The Church left behind by God

The Church boycotted by God. Daivam Padiyirangippoya Sabha by Dr. Sr. Jesmi in Malayalam Varika

Role of Women in the Church

Role of Women in the Church - Mor Milethius

Christmas peaceful in Kandhamal: Hindus join the celebrations

Christmas mass passes off peacefully in Kandhamal Bhubaneswar (IANS): Midnight Christmas mass was attended by thousands of Christians amid tight security across Orissa, including Kandhamal district that had witnessed widespread anti-Christian violence earlier this year. In many places Hindus joined Christians in the celebrations, officials said Thursday. "We have not received information of any trouble. It seems to be all peaceful," the Archbishop of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar Raphael Cheenath told IANS. "We held the Christmas mass with prayer and singing," Cheenath said, adding that he is satisfied with the security arrangements made by the government. "We are confident the Christmas celebrations will also pass off peacefully in the state," Cheenath said. Midnight mass was held peacefully in Kandhamal amid heavy security cover. Officials said except for the felling of two trees on the road in two places early Thursday no untoward incident was reported. The trees were promptly removed by security forces. "There has been no problem so far," Kandhamal district collector Krishan Kumar told IANS by phone. About 8,000 people still living in government-run relief camps in the district also attended the Christmas mass and decorated their camps, officials said. more

Delhi church attacked

Delhi church attacked 2 weeks ago, cops mum 4 Oct 2008, 0013 hrs IST, Deeksha Chopra & Samreen Hussain,TNN

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New Delhi: The fanatical Hindu mobs have struck in the Capital. And the police has kept it under wraps. A good fortnight  Relief Camp and demolished the frontal portion of the Christian prayer hall in the camp. This camp in west Delhi is barely 15 km from Parliament House. To this day, this group of Christians is holding weekly mass with police protection. The families say they are living in constant fear of local miscreants allegedly owing allegiance to ''some religious organisations'' who accuse them of carrying out ''forced conversions'' and threaten to ''take away'' their daughters unless they ''mended their ways.'' The mob had struck on September 16. Despite repeated attempts, the community has not managed to get a FIR registered for what they call ''vandalism'' and police describe as ''regular land dispute''. more

Christians Protest rally in Tamenglong

Rally against violence on Christians taken out in Tamenglong

Written by admin on 6:02 AM

T amenglong, Oct 2 : Hundreds of Christians in Tamenglong district of Manipur marched down the streets at the district headquarters to protest against the atrocities meted out to the Christians in Orissa and Karnataka. The rallyists gathered at the deputy commissioner’s office to submit a memorandum shouted in one voice, “We condemn attacks on Christian minority”, “Don’t repeat such barbaric acts”.As the DC was not present in his office, the memorandum which was meant to be forwarded to the Union home ministry, New Delhi was handed over to the SDC who promised to fax it to the office of the MHA immediately. The memorandum appealed to the government of India and concerned states to take immediate action to stop killing of Christians and atrocities on them. It also demanded rehabilitation of the persecuted Christians by providing adequate relief materials and safeguarding the minority Christians in the two states.

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Christian Dharna at Jantar Mantar and Peace March to Gandhi Samadhi

The 7 day sit-in peaceful Dharna by the Christian community at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, from 26th September to 2nd October 2008 ended with a Peace March of approximately 10,000 protestors to the Samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat, on his 139th birth anniversary.

Religious leaders from all faiths, and social activists also joined Christians from all denominations in the Peace March.

A memorandum addressed to Mahatma Gandhi Bapu, was read, with copies to Bhim Rao Ambedkar, Sardar Vallbhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru, members of the constituents assembly; the President, the Prime Minister and the Government of India.  more

Fresh violence in Kandhamal, Church attacked in Coimbatore

Fresh violence in Kandhamal, curfew reimposed Times of India 2 Oct 2008, 0120 hrs IST, Sandeep Mishra,TNN BHUBANESWAR: Curfew was reimposed in nine major locations in Kandhamal on Wednesday amid fresh attacks on Christian prayer halls in some parts of  Singed By Communal Fire. (TOI) the riot-ravaged district. Police, for the first time since the violence erupted, arrested a number of saffron leaders of the region, giving rise to tension and protests in different areas. Stray incidