mons. Savio Fernandes*

Following police violence against Cockroach Janta Party protesters, the auxiliary bishop of Bombay calls for an independent inquiry and accountability from the Narendra Modi-led government. For him, “democracies are not weakened by peaceful dissent.”

A reflection by the auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Mumbai on the growing contrast between images of the Indian prime minister in churches at Christmas and his silence on attacks against these same places by people ideologically close to him. ‘Calling violence an act of violence is not an act of enmity: it is a gesture of hope.’

Mgr Savio Fernandes talks about the proposed law the Union Cabinet unveiled yesterday. “The life of every human person is to be respected and treated with dignity from the moment of conception.” Indian authorities want to contain the womb-for-rent industry, that each year brings in billon of dollars and expose women's body to exploitation. “A better option to surrogacy would be to adopt a child," the prelate said. "In India, there are so many children whose parents have abandoned them.”