By Sameer Yasir, Emily Schmall and Iqbal Kirmani SRINAGAR, Kashmir — Manmeet Kour Bali had to defend her marriage in court. A Sikh by birth, Ms. Bali converted to Islam to marry a Muslim man. Her parents objected to a marriage outside their community and filed a police complaint againstContinue Reading
Japanese Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo has been appointed as the new Secretary General of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences. Archbishop Kikuchi replaced Bishop Stephen Lee Bun-Sang of Macau, who resigned from the post this month. The FABC announced the archbishops’ appointment in a letter sent to itsContinue Reading
By Ladislaus Louis D’Souza Mumbai: “Have you seen this tamasha, Father?” asked Babush,* the sacristan who often doubled up as ‘Table-boy.’ “What tamasha, Babush?” “That holy suicide! A 31-year old priest, Pradeep Soreng, was found hanging dead in his bathroom yesterday” [Saint Vincent Minor Seminary, Gopalpur-on-the-Sea, some 175 km southwestContinue Reading
New Delhi: Indian nationals have become the largest group of emigrants, leaving their home country at increasingly high rates. More than 18 million Indians were living outside the country in 2020. That number showed dramatic growth over the course of the last 20 years; while there was an overall increaseContinue Reading
By Lissy Maruthanakuzhy Panaji: A Catholic priest, who uses youth power to promote agriculture and protect Goa from polluting mines, has welcomed the Supreme Court upholding its earlier order of cancellation of mining leases in the western Indian state. “People of India can still trust judiciary that it will notContinue Reading
Bengaluru: The Latin Catholic Church in India will hold a one-hour National Prayer Service on August 7 to pray for the health of the world. The prayer will be conducted from the tombs of St. Thomas, St. Francis Xavier and St. Teresa of Kolkata and from the Marian Basilicas ofContinue Reading
Bratislava: Slovakia’s health minister has announced Jthat only those who are fully vaccinated will be permitted to participate in events when Pope Francis visits in September. The pope will visit four cities in Slovakia on Sept. 12-15, after traveling to Budapest in neighboring Hungary to celebrate the closing Mass ofContinue Reading
Rome Newsroom: Cardinal Joseph Zen published a statement on July 21, saying that new restrictions on the celebration of Traditional Latin Masses are a “blow,” even if they were expected. “Many tendentious generalizations in the documents [of the motu proprio] have hurt the hearts of many good people more thanContinue Reading
Brussels: A hunger-strike by hundreds of migrants in Brussels is threatening to fracture Belgium’s government. Their protest — launched by migrants hoping to get formal residency after living in Belgium for years — began two months, and is straining their health. Six strikers have sewn their mouths shut. Five triedContinue Reading
New Delhi: Roughly two out of three Indians may have some protection from Covid-19, government experts on July 20 said, citing the latest sero survey findings that they described as a “ray of hope”, but added that a large part of the population is still vulnerable and future waves cannotContinue Reading
