Nirmala Carvalho

The Christians were detained yesterday in Satna. Their car was burned. Like every year, they wanted to reach a remote village to hold a Christmas carol service.

Rev Karan was among those detained. Police broke into Bethel Church and stopped Advent prayers. For Sajan K George, "In small remote areas, Jesus is the only refuge".

The ceremony took place yesterday in Mumbai. The Salesian abducted in Yemen was recognised for his “dedication and commitment" and his work in "a location of great danger". For Fr Tom, "Wars are not the solution".

The accused were remanded into custody for 14 days for allegedly insulting Hindu deities. For Sajan K George, "The growing suspicion against the vulnerable miniscule Christian community, especially the Pentecostals, is alarming.”

The Syro-Malabar Church held a three-day conference. The work for life reaches the remotest rural villages. For Fr Shenan Boquet, the Indian Church is "an example for everyone". It is necessary to “enter into conversations” on life to defeat the culture of death.

The ethical aspects of end-of-life issues are at the centre of the three-day conference (30 November-2 December) with the participation of some 200 religious and lay delegates from 22 dioceses. For an expert, member of the Pontifical Academy for Life, people should not be kept alive at any cost, nor should their life be terminated. Patients should be placed in God’s hands and accompanied with love.

Archbishop Macwan challenged over his pastoral letter of last week about Gujarat’s upcoming election. The complaint came from the Legal Rights Observatory, which called for "immediate action". In the letter, the prelate invited people to vote in accordance with their conscience.

"I want to show him the richness of the Church of the poor." For the cardinal, the Pope's meeting with Rohinghya in Dhaka is "touching and healing those who are on the peripheries", "to be witnesses of the Gospel". The mission in Asia: dialogue and commitment to the poor.

Catholics reflect on how best to respond to emergencies. For Fr Frederick D'Souza, executive director of Caritas India, charities should "never forget the biological needs of women and girls." Caritas is helping the Rohingya.

The president of the Global Council of Indian Christians describes Mohandas Pai’s views as unscientific and dangerous. The latter said that conversions increased the Christian group by 8 million and that Hindus have dropped from 85 per cent of the population to 77 per cent. In reality census shows that Christians number 27.8 million and account for about 2.3 per cent of the Indian population.

The cloistered nuns live in the Prem Jyot (Light of Love) monastery. For the mother prioress, the service of contemplative nuns is “prayer”. Pope Francis "never ceases to invite us to ‘meet Christ’.”

On November 19 some Pentecostals arrested in Madhya Pradesh; on November 15 an evangelical in Chhattisgarh. The leader of the Global Council of Indian Christians seeks protection for the celebrations of November 26, Solemnity of Christ the King.