A Catholic bishop in southern India was kidnapped and assaulted by attackers who demanded money. Bishop Prasad Gallela of Cuddapah in Andhra Pradesh state was blindfolded, handcuffed and abducted while he was travelling home after celebrating Mass at Karunagiri Shrine on April 25. The bishop said that unidentified kidnappers came in two vehicles and took Read more
The first that I ever saw was worn by Father Lawrence, an elderly priest who said Mass for the rubber-plantation workers in the Kerala village where I spent a Catholic childhood. When he came to our house for coffee, he lifted the curiously rounded hat and bowed with grave courtesy, a gesture I remember vividly Read more
It’s a plain truth that democracies everywhere are witnessing the resurgence of religious bigotry. There are moments when it feels even as if something like a new global religious war has begun, on several fronts. Ignorant media hype, foul abuse of the faith or godlessness of others, ugly violence calculated to scare and kill: such Read more
A new DNA study has added to the mystery surrounding the Shroud of Turin – which some believe to be the burial cloth of Jesus. By sequencing genes from pollen and dust particles on the shroud, Italian researchers have been able to map the type of plants and people that came into contact with the Read more
Police in India are probing a death threat allegedly made by a Maoist group against a Catholic cardinal. Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, the archbishop of Ranchi, received a threatening letter purportedly from the People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI) The PLFI is a breakaway faction of the Communist Party of India. The letter demanded a payment Read more
An Indian bishop has said a 71-year-old nun who was the victim of a gang rape has forgiven her attackers. Bishop Joseph Gomes of Krishnagar, who visited the nun in hospital on Monday, added: “She told me that ‘justice should be done’.” “This should be never be repeated or happen to anyone else.” The attack Read more
The gang rape of an elderly nun in West Bengal has intensified anger over sexual violence in India. A 74-year-old nun was attacked by six men during a burglary at the Convent of Jesus and Mary, which was attached to a school in eastern West Bengal. The woman is in a stable condition in a Read more
Nuns in India want priests and bishops to join them raiding Kolkata’s brothels. The call comes from Sr Sharmi D’Souza, a member of the Sisters of Mary Immaculate, who says the nuns will be more effective supported by their pastors. As well as the lack of priests, the nuns are also disappointed that some Indian police refuse Read more
The Church in India is concerned that one of the effects of an alcohol clampdown in Kerala state will be a ban on wine at Mass. Over the next 10 years, hundreds of alcohol outlets in Kerala will be shut down and “alcohol free” days enforced. The General Secretary of the Hindu organisation SNDP Yogam, Read more
It may not make his family wealthy, but Devran Mankar is still grateful for the pearl millet variety called Dhanshakti (meaning “prosperity and strength”) he has recently begun growing in his small field in the state of Maharashtra, in western India. “Since eating this pearl millet, the children are rarely ill,” raves Mankar, a slim man Read more