Pope Francis's connection with India was marked by a mix of hopes and challenges. His long-held wish to visit the country remained unfulfilled, but he made significant contributions to the Catholic community in India, including elevating Indian figures to sainthood and appointing an Indian priest as a Cardinal. While his efforts to resolve conflicts within the Syro-Malabar Church were unsuccessful, his legacy will be remembered for his efforts to promote unity and understanding in the Catholic Church.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made history by attending Christmas celebrations organised by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India in New Delhi on Monday, December 23, 2024.
The arrest of two Catholic nuns from Kerala in Chhattisgarh on charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion has ignited a political controversy, with opposition parties criticizing the arrest and the Chief Minister defending the police action.
Over 300 priests of the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church on Friday said they cannot accept the warning issued by the papal representative to celebrate Holy Mass in a uniform manner as prescribed by the synod or face consequences -- as it goes against their conscience.
Netto said that Christians in various parts of the country, especially in Manipur and north India, were being subjected to "cruelty and violence by dark forces" and alleged that there was no effective intervention against it by the authorities.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday met the top priests of various churches in Kerala, giving a push to the Bharatiya Janata Party's efforts to reach out to the influential minority community in the southern state ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, sources said.
A senior bishop of the influential Syro-Malabar Catholic Church on Thursday said instead of saying in the US that there is no discrimination in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi should try to convince the Christians in Manipur about that.
The negotiations between the priests protesting against the the Synod's decision to introduce a uniform mass and a sub-committee comprising three bishops constituted by the Synod to find a way to solve the matter.
"We should understand how secularism gives birth to extremism by looking at the growth of conservative racist movements in the West. The situation of India will not be different if we fail to accept Indian secularism in its literal sense," the Bishop wrote in Church's mouthpiece Deepika.
The Bharatiya Janata Party in Kerala is aiming to use the PM's visit as a springboard for its outreach campaign aimed at bringing youth and minorities into its fold.
He was allegedly stabbed by a former sacristan of the parish.
The nun belongs to the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church.
After two years of muted festivities due to COVID-19, crowds thronged churches across the country this Christmas on Sunday for special prayers as people celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ.
Christmas was celebrated across the country on Saturday, but the festivities were low-key for the second year in a row due to Covid, with churches and other events witnessing lower footfalls, people avoiding large get-togethers and the administration in some areas imposing certain curbs.
Kerala Catholic Bishop Conference president Archbishop Soosa Paikam said the verdict was "painful" and would have disastrous consequences.
Pope Francis on Sunday declared Father Kuriakose Elias Chavara and Sister Euphrasia Eluventhinkal from India as saints at Vatican.
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