and evangelical churches have appealed to the people of the state to ignore International Yoga Day slated for Sunday, on religious grounds. “Sunday is a holy day for Christians. The government’s decision to celebrate Yoga Day on Sunday has hurt us. We appeal to the Christian community not to participate in the celebrations,” […]
Sarajevo: Pope Francis today condemned “the atmosphere of war” around the world as he urged Bosnians to step up reconciliation efforts, 20 years after a conflict that ripped the country apart on ethnic lines. Many conflicts across the planet amount to “a kind of third world war being fought piecemeal and, in the context of global […]
