Nirmala Carvalho

On the day the Supreme Court ruling in the United States marked a turning point on the right to life, seven fetuses were being found near a bus stop in Belagavi, India. According to doctors, they were around five months gestation and were presumably killed after sex detection. The slaughter of baby girls the dark side of pregnancy terminations in India.

Archbishop Pamplany joined a protest against a Supreme Court order that risks evicting 1.2 million people from land bordering protected forests in Kerala. “Today, the irony is that snakes and wild boars have protection, not human beings,” he said.

The north-eastern Indian state is home to a large Christian community. Local authorities in a Buddhist-dominated district have prevented the construction of a church for years. They claim that it is “illegal” and want it removed, yet have also not issued permits for it to be built elsewhere.

Thomas Dabre spoke to AsiaNews after some Christians reacted negatively to his address at an event organised by right-wing Hindu nationalists who are increasingly accused of intolerance towards other religions. Jesus “loved the Jewish people,” the bishop said. “On that basis I made the point that Jesus was a patriot”. A meeting point can be found since Catholics and Hindu nationalist share the same love for their land and culture.

Bomb attacks have recently increased in the northeastern Indian state, the latest against a Church-run educational facility. The National Revolutionary Front, a self-styled separatist and socialist organisation, claimed some attacks perpetrated in early May. Pupils and teachers held a sit-in protest calling for greater security.

The girl’s mother and two accomplices were arrested for forcing her to "donate" eggs several times for assisted reproduction. India has strict laws but they are poorly enforced, allowing illegal clinics to proliferate. For Dr Carvalho (Pontifical Academy for Life), “The case in Tamil Nadu should jolt us out of our complacency” about the thriving “egg donation ‘business’”.

After the controversy in Tamil Nadu over the failure to appoint a prelate from the 'outcastes', the new archbishop went to administer confirmations in Konankuppam, where almost all Catholics are dalits and there is a great devotion to Our Lady, which Jesuit Fr Beschi wanted dressed in the clothes of local women. A dispensary that will provide access to basic health services to the inhabitants of 10 villages also inaugurated.

Named after the Child Jesus, the shrine is located in the Diocese of Bellary (Karnataka). The idea came during the pandemic seeing the tragic flight of migrants forced to return to their home villages. The shrine will also be a place to help labourers. For Fr Paulraj, the workers welcomed the idea with enthusiasm and worked on the shrine’s construction.

Christine Nathan has been elected president of the International Catholic Commission for Migration. For the first time, the umbrella group for 58 bishops' conference offices, has chosen a person from Asia as its leader. Fight against child trafficking, dignity of labour and protection of women among her priorities.

In Kerala, seven young men from different rites, languages ​​and traditions solemnly join the religious order together for the first time in India. For Fr Ivel Mendanha, “what unites the Redemptorists is the spirit of our Lord Jesus the Redeemer and the mission to proclaim him to those who are poor and abandoned.”

Among the new cardinals chosen by Pope Francis, the Archbishop of Hyderabad comes from an "outcaste" family in Andhra Pradesh. A very significant choice after the controversy over the appointments of bishops in Tamil Nadu. The newly appointed bishop tells AsiaNews: 'Good news for Dalit Catholics and for the entire Church in India'.

Former Finance Minister Chidambaram calls for even stricter regulations in India on sale and possession. While in Karnataka, nationalist right-wing movements promote training camps for boys on guns and the trishul, India's traditional trident.