Nirmala Carvalho

In today's homily, the Archbishop of Mumbai highlights the relationship between the state and the Church, in a difficult time due to the lockdown and the many attacks on religious freedom. "Not everything belongs to Caesar, not everything belongs to the state". "Some things belong to God. This is the beginning of human rights, the value of the individual, the value of the human person." Card. Gracias assures Narendra Modi: We pray for you at all our masses.

In West Bengal, the quarantine lasts until June 15. The Chief Minister gives special permission for places of prayer. Catholic churches reopen after 9 weeks of lockdown. The Church of North India also reopened. Temples and mosques remain closed for fear of too many crowds.

At 12 noon next Sunday, bells will ring followed by a prayer in Mavelikara cathedral (Kerala). The Orthodox Church, the Church of Mar Thomas, the Church of South India, the Salvation Army and Syro-Malankara Church will participate. The service will be broadcast live on TV.

This is the first time in the history of Indian aviation that a group of private individuals organise the evacuation of stranded migrants by plane.

A woman died of hunger next to her child. Special trains reach wrong destinations after long trips. Flights are cancelled without refund. The Church in Vasai provides help. India’s Supreme Court calls on the government to help stranded migrants.

“My faith in Jesus has strengthened me. COVID-19 is like a war. Patients are suffering, the elderly are suffering. As nurses, we are called to alleviate the sufferings of the sick, [and] serve them kindly.”

Rain and winds at 165 km / h brought down trees, light poles, traffic lights and houses. Several areas are flooded, communications nonexistent. Damage to the John Vianney seminar. So far there are 15 dead.

The Missionaries of Charity, with a truck and an ambulance, tour several slums in the metropolis. Gift packages containing rice, sugar, wheat flour, dried legumes, lentils. Recipients are poor, unemployed and migrants affected by the lockdown. Cyclone Amphan is coming, with winds at 185 km / h. Millions of people evacuated to India and Bangladesh.

Prayers are held in Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, and Maharashtra. In addition to prayers, acts of charity were performed for the marginalised and the homeless.

The cardinal wrote to the representatives of other religions in the country, as well as to his fellow bishops, inviting them to take part in a Day of prayer, fasting and works of charity. For Ram Puniyani, a well-known activist and president of the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, the “call for a World Day of Prayer can be an occasion to commit ourselves to rational thinking in eradicating the pandemic.”

The archbishop of Bombay speaks about the tragedy of migrant workers killed by a train, as they slept exhausted on the tracks. Hundreds of millions of jobless day labourers are without wages, food or shelter. Better government planning and coordination are needed. The Archdiocesan Centre for Social Action is involved in relief work.

The accident took place at 5.20 this morning. The migrants were returning to their villages, travelling over 800 km. Exhausted, they fell sleep on the tracks. Due to the lockdown, migrants are without aid in the cities. Transport is also blocked.