Santosh Digal

The archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar calls on the Indian Church to celebrate Kandhamal Victims Day on 30 August. For him, “such violence should never take place” again. The Odisha government has said that it would also pay compensation for churches.

Mgr John Barwa, archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, ordained Fr Pritam Singh and Fr Bhanja Kishore Singh in a ceremony attended by more than a thousand Catholics, as well as 35 priests and 50 nuns. The district now has 12 priests, the highest number in the state. The increase in consecrations confirms that the Christian community has not been intimidated by Hindu radical violence.

The site was created by a group of activists, lawyers, intellectuals and artists in order to be "an authentic source of information" on the 2008 anti-Christian violence. The Orissa government has appointed two commissions of inquiry, but the results of their work are not being disclosed. As of January 2016, 3,232 complaints submitted, but only 827 registered. The acquittal rate in murder trials is 88.6%.

The survivors of the most ferocious massacre against the Christian community in India met for the first time. During the meeting they expressed solidarity with the suffering Christians in Syria and the Middle East. "As refugees, we can truly understand your pain." "The wave of violence directed at implementing an ethnic and religious cleansing against Yazidis and Christians is a crime against humanity."

Respected for his struggle in favor of minorities, he has been viciously attacked on Twitter. His profile assaulted by Hindu radicals, his phone number posted on the social network. Support from Christian activists and lay people. His daughter: "His commitment to society does not give permission to those who disagree with him to harass or insult him".

The president of the Bishops' Conference calls on all Catholics – clergy and laity – to encourage people of good to make voluntary donations. Caritas India is already working on rescue and recovery operations in the quake-stricken country.

The head of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) paramilitary group has accused the founder of the Missionaries of Charity "of serving the poor in order to convert them." People of all faiths and walks of life condemn the words of the Hindu leader. Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC): "Mother Teresa often exhorted those who came to her to be good Hindus, Muslims, Christians or Sikhs"

The initiative is undertaken in the village Tiangia, where residents wanted to remember local victims, "pillars of testimony." The archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar blessed a commemorative plaque in the presence of the local clergy and hundreds of faithful. The violence in Kandhamal in 2008 was the worst ever against India's Christian minority.

AsiaNews interviews John Dayal, member of the National Integration Council who looks at the influence of radical Hindu Sangh Parivar groups on the educational policy of India's new Union government. "To demonize western and Islamic contribution to the evolution of the India we know today, is an exercise in futility, and very fraught with dangers."

The Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit (SSpS) celebrate the 125th anniversary of their congregation by following the girls from kindergarten to university, until they find a job and become independent.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a radical paramilitary group, is planning "the greatest return home ever happened". "A trick to hide their violence, in view of State elections 2016," said a priest.

The message for the Advent of msgr. John Barwa SVD, archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar. The call to prepare ourselves "to morally and spiritually receive the Messiah" and doing it "continuously."