Hong Kong media tycoon and Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai. / Napa Institute.
CNA Staff, Nov 8, 2023 / 18:07 pm (CNA).
Multiple Catholic leaders from around the world this week called upon the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Re… […]
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Virgin Mary, Moscow, Russia. / Sergey Ilyin-Mikhalski (Public Domain).
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 27, 2023 / 15:45 pm (CNA).
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of the Mother of God at Mosco… […]
Photos of martyred Christians at a public event in Bhubaneswar in 2010. / Credit: Anto Akkara
Bangalore, India, Oct 26, 2023 / 13:05 pm (CNA).
The Church in India has welcomed the news that the Vatican will initiate the beatification process fo… […]
Pope Francis on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023, appointed Father Richard Laurenson as the new bishop of the Diocese of Hamilton in northern New Zealand. / Credit: New Zealand Bishops’ Conference
Denver, Colo., Oct 25, 2023 / 17:30 pm (CNA).
Pope Fran… […]
Cardinal Telesphore Placidus Toppo blesses refugee Christians at Barakhama in Kandhamal in January 2008. / Credit: Anto Akkara
Ranchi, India, Oct 11, 2023 / 15:00 pm (CNA).
Tens of thousands of mourners in Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand state… […]
Indian Cardinal Telesphore Toppo arrives for a meeting of pre-conclave on March 9, 2013, at the Vatican. / Credit: FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images
CNA Staff, Oct 6, 2023 / 12:25 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis sent a message of condolence follow… […]
Taiwan’s Ambassador to the Holy See Matthew Lee speaks Oct. 5, 2023, at a reception with members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Vatican. Lee underlined that “Taiwan will do whatever we can to remain on the road of peace.” / Credit: Em… […]
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves to the his supporters during a political event organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the GMIT College Grounds on March 25, 2023, in Davangere, India. / Credit: Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images
Thrissur, India, Oct 4, 2023 / 13:45 pm (CNA).
An elderly Catholic priest in India’s Kerala state was suspended from priestly duties for joining India’s ruling BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party or Indian People’s Party), which is known for pursuing a Hindu nationalist agenda.
The BJP is the party of Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi. The priest’s action took place at a time of rising persecution of Christians in India. According to the United Christians Forum (UCF), in the first eight months of 2023, 525 incidents of violence against Christians have been reported in 23 states of India.
“There was no option but to act, as it has become a scandal to the faithful,” Bishop John Nellikunnel of the Diocese of Idukki told CNA about the Oct. 2 suspension of Father Kuriakose Mattam, vicar of St. Thomas Parish of Mankua.
“His action violated the canon law, which prohibits priests from joining political parties without permission,” Nellikunnel said.
Elaborating further, Nellikunnel noted: “It seems that Father Kuriakose, who is close to retirement [he will be 75 in six months], was misled into joining the BJP. As the news spread, the priest was also disturbed. So, he was moved out.”
Father Jins Karackattu, spokesperson for the diocese, told CNA that a couple of local Catholics who are actively associated with the BJP had “lured” the elderly priest into joining the BJP two weeks ago, promising him a quick repair of roads in the area.
When Idukki district BJP leaders made public on Oct. 2 the photos and videos of the elderly vicar of the remote parish “taking BJP membership” on the church premises, parishioners rushed to the church.
“As the news spread, Father Kuriakose was agitated and locked himself up. Diocesan officials rushed and shifted him to the retirement home for priests,” a local Catholic said.
“We welcome the action by the diocese. The BJP propaganda is embarrassing for the Christian community,” Father Jacob Palackappilly, deputy secretary general of Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council, told CNA.
“Their statement about the ‘entry of the Catholic priest to BJP’ is very funny. The party is trying to fool the Christians with such gimmicks. There should be no confusion as to the agenda of the BJP with Christians being harassed and persecuted under their rule in several states,” Palackappilly said.
BJP leaders have of late made a push to reach out to Christians in Kerala. While Modi visited the Sacred Heart Cathedral in New Delhi on Easter, BJP leaders claimed to have visited 10,000 churches and Christian homes in Kerala offering “Easter greetings.”
Kerala is home to nearly 7 million Christians who trace their faith to St. Thomas the Apostle, who landed on the Kerala coast in 52 A.D.
The BJP is not represented among Kerala’s 20 seats in the national Parliament, nor in the 140-member Assembly of Kerala.
KS Aji, of the BJP, based in Idukki, posted on Facebook that the elderly priest joined the BJP after “observing the current situation in the country.”
Aji also shared the Indian Express report that included photos of himself with Father Mattam as he was joining the BJP wearing a party shawl on his neck.
News of the Catholic priest joining the BJP has gone national, with leading pro-BJP news outlets including the national TimesNow channel carrying the story “Catholic Priest in Kerala Suspended After Joining BJP.”
“This incident shows how the BJP is trying desperately to get a foothold among the Christians,” KM Francis, president of Kerala Catholic Federation, told CNA.
“With the bloodshed in Manipur exposing their anti-Christian agenda, BJP is exploring new tricks as the [national] election is forthcoming,” Francis noted.
The BJP heads both the federal government and state government in Manipur where ethnic Kuki Christians have been targeted in ethnic clashes with majority ethnic Meiteis. Nearly 200 have been killed, and over 60,000 Kukis refugees have fled, along with 10,000 Meiteis.
The priest’s public act is similar to one that took place in eastern West Bengal state in March 2021, when the BJP announced that a senior priest of the Kolkata Archdiocese, Father Rodney Borneo, would join its ranks publicly, shocking the minuscule Christian community in the state.
John Dayal (middle) and activists in July 2022 in New Delhi to mark the anniversary of Jesuit Father Stansamy, who died in police custody on trumped up terrorism charges. / Credit: Anto Akkara
Kochi, India, Sep 26, 2023 / 17:30 pm (CNA).
Christ… […]
St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. / Credit: Shutterstock
CNA Staff, Sep 19, 2023 / 16:50 pm (CNA).
The Holy See is investigating a former Australian bishop after receiving a 200-page report alleging the bishop sexually assaulted four indigenous youths and may have used hundreds of thousands of dollars in Church and charity funds in attempts to groom 67 others.
Former bishop Christopher Saunders of the Diocese of Broome, who is the subject of the investigation, stepped down from his role in 2020 amid sexual abuse allegations. The Vatican, which commissioned the independent report, received the findings in April but did not release them to the public. The report was leaked to 7NEWS in Australia, which published excerpts of the findings.
According to the excerpts, the report found that “the bishop has been variously described by witnesses as … a sexual predator that seeks to prey upon vulnerable Aboriginal men and boys” and “during the investigation, four victims of sexual (delictual) acts were identified.”
The report added that 67 “additional Aboriginal boys and men were also identified as persons that may have been subjected to delictual acts or grooming behaviors by Bishop Saunders.”
According to 7NEWS, the report found that allegations against Saunders date back to just shortly after he was ordained a priest in Sydney, about 50 years ago, and that he developed a method of grooming Indigenous males by giving gifts of alcohol, cash, phones, phone credit, hotels, and air and bus travel.
The report found, according to 7NEWS, that Saunders spent about $4,000 per month on alcohol for the youths. The report discovered that he had five bank accounts, which held about $3 million at one point and purchased a $70,000 boat and several cars.
Police launched an investigation into Saunders in 2018 after a man came forward with sexual abuse allegations, but after a two-year investigation, the prosecutors did not find enough evidence against the bishop and declined to bring charges. The Holy See’s investigation began in 2022 and is being led by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. The dicastery’s investigation is still ongoing.
The president of the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe of Perth, said in a statement that the Holy See will make a determination “in due time” and “it is hoped that this will not be unduly delayed.” He said the Church’s investigation could not begin until the police finished its inquiry into the allegations.
“We will respect the enduring confidential nature of this process by not commenting on specific allegations that have been raised,” Costelloe said. “Bishop Saunders, who has maintained his innocence, is able to respond to the report by communicating directly with the Holy See.”
Costelloe added that the allegations “are very serious and deeply distressing, especially for those making the allegations” and that “it is right and proper for them to be thoroughly investigated.”
“After what has been a long and painful process for so many, it is important that a just and authoritative finding be made,” Costelloe said. “Only then can the process of rebuilding the Church community in Broome, begun under the leadership of Bishop Michael Morrissey, the apostolic administrator of the diocese, continue to make progress and bring healing.”
The Holy See’s investigation was “entrusted to an experienced and independent specialist investigations organization,” according to Costelloe. It was overseen by Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge.
There were 102 witnesses identified in the report, 30 of whom were formally interviewed, according to 7NEWS.
© Catholic World Report