India

In his Message for World Day of Peace 2012, Benedict XVI places the foundations for a new "earthly city" and a new social pact. The current crisis – in the economic sphere - first of all is rooted in a "cultural anthropology". Defeating relativism with the search for truth. The forgetfulness of Christian peace movements.

Europe is not doing well. BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are hurting. However, the United States is doing worse than everyone else, after spending US$ 30 billion to save its banks. The current economic crisis represents the failure of the Keynesian cultural model and the false myth of globalisation. It is urgent to bring back into economics the concepts of “individual and collective responsibility” and “retributive justice”.

Another 100 are in serious condition. The illegal alcohol laced with methanol and industrial spirit, and can lead to seizures, vomiting and death. Because of its negligible cost (as little as 20 rupees) it is widespread among the poor and day laborers, and one of the leading causes of death among these social groups.

Christmas 2011 is marked by economic crisis, unemployment, and anxiety, even among wealthy Chinese millionaires. Post-tsunami Japan, Post-earthquake Indonesia and Turkey, Post-flood Vietnam, Thailand and Laos show that there is also an ecological emergency. In all these situations the Churches of Asia are laying seeds of hope that help the fatigue of many churches of the West. Even God was born in an emergency.

A couple of doctors and their support staff ran the racket. According to India’s 2011 census, the country’s sex ratio is just 940 females per 1000 males, more skewed in cities than in rural areas. According to a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life, men will outnumber women by 20 per cent in 20 years.

Three new anti-Christian attacks in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, perpetrated by the Hindu nationalist forces. Destroyed statues, images of Jesus torn apart, a pastor and some of his faithful stoned. The President of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), denounces the climate of impunity enjoyed by perpetrators, compared to insecurity and oppression of the Christian minority.

Choirs from eight parishes in the Mumbai Archdiocese took part in the event, which is at its eight edition. For the president of the International Federation of Pueri Cantores, sacred music can be a tool of evangelisation in India.

For the first time, all major polluters, United States, China and India reach an agreement, but without any ceiling. A binding agreement is put off to 2015. For CIDSE, an alliance of Catholic development agencies, “Much more needs to be done”.

On the occasion of World Day for Human Rights, the Archbishop of Mumbai speaks of Indian society and the commitment of the Catholic world. Recalling that human rights must be based on the teachings of the Gospel: that God is our Father and that all Indians are brothers and sisters that we are all made in the image and likeness of God.

In 2011 the women's congregation linked to the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) celebrated its platinum jubilee. Born December 8, 1936, the sisters are dedicated to evangelization ad gentes, to reach thousands of people around the world. In addition to the 64 communities in India, the missionaries are in Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, Brazil, Hong Kong, Africa, Algeria and London.

The 79-year-old Dutch missionary was almost expelled twice before from the state where he has lived for the past 48 years. Sharia courts have no jurisdiction on non-Muslims, but many fear a repeat of what happened to Rev K. M. Khanna, an Anglican clergyman who was summoned by a Sharia court, then arrested on allegations of forced conversions.

Sino-Indian talks resume in the Indian capital. The Himalayan border and oil exploration in the South China Sea are on the table, but the Tibet issue remains central. In Tibet, another monk dies from self-immolation, whilst Chinese jails are full of monks tortured by the regime’s henchmen. Beijing is trying its best to delegitimise Buddhist leaders; now it is the turn of the Karmapa Lama.