Pope Speeds up
Sainthood process for Mother Teresa
Vatican City, March 1:
Pope John Paul has granted a special
despensation from Catholic Church rules that will allow Mother Teresa to
be put on the fast track towards eventual sainthood, the Vatican said.
Church rules call for five years to pass after a
person dies before the bureaucratic procedure that can lead to sainthood
can begin. A Vatican statement said the Pope had dispensed with this
regulation for Mother Teresa, who died on September 5, 1997, and was
revered by many as a "living saint" because of her work for the poor.
Archbishop to hold
full enquiry:
Vatican City, March 1:
Armed with the special dispensation granted by Pope
John Paul to speed up the process of conferring sainthood on Mother
Teresa, the Archbishop of Calcutta Father Henry D'Souza, can now take
the preliminary step to beatification.
He must conduct a full enquiry into the acts,
writings, and possible martyrdom of an individual whose "reputation for
holiness" has been brought to the atttention of religious authorities.
Should this initial enquiry prove worthy, the file
will be transferred to a special Vatican sainthood committee, which will
then decide whether to send it on to the Pope, who makes the final
decision.
Mother Teresa Plea
by July
Calcutta, March 3:
The
Archbishop of Calcutta Henry D'Souza, who has been empowered by the
Vatican to conduct a full inquiry leading to the conferment of sainthood
on Mother Teresa, said he would submit the petition by July.
Opposition, BJP clash
over attacks
New Delhi, March 5:
Ruling
and Opposition party members clashed in the Rajya Sabha on Friday over
recent attacks on Christian missionaries with opposition members
charging the Bharatiya Janata Party with "justifying" the
attacks.
Church burnt in Orrisa
Village
Bhamini (Srikakulam) March 5:
A CBM Baptist Church at Jagannadhapuram Village in
Orissa was torchered in the early hours of Thursday. On learning about
the incident, Pastor Chinnaiah lodged a complaint with the Gunupur
police following which a police contingent has been posted at the
village on Friday as police pickets guarded the place.
Prayer Hall Tourched
In Surat
Surat, March 5:
Police were
investigating the reports of a thatched prayer hall of tribal Christians
being set ablaze by some unidentified miscreants at the tribal village
of Vadgam. The miscreants allegedly set on fire the front portion of the
prayer hall and fled the scene, police said.
Pope Likely to Visit
India
New Delhi, March 6:
Pope
John Paul II is likely to visit India in December as the Vatican has
short listed the Country among the three possible venues for the papal
Asian Visit.
VHP brings 11
Christians back into Hindu fold
Utnoor(Adilabad), March 7:
Eleven persons were 'reconverted' to Hinduism from
Christianity here on Sunday at an event organised by the Vishwa Hindu
Parishad. It may be recalled that an event similar to the one on Sunday,
was organised by the VHP in Luxettipeta in 1982, when 2,000 tribals were
reconverted.
Non - Christians get
the bulk of funds from west: Forum
Hyderabad, March 7:
John
Dayal, representative of United Christian Forum for Human Rights, on
Sunday said that the second phase of attacks on Christian minorities had
begun through a "disinformation and lies" campaign by vested
interests.
Addressing a meeting organised by National prayer
and peace Assembly at Nizam College grounds here, he said, "Violence of
a different kind is being continued through a disinformation campaign
against Christians".
The European Commission had mantained that only
four percent of the funds came to Christian institutions and
organsiations. "Rather, Non - Christian institutions were getting more
funds from Western Countries and Churches", he said. Presenting a
national report on the attacks on Christians, he said that a conspiracy
to attack them was hatched three year ago much before the murder of
Graham Staines and his sons, the rape of nuns at Jhabua and the attack
on Christians and Church properties in Gujarat.
Christians' Service
Immense, says CM
Hyderabad, March 8:
Chief
Minister N.Chandrababu Naidu assured the Christian community that he
will take up with the Central Government the apprehensions about the
alleged ultimatums being given to Christian workers to leave several
districts in the States of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Orissa and Bihar by
March 31 this year.
He complimented the community for its "immense
service" in the fields of education, health and uplift of
downtrodden.
According to an official press release from the
Chief Minister's office here, Naidu urged the christian community to
open more educational institutions in the State.
The delegation comprised Joseph D Souza,
co-ordinator, prayer and peace Assembly, Bro Ebenezer Sunder Raju, India
Missions Association, John Dayal, United Christian Forum, Rev G Samuel
and several others, the press release added.
