Nirmala Carvalho

Card. Oswald Gracias, archbishop emeritus of Mumbai, tells AsiaNews of the bishops' closeness to the victims of the crush during the great Hindu pilgrimage: ’Simple people died, who were seeking God's message. We pray for them. Let us work for our country and our people to ensure that there are no tears in the eyes of any Indian’.

The Pontiff's message to the Assembly in Orissa that brings together the 204 bishops of the Latin Rite dioceses. Card. Ferrao: ‘Despite adversity and threats to religious freedom, the Church in India remains alive and firm in the faith’.

The legislation, which provides for the registration of marriages, divorces and cohabitation for members of all religions, officially came into effect today and will apply to Uttarakhand residents living in other Indian states. For law supporters, it is an important reform in favour of equality, but it abolishes several Muslim religious customs, and risks creating jurisdictional conflicts between the central and state governments.

Passing of the baton between the cardinal who had led the archdiocese since 2000 and the prelate designated as coadjutor by Francis last November 30. On 11 February the official installation. In a video message, Gracias' gratitude to the Church he led for almost 25 years. Rodrigues: ‘Coming after him I will have very big shoes to fill...’.

A racket involving doctors from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu was uncovered in Rangareddy district, with widows among those exploited. At least 200,000 patients in India are in need of a kidney transplant but only 7,500 ‘legal’ operations are carried out in a year due to the low number of donations.

Teachers and parents slam the decision by the BJP-led government as an attack on their community’s cultural and linguistic heritage, calling for Hindi to be instead included as an optional subject. For children, it is important to study in their native language. Fr Steven Rawat, victim of an attack over Christmas carols, also criticised the measure.

Bastar district village council's act of intolerance is upheld by the local high court following son's appeal for justice. He is not even allowed to bury him in his own land. Archbishop of Raipur: “Endorsement of such acts promotes lawlessness in the country.”

The Chapel of St Therese of the Child Jesus in the village of Chokragaon was set on fire, a few days after the ordination of two local priests. The authorities have opened an investigation. The bishop of Tezpur praises the "intense solidarity" and "unity" among Christians following the incident.

The strict imposition of the uniform on the girls in class X even on the last day of school has become a pretext to accuse the Carmel School that has been operating for 70 years in the Dhanbad district. The headmistress told AsiaNews: ‘Only 2% of the students are Christian, education in the service of all’. Former students' stance: “Grateful to those who made us what we are”.

In January, diocesan and religious ordinations were held in several villages, presided over by the archbishop of Imphal, Mgr Linus Neli. Meanwhile, in the parish of Tuibuang, new houses were delivered for those displaced by the violence, built thanks to the solidarity of Catholic communities from all over India.

40 years after the disaster that still continues to impact the health of the local population, the Indian government has implemented a local court order, transferring the toxic waste to the industrial city of Pithampur, where it should be disposed of in the coming months. But the authorities are meeting resistance from the local population.

A public appeal is made to President Murmu and Prime Minister Modi after at least 14 incidents of intolerance by Hindu radicals against Christmas celebrations were reported in various parts of the country. Christian leaders call for rapid and impartial investigations into a general climate that threatens religious freedom.