Baghdad: When Pope Francis visits Iraq from March 5 to 8, he will meet only the scant remains of a Christian community of two millennia that has been hollowed-out by two past violent decades. After first settling in the fertile plains of Nineveh province before heading for the busy boulevardsContinue Reading
By Patrick Egwu Bodo: Simon Ayafa has witnessed oil pollution in the Niger Delta region since he was 15. Now, at 35, he feels the region has been made inhabitable by decades of oil spills. “You to go the stream to fetch water and you get oil,” said Ayafa, whoContinue Reading
By Jeffrey Gettleman and Suhasini Raj New Delhi: Indian students have been hitting the books hard in preparation for a big test on cows, reading that India’s cows have more emotions than foreign ones, and that their humps have special powers. As part of a new optional bovine curriculum, pushedContinue Reading
By Suwathy V Coimbatore: Rajalakshmi, a middle-aged woman, and her husband have to walk several miles from their home to their farm in Kallar in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Kallar is a village settlement located in Anaimalai (Elephant mountains). The settlement is populated by tribals. The coupleContinue Reading
By Thomas Scaria Mangaluru: A simple survey undertaken by a group of Catholic youth on the effect of pandemic on Substance Use Disorder resulted in developing an online training for addiction practitioners from more than 15 countries. Ecolink Institute of Well-being which carried out the survey not only identified hundredsContinue Reading
Natukani: When Kerala witnessed the worst flood of the century in 2018 and many lost their homes, a safe roof to live under was their only concern next. In fact, Father Jijo Kurian, a priest living in a monastery in Idukki district, realized this when he was on a rescueContinue Reading
New Delhi: Sunita, 24, is known by everyone in Sewak Park, in West Delhi – the national capital of India. Sunita was a child labourer, one among the whopping 10.1 million child labour workforce in India. At the tender age of 12, she started working as a babysitter, Sunita toldContinue Reading
Kochi: Turning beads into elegant rosaries isn’t merely Vilma Antony’s sustenance. It’s her spiritual calling. She counts the prayers of thanksgiving, devotion, and confession as she strings her silver beads, interspersing this activity with gospel readings at her village home a few miles from the South Indian port city ofContinue Reading
Chennai: Aruvi is a 25-year-old transgender person pursuing gender studies at the University of Hyderabad. Having previously worked in the IT sector, she is a strong advocate of the rights of the transgender community – who face discrimination across India. Aruvi lives in Chennai, the capital of the south IndianContinue Reading
By Lissy Maruthanakuzhy Panaji: Father Bolmax Fidelis Pereira, the parish priest of Sr Xavier Church in Goa’s Chicalim, is creating waves in the western Indian state with his youth group engaged in environmental protection and revival of agriculture. The priest spoke to Sister Lissy Maruthanakuzhy of Matters India about theContinue Reading