Nirmala not to
pressure Pope
Calcutta, March 8:
The
Missionaries of Charity on Monday said it was against creating pressure
on the Vatican to expedite Mother Teresa's sainthood by next
year.
The formal pressure for sainthood could begin with
papal clearance only after the postulator returned to Rome and filed a
petition, she said.
3 more held in Staines
murder case
Keonjhar (Orissa), March 8:
The Crime Branch of the police has arrested three
more persons in connections with the gruesome killing of the Australian
missionary, Graham Stuart Staines, and his two minor sons at Manoharpur
village in Keonjhar district on the night of January 22. The police said
that all three suspects were arrested at Rimilidiha on Friday night.
With these arrests, the total number of arrests has gone up to 56,
several of whom have since been released on bail.
Honour for
Graham Staines
Bhubaneswar, March 11:
Australian Missionary Graham Stuart Staines, who
was burnt to death along with his two minor sons on January 22nd night
at Manoharpur in Orissa, has been chosen for the Rashtriya Ekta
Puraskara this year.
MC
asks for testimonials of miracles
Calcutta, March 11:
Missionaries of Charity superior-general Sister
Nirmala on Thursday appealed to beneficiaries of Mother Teresa's favours
and intercessions to submity written testimonials so that these could be
included in the petition for her cause of sainthood.
Hate Campaign against Christian
Missionaries
Lucknow, March 11:
The three-day annual convention of the Rashtriya
Swayamsewak Sangh, which began here on Thursday, will draw up an action
to counter "aggressive Christian strategy" and contain the "hate - Hindu
campaign" unleashed by anti-BJP forces.
The RSS leader welcomed the
national debate on conversion.
Reveal religion, BJP tells
donors
New Delhi, March 12:
The Union government has quietly ammended the
Foreign Contribution regulation Act 1976, making it mandatory for
organisations seeking prior permission for accepting foreign
contributions to state their religious identity. This clause linking
contributions to the religious nature of an organisation has been
introduced for the first time in independent India.
RSS opposes Constitutional right to propagate
religion
Lucknow, March 12:
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh wants a national
debate on Article 25 of the Constitution which gives an individual the
right to profess, practice and propagate a religion of his
choice.
Talking to reporters, the RSS
leaders said that in 1977, the right to propagate did not give one the
right to conversion. "In fact, the Orissa government had framed a law
which prohibits conversion by fraud, by force, and by inducement. The
RSS is not opposed to individual conversions. If a person genuinely
believes in a particular faith, he can convert. However, we are opposed
to mass conversions, " he explained. The RSS resolution condemned the
church for "internationalising the non-existent issue of atrocities on
Christians in India" and blamed the English press for blowing these
issue out of proportion.
Two more arrested for Staines'
murder
Bhubaneswar, March 13:
Two more persons have been arrested in connection
with the killing of Australian missionary, Graham Stuart Staines and his
two children at Manoharpur in Orissa on January 22nd night, DIG (crime)
Prakash Mishra said here on Saturday.
Both of them are believed to
have accompanied Dara Singh, the prime accused in the murder case, when
they attacked the missionary in his sleep, Mr. Mishra said. With this,
the total number of arrests in the case has gone up to 57, of which 44
people were released after interrogation.
Mr. Mishra said the hunt was on
to nab Dara Singh.
13
Christians still in custody as they fail to pay fee
Hong Kong, March 13:
Thirteen Christians, detained without charge in
eastern China for the past three months, face labour camp if they cannot
pay police a stiff fee, a Hong Kong-based rights group said on
Saturday.
The Christians are part of a
group of 40 believers arrested in December in Henan province after a
police swoop on a private house where they were celebrating Christmas,
the information centre of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China
said.
US
Christians petition India: Attacks
Washington, March 13:
A delegation of about 100 representatives of the
National Association of Christians in the US has given a memorandum to
the Indian Embassy voicing concern over the attack on Christians
in India. Mission deputy chief T P Sreenivasan, in the absence of
Ambassador Naresh Chandra, received the memorandum and replied to
questions of the delegation. He assured that the government had done
everything possible not only to punish attackers but also to prevent
recurrence of such incidents in future.
Christian body flays RSS remarks on
churches
Hyderabad, March 14:
The National Congress of Indian Christians on
Sunday strongly objected to the reported accusation of the RSS that
Churches were tarnishing the image of the country by
"internationalising the non-existent issue of attacks on
Christians". The NCIC condemned the RSS and said that the services
rendered by the Churches and other Christian institutions were
immense. The RSS instead of levelling allegations should involve
themselves in community services, it said.
Hindu renovates Goan
Church
Panaji, March 14:
Goa is known for its old and magnificient churches,
which were built during the four centuries of Portuguese occupation that
continued till 1961. One of these churches was recently renovated by a
Hindu artist, with help from people of Hindu, Muslim and Christian
communities.
Situated just 30 kilometers
from here, Bicholim is a town of 28,000 people. Christians comprise just
two percent of the population. Yet they have one of the most beautiful
Churches in Goa.
Bicholim is yet another example
of how secularism is very much a part of the Indian ethos.
Staines judge raps lax Centre
New Delhi, March 16:
The Supreme Couort Judge heading the
commission probing the murder of Australian missionary and his
sons slammed the Union government on Teusday, saying it was not serious
about finding the killers.
Justice Devinder Pratap Wadhwa
who heads the commission investigating the mob burning of Graham Stuart
Staines and his sons in Orissa in January this year, said the government
had not provided adequate resources to the commission.
"Is the government serious that
we should conduct this commission ?". He asked at the first public
hearing of the body, held in his house because the government had failed
to provide a venue.
Advocate Gopal Subramaniam,
counsel for the commission, said that the government had put the body in
an embarrassing situation. "The conduct of the government, and in
particular its officers who have interacted with the commission, is
plainly unsatisfactory and inadequate".
Fresh attacks in Orissa
Bhubaneshwar, March 16:
Four persons were injured when the simmering
communal tension in the Ranalai Village in Gajapathi district took a
violent turn on Tuesday.
Two of the injured sustained
bullet wounds, while two others were hurt in stone-pelting by a rival
group.
They were admitted to the
Cheligarh primary health centre.
The miscreants set fire to 20
houses belonging to Christian families in the village, reports reaching
here said.
The violence took place when
the peace committee, formed to resolve the differences between two
groups over marking of a cross by some youths in the nearby Khillery
hill on Sunday, was meeting.
Prayer hall torched in Surat
Surat, March 17:
Police were investigating the reports of a thatched
prayer hall of tribal Christian being set ablaze by some unidentified
miscreants at the tribal village of Vadgam in the district on Tuesday.
The miscreants allegedly set on fire the front portion of the
prayer hall and fled the scene, police said.
Centre assures help to Staines
judge
New Delhi, March 17:
The government would extend all possible assistance
to the Justice D P Wadhwa commission probing into the killing of the
Australian Missionary Graham Staines, sources said. The Home ministry
had created 2 posts for the commission and deputed joint secretary
Sandeep Bagchi as officer on special duty. Five rooms at Vigyan Bhavan
have been provided, they said.
Berhampur, March 17:
Twenty nine people have been arrested in connection
with a clash between two communities in Gajapati district of Orissa
during which 150 houses, mostly belonging to Christians, were burnt down
and 12 people injured, official sources said on Wednesday.
Probe will cover fresh violence too:
Gamang
Bhubaneswar, March 18:
The Orissa government on Thursday ordered a
judicial probe into Wednesday's communal violence at Ranalai village in
Gajapati district.
The probe will be conducted by
retired judge of Orissa High Court Krishna Chandra Jagdev Ray. He is
also currently investigating the December 9, 1998, violence at R
Udayagiri in the same district when irate tribals attacked the local
jail, killed two undertrials and burnt their bodies in front of the
police station. The mob also set afire several houses belonging to the
Christian community.
Hindus not to blame, says Christian
body
New Delhi, March 18:
Several Christian organisations on Thursday said
the recent attacks on Christian families in Ranalai village in Orissa
was not a conflict between Hindu and Christian tribals but an act of "a
third fundamentalist group using Hindu religion."
They condemned the attack in
the village where they claimed 1,200 families were
victimised.
The leaders, who were here
regarding a three-day national convention on poverty, said,
"some reported remarks of the Human Resource Development Minister
regarding not celebrating 2000 years of Christ disturb the sentiments of
the community and send wrong signals to the fundamentalist elements to
carry on with the atrocities against the Christian
community."
1
Lakh Reconversion
Bangalore, March 19:
Vishwa Hindu Parishad senior vice-president Acharya
Giriraj Kishore. He said during the last one decade, more than 1,00,000
reconversions had taken place. Those Hindus who had converted to
Christianity and Islam were making homecoming. The process was on. Asked
to specify the number of reconversions during the last one year, he
declined to answer.
Kerala Christians on the
warpath
Thiruvananthapuram, March
20:
Heads of major churches in Kerala have
planned to deliver a condemnatory message from the pulpit expressing
grave concern over attacks on minorities, even as the State BJP branded
it as a step towards nurturing fundamentalism. The joint circular, which
would be read out in all the churches in Kerala on Sunday during Mass,
noted that what had happened in Gujarat and Orissa recently was
part of an evil design of "torture and banish Christianity from
India by branding it as alien and foreign".
44
Freed on bail in Staines murder
Cuttack, March 20:
The Orissa High Court has granted bail to 44 of 51
persons arrested in connection with the Graham Stewart Staines and his
two sons at Manoharpur in Keonjhar district on January 22nd
last.
The crime branch of police has
submitted a report indicating nil evidence against the 44
accused.
The State government has
already handed over the investigation of the case to the CBI.
Meanwhile, the Orissa
government has suspended four police officials on charges of dereliction
of duty in connection with the clash between the Christians and Hindu
tribals in Ranalai village in Gajapati district on Tuesday.
At least 13 persons from both
the communities were injured while 157 houses of Christians were burnt
as both communities clashed over defacing of a Cross. Sources said the
CI and the officer-in-charge of Ramgiri Udayagiri police station, the
special branch inspector of Parlakhemundi and the SI of Cheligarh has
been suspended.
VHP drive in tea areas
Guwahati, March 20:
Vishwa Hindu Parishad has Launched a project to set
up "one teacher schools" in the tea belt of Tinsukia and Dibrugarh
districts of upper Assam to impart the tenets of Hinduism to children in
a bid to check growth of Christianity among tea garden
workers.
Those among the tea community
who have been able to do well in life have done so due to the
education facilities provided by the Christian Churches.
Meanwhile, Archbishop Thomas
Henamperambil of Guwahati said that the Church had no objection to the
VHP starting schools provided they were doing it with good intentions
but that a controversy over conversions should not be whipped
up.
Fight communalism, Church tells faithful
Thiruvananthapuram, March
21:
Religious heads of Christian denominations
in Kerala on Sunday issued a message from the pulpit urging the
community to fight the fundamentalist threats faced by the country by
joining hands with those who believed in secularism and
democracy.
Condemning the recent attacks
on Christians in Gujarat, Orissa and Maharashtra, the lengthy
circular issued by the eight major Christian religious leaders titled
Obey God More than Man, affirmed the community's resolve to continue its
mission of emancipating man.
Whatever be the trials and
tribulations Christianity would continue its mission of
emancipating the hapless, the leaders affirmed.
Pope John Paul II likely to visit India
New Delhi, March 21:
Pope John Paul II is likely to visit India in
December as the Vatican has shortlisted the country among the three
possible venues for the Papal Asian visit of this millenium.
The recent attacks on
Christians and killings of the Australian missionary Graham Staines and
other incidents of attacks on the community are also highlighted by
those lobbying for India, Rediff in the Net has quoted an Indian Church
official as saying.
Award for Bible in Sanskrit
New Delhi, March 21:
The Vachaspati Puraskar, given by the K K Birla
Foundation to an outstanding Sanskrit work published during the last 10
years, has been given for 1998 to Baneshwar Pathak for his poetic work
Yeeshu Charitam, a poetic translation of the Bible into
Sanskrit.
This is the first translation
of the Bible into Sanskrit.
Hyderabad, March 24:
The
state government has on Wednesday appointed Justice Sadatulla
Hussaini as chairman and Dr. Livingston as the vice - chairman of the
Andhra Pradesh State Minorities Commission.
The state government has also
appointed Zaibunnisa Begum, Shaik Mohiuddin, Guru Bachan Kaur, E Mariya
Das and K. Pestonji as members of the Commission.
51
attacks in Gujarat, Minister tells House
Gandhinagar, March 24:
Fifty one incidents of attacks on churches and
Christians has been registered in eight towns and cities in Gujarat
during the last six months, Minister of State for Home Haren Pandya
informed the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.
He said the
attacks has damaged the property like houses, prayer houses,
churches, school buildings and hostels worth Rs. 4 Lakh. Forty persons
have been injured in the incidents and 198 arrested in connection with
the attacks.
Church Body Sees disinformation
drive
Bhubaneswar, March 24:
The National Council of Churches in India on
Wednesday accused the Sangh Parivar of spreading a disinformation
campaign leading to increasing attacks on Christians in
Orissa.
The NCCI president contested
Chief Minister Girdhar Gamang's statement that the incident in Ranalai
was started by the Christians stating that the report presented by him
in the Assembly and prepared by officials was not based on
facts.
He said the local Christians
had agreed to the wiping out of the cross painted on a hillock by
the Hindus to establish peace in the area. However, a 2,000 - strong
crowd, armed with guns and bows went to the hillock to celebrate the
occasion with a show of strength which led to the incident.
No
proposal to ban conversions:
Kochi, March 24:
The Centre has no plans to ban conversions since a
national consensus had to emerge before resorting to such a step,
Venkaiah Naidu, official spokesman and general secretary of the BJP said
on Wednesday.
Staines probe sitting today
New Delhi, March 25:
The Justice D. P. Wadhwa commission will hold its
second sitting here on Friday to record the statement of witnesses in
connection with the killing of Australian missionary Graham Staines his
two sons in Manoharpur village of Orissa on January 22nd. The
commission had earlier visited the site of the incident.
NMC absolves Hindus: House -
burning
Bhubaneswar, March 26:
A fact - finding team of the National Commission of
Minorities on Friday rejected the contention that the Ranalai incident
in which 156 houses belonging to Christians were burnt down was a handi
work of Hindus. It was the handi work of a group of people with
political inclination, NCM member James Massey said here.
Vatican's no to woman deacons
Vatican City, March 26:
The Vatican has reiterated its refusal to have
women serve as deacons, a role that lets men preach at mass and help
celebrate liturgical services. "A female diaconate would represent a
step toward the priesthood", said Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, who
heads the Vatican's congregation for the clergy. Ordination as deacons
is a step below priesthood, which the Roman Catholic church reserves
solely for unmarried men.
Biblical stories told through Kathak
dance
March 27:
In March 27th 1999, Rina Singha, a visiting dancer,
created a unique dance recital in India. Her Kathak performance was
based on a form of literature which is truly symbolic of India's
multi-religious and diverse cultural heritage. It is called Yeshu Katha and is based on the four gospels of
The Bible. Rina Singha has been in India for the past few months as a
senior arts award recipient of the Shastri Indo - Canadian
Institute.
Yeshu Katha is a form of
worship which originated among Christian indentured labourers from India
who were taken to Guyana by the British. They felt an acute need for
some instruments of Christian worship. They saw that their Kathas which
were performed in homes or gatherings by priests.
The Christians then sent a
group of scholars to India to write and print the Yeshu Katha
based on The Bible and the gospels. The book was printed only for the
Guyana Indian Christians and was in clear, Sanskritised
Hindi.
VHP's reconversion mela in WB
flops
Popra (West Bengal), March
28:
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad's plan of
reconverting non-Hindu tribals into Hinduism failed as it coincided with
a tribal festival. It had proposed to initiate the re-conversion of 500
tribal Christians and 50 Muslims into Hinduism on March 25th, the
auspicious day of Ramanavami. But the plan could not materialise as it
coincided with a tribal festival where only prayer rituals were
held.
Malda district magistrate M. V.
Rao admitted he received reports that a conversion programme was on in
Popra, but said there were no complaints of forced reconversion. Father
Verghese of a Catholic church in Malda contested the VHP's claim. "These
simple people worship nature. I don't think they were ever Hindus and if
they are converted, it is not reconversion. It is conversion from
Christianity to Hinduism," he said.
Faithful relive Jesus's Palm Sunday
march
Jerusalem, March 29:
Retracing Jesus' final steps in Jerusalem nearly
2,000 years ago, Christian pilgrims from around the world, led by
Palestinian Children, sang hymns and hiked on Palm Sunday from the Mount
of Olives to the Old City here.
The hike, led each year by
Christian Palestinian children in scout uniforms, began at the Church of
the Ascension where Jesus started his last journey to the gates of
Jerusalem.
Missionary murderer offers to
surrender
New Delhi, March 29:
Notorious criminal Ravindra Pal Singh alias Dara
Singh, the main accused in the killing of the Australian missionary
Graham Staines and his two sons in Orissa, has offered to surrender
before the authorities if found guilty by justice D P Wadhwa Commission.
However he denied being present at the site on the night of the ghastly
murder and also to being a member of Bajarang
Dal.