Nirmala Carvalho

The attackers, about 20, fled at arrival of police on motorcycles. According to witnesses, they were wearing the Hindu saffron headgear and devastated everything in their path. 65 worshipers beaten, including women. A child was thrown to the ground, women's clothes ripped. Christian leaders: "The anti-conversion law denies constitutional freedoms".

Every year 6 million abortions are registered in India, that is 26 per 1,000 women of reproductive age. Despite the law prohibiting the practice of sex selection in pre-natal testing, many girls continue to be aborted. The issue of an aging population, especially in rural areas. The elderly "are abandoned and discriminated against on the basis of the status and social belonging. But the Church welcomes many gratuitously. " After the government, the Church is the largest provider of health services.

The 32nd Plenary Assembly of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) opened yesterday in Bangalore. Some 180 bishops from the country’s three Catholic rites are meeting to discuss ‘The Response of the Church in India to Present Day Challenges’. CBCI President Card Baselios Cleemis noted that most Hindus are secular. Mgr Mepamparampil agrees, “but there is certainly an aggressive minority among them” who want to obtain “dominant positions in the country.” Hence, “We should invite a vigorous debate among intellectuals about the danger of surrendering the future of the country to the aggressive elements in society.”

An Australian interfaith group ends its pilgrimage to various shrines representing India’s religions. After Delhi, Varanasi, and Bodh Gaya, they reached Kolkata. Here they learnt, through Mother Teresa’s charities, how “important it is to serve, not only for Christians but for all religions." Religious fundamentalism "does not build peace; it only leads to war."

Fr. Lino Fernandes SFX is the pastor of Blessed Mother Teresa Church in Siadih, in Jharkhand State. He led a group of parishioners on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Bandel and the tomb of Mother Teresa. The journey "was long and arduous, and some have had to sell their cattle to pay the expenses." The memory of the encounter with the Blessed, 25 years ago, and the revelation: "I still guard as a treasure a gift from her, a picture of Mother Teresa with a child".

An alcoholic and absentee father; a mother who died of renal failure more than 10 years ago. The deep wounds of life and loneliness accepted in the name of Mercy and faith in God. Vernon Noronha, a young singer from Mumbai, speaks to AsiaNews about his faith experience.

The initiative is undertaken in response to Pope Francis’ invitation to celebrate "24 hours for the Lord" during Lent. Adoration will be held on 26 and 27 February at the Prarthanalaya Chapel, which will be open from 7 am to 20 pm. The nuns will pray even at night. The superior invites people to 'Come and celebrate God's mercy; come to be fed by our loving God’s abundant mercy’.

The debate in the country is focused on case of Kanhaiya Kumar, student leader arrested for "sedition". He stands charged with having led a rally with anti-nationalist overtones. Police accused of illegality and of manipulating evidence, helpless in the face of nationalist fanatics violence against students. Social leaders: "Finally there is a confrontation. On the one hand the Modi fascists, on the other democracy ".

The state is known for its high rate of suicide among farmers. The local diocesan social development agency helps farmers overwhelmed by debt. Within the diocesan territory, Catholics number only 7,000 out of a population of 11 million. The bishop makes an appeal to Christians in the Year of Mercy because “Your generous contribution will immensely enable us to empower” people.

A group of seven people of different faiths from Australia have already visited Delhi and Varanasi, symbolic places for Islam and Hinduism. Now they will travel to Bodh Gaya (the cradle of Buddhism) and Kolkata, important for Christians thanks to Mother Teresa. “It is also true, that at times people are afraid; however, faith is always open to others”. Sadly, “Those who close in on themselves do not understand their own faith”.

The two young men, one student and one worker have carried out corporal works of mercy, visiting a hospital and a nursing home for people with disabilities: "We were impressed by how much people are abandoned by society. They are part of our family". The visits are part of the activities that Opus Dei proposes every month, especially for the beginning of Lent, "a time of conversion and charity".

The state’s legislative assembly is set for renewal next year. For the Global Council of Indian Christians, acts of violence and incidents of discrimination against the Christian minority have reached a crescendo. A pastor and two worshipers have been arrested in Noida. The pastor of the Mission India Church was held for hours without charges along with 20 other religious leaders in Robertsganj.