Nirmala Carvalho

The state government will discuss in parliament the application about an amendment that also involves religious leaders. In the case of a conversion, a priest must communicate the data of the person concerned to the authorities 30 days before the ceremony. Those who violate the decree are liable to a fine and up to three years in prison.

Nine explosions have struck the sacred complex of Bodh Gaya (Bihar), where the tree is located under which Siddhartha Gautama allegedly reached enlightenment. Mild damage to the temples, two monks injured. For the police the attack is of Islamic origin. President of the Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI): "India is a land of peace, let us work together to build a more just, free and secure society".

The UK is set to legalize in vitro fertilization with three parents: the fetus will thus have the DNA of three different people. For a member of the Pontifical Academy of Life, approval of such testing is likely to pave the way for "improper use of the medicine and transformation of genetic selection into a real option." In India, surrogacy has become a million dollar industry.

Agnelo Rajesh Athaide wins the 2013 Social Reformer Award for his computer science education company, which offers courses and scholarships to poor kids since 1993. Combining "commercial interests to community development" is possible.

The founder of Opus Dei was "a saint of ordinary life" and his teachings should guide us in the last months of the Year of Faith. Bishop Percival Fernandez, emeritus auxiliary bishop of Mumbai: "We seek and find God in our lives, in our work, in our family and in our friendships, in order to live the Gospel simply."

Catholics in Mumbai attend a novena for Hindu pilgrims affected by floods in Uttarakhand. Fr Savio de Sales, who organised the event, stresses the importance of the protection of creation on the part of all men. For him, "the world is mired in a swamp of secularism, relativism and religious indifference. The Word of God teaches us to love our enemies, to do good to those who persecute us, to offer compassion, kindness and forgiveness."

In response to the release by the European Union of guidelines on religious freedom, the president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) discusses the situation of religious freedom in India. Although its constitution guarantees religious freedom, the reality is quite different, characterised by acts of intimidation, harassment and violence against individuals and small communities.

Police arrested a group of sadhus carrying money and valuables. The gang stole jewelry from the corpses, looted offerings made to Hindu temples and plundered ATMs destroyed by the rains. For the authorities, the victims are almost 1 thousand.

Card Telesphore Toppo, archbishop of Ranchi, unveiled a statue of the Virgin wearing a saree with red borders, holding Jesus according to local tribal customs. One tribe, the Sarna, has criticised the work, saying that it is a "tactic to convert". For Verbite priest, "Christian missionaries defend and protect indigenous cultures and traditions."

For the head of the Hindu extremist group Rashtriya Sawayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Hindu radical ideology is "the only way to change the country." President of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) says that Hindu extremists "have always opposed social equality". For him, support for the caste system goes against the positive change.

75 thousand children are born every day, but the baby boom also depends on a decrease in the rates of infant and child mortality. Member of the Pontifical Academy for Life criticizes "use of sterilization in family planning policies" and recalls the campaigns launched by Indira Gandhi in the 1970s. In just one year 6.2 million vasectomies and mandatory tubal 2.5 ligatures were carried out.

Anti-Christian attacks are rare in the State, one of the richest in India, but in recent months, religious hatred has been on the rise. Hindu extremists have in fact tried to stop Christians from building their own places of worship, as well as expel them from their villages, a "growing and worrying trend", according to the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC).