Nirmala Carvalho

Every year on 16 January, the Catholic community in Sancoale holds services near the ruins of an old church to remember the great missionary from Goa who brought Catholicism to Sri Lanka. As state elections approach, Hindu extremists are trying to prevent celebrations on the pretext of protecting the archaeological site. Starting on 23 January, local priest will hold a weekly prayer every Sunday for peace and harmony.

Students from the Don Bosco Arts and Science College helped a single mother of two, by raising funds and building a house for them in 10 months. “I am really happy and proud for what the young people of Don Bosco College have done,” said Bishop Alex Vadakumthala. “[S]tudying does not merely mean acquitting another degree but requires opening one’s heart and mind,” he added.

Hindu religious extremist Swami Prabodhanand Giri twice urged followers to arm themselves to cleanse India of Jihadis. Meanwhile, the High Court in Madhya Pradesh stopped the removal of children from a Catholic orphanage targeted by the Child Welfare Committee on the basis of phoney arguments. “By the Grace of God, we got a stay order from the High Court,” said the Syro-Malabar bishop of Sagar. “However, this is not a permanent solution.”

In just ten days the number of new cases reported rose nine folds in the country. Starting today healthcare staff and seniors with co-morbidities can receive the third, booster shot. State elections set for February-March will go ahead, whilst schools are closed again for many children. Meanwhile, the Church has mobilised for the poorest.

After the blocking of funds from abroad, the Missionaries of Charity in India have once again been hit by bureaucratic red tape: the renewal of a state concession for the land on which a home that welcomes those abandoned by all has been denied. The Bishop of Lucknow: "A dangerous road has been taken against Mother Teresa's sisters. They attack Christians because they are a community that loves peace".

Other victims of government action include an Association for tuberculosis patients and Oxfam, which denounces: humanitarian interventions for the Covid-19 emergency are at risk. The government of Orissa is offering economic aid to the Missionaries of Charity, who tell us from Bhubaneswar: "We are not worried, the Father will take care of our needs.

Back in 1999, hate-mongering Hindu nationalists killed Fr Arul Dos in the village of Sarat. That did not extinguish the faith of ethnic Ho who celebrate Christmas by singing and dancing all night long. Their life is no different from that in the nativity cave, amid the smell of animals and “fragile lives fraught with danger and insecurity.” Here too, “Jesus comes to give life and hope.”

A church in Ambala was targeted. On 25 December, thousands of people of all faiths visited the church to see the nativity scene. The “wooden manger in which the Prince of Peace was born was already a sign of his crucifixion,” said Bishop Mascarenhas. “Now we see the same sign in Ambala as well.”

This is the 40th attack in 2021 in this Indian state, where anti-Christian intolerance has reached a peak, fuelled by an anti-conversion bill the state government tabled in the local legislative assembly for discussion in January.

“I wanted to consecrate myself” to “an active congregation,” she said, but “I realised that the Lord had other plans”. She made her profession in Dublin, where two other Indian nuns are following in her footsteps. Fr Ivel Mendanha, provincial superior, is praying to see soon “the first ever Redemptoristine Monastery in Mumbai”.

The Court orders federal and state governments to issue ID papers to sex workers making them eligible to social benefits. For Sr Prema Chowallur, “this decision will bring recognition and relief to millions of people who lived years together in the backyards of the country”.

At the Shrine of the Infant Jesus, local Jesuits recently began to help poor migrant tribal families from Rajasthan, who have virtually nothing, surviving on daily work. A party was organised for their children this Christmas.