Benjamin Bara, a tribal from Jharkhand, heads UNESCO Asia committee promoting special decade (2022-2032) to protect tribal languages. Speaking to AsiaNews, he urges missionary schools to do more to preserve tribal identities.
The court upheld the state’s dress code that bans headscarves in schools. Islamic associations slam the decision, calling it a violation of Muslims’ freedoms, pledge support for an appeal to the Supreme Court. For Archbishop Menamparampil, “When anyone’s identity or honour is threatened, they go [to] any length to protect it”. So, if we “Remove threats, avoid exaggerations, normalcy will return.”
Elected by the general chapter in Calcutta, she takes the place of Sr. Prema, who had led the sisters since 2009. Brought up in Calcutta alongside Mother Teresa, 68 years old, she was currently superior for Kerala.
The Superior of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Saint Marc is in Mukachevo, in the west of the country. Originally from India, she has no intention of leaving: "We have food supplies for now, but no money for heating".
Hindu nationalists and radical monk Yogi Adityanath win in India’s most populous state. They also lead in Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur. “We respect the verdict,” said Bishop Mathias of Lucknow, but there is fear about the fate of minorities. The government should show that slogans about development “are not just words but translate into reality.”
Priya Rajan, a 28-year-old Christian Dalit, was sworn in last week. The city is India’s fourth largest. For Father Bosco, she is a “source of inspiration and courage” for all Dalit and Christian women.
According to the local prosecutor, there is no evidence of forced conversions in the Varadara shelter run by the Sisters of Mother Teresa. The case began with National Commission for Protection of Child Rights inspecting the facility. The Sisters will “continue our work to serve the poorest of the poor,” one of the nuns said; however, the anti-Christian campaign by Hindu extremists continues.
Fr. Errol Fernandes SJ has undertaken a new project for the people of Savarde, a village in Palghar district, to spare women a dangerous trek to collect water. The next step will be to improve the local school.
On the anniversary of the day when he stabbed to death Sister Rani Mari, who was beatified in 2017, her killer, touched by the forgiveness of the victim's family, went to her tomb to “pray for Sister Rani Maria and Christians who are unjustly accused of conversion.”
In Japan bishops condemn the Russian invasion citing John Paul II who in Hiroshima said that, “resorting to war is neither inevitable nor indispensable”. Likewise, “We really pray ardently that everybody sees the senselessness of violence,” said Card Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Bombay. In China Catholics will heed the appeal Pope Francis made for a day of fasting and prayer on 2 March.
To help India live up to the commitment made at the Glasgow conference to reduce carbon emissions, Catholic schools in the great metropolis are asking pupils to adopt lifestyles compatible with this goal. Fr Magi Murzello notes that zero was invented in India, and now the country must make another contribution.
In Maharashtra, the St. Catherine of Siena School and Orphanage started a project to counter malnutrition among the children of migrant families and provide them with educational support. The school, which began in 1957, pursues its founder’s mission.
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