Nirmala Carvalho

Hundreds of Dalits live near the Marian shrine in Periyanayagi, in Konankuppam parish. Under quarantine for a long time to contain the coronavirus, “many are more afraid of famine than of the virus.” Unemployment is causing depression and increasing domestic violence. The Catholic Church and Legio Mariae are helping out respecting people’s dignity.

Bishop Alwyn Barreto of Sindhudurg on Friday handed out aid to the poor tribal people of Beradki, 34 families in all, mainly landless farm workers. “Two or three families live per mud house,” Bishop Barreto said. “I went into one house. It's all dark because there are no windows.”

Munshi Dev Tado, 28, was shot dead, presumably by a Naxalite (Maoist) activist, who falsely accused him of being a police informant.

India has the eighth highest death toll, but given the size of its population (1.3 billion) it has one of the lowest rates: 15 deaths per million inhabitants; by comparison, Great Britain has 670 and the US, 402. Existing epidemiological models are “not appropriate for the Indian setting".

A mob ransacked a young clergyman’s home. They threatened his family and two other Christian families that if they did not leave the village, their women would be raped, the men murdered, and their homes burnt. Police was forced to release two detainees.

The media exaggerate the Covid-19 emergency in Asia's largest slum. Coronavirus has been contained despite the inability to respect social distancing. The slum is "periphery of the city’s consciousness". The help of the Catholic Church.

Card Bo remembers the clergyman who died yesterday. A former executive secretary of the FABC Social Communications Office, he was also a consultant for Radio Veritas Asia. “He loved the poor as is evident in his painstaking work to found and nurture the Andhra Pradesh Social Service Society (APSSS), which ensured sustainable livelihood and economic development for thousands of families.”

Bishop Emmanuel Kerketta of Jashpur had plans to expand a local mission, but everything is on hold because of Hindu opposition. A new parish priest is under quarantine because of COVID-19. The diocese has about 200,000 members, mostly farmers and farmworkers, “poor but very generous”.

The celebration of the feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle. "His profession, 'My Lord and my God', Kyrios Theos is the clearest declaration of the divinity of Jesus in Sacred Scripture."

The Sindhudurg Diocesan Development Society (SDDS) has been working with marginalized sectors of society, particularly young people and children, for more than a decade in the Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra.

For Archbishop William D’souza, the tragedy compounds “burdens, problems, difficulties and sufferings” people have had to face in recent months because of the pandemic.

A mob damaged the building still under construction and destroyed a cross. Police cordoned off the area and arrested the two Christian teachers. Sajan K George: "False accusations, intimidation of Christians for political reasons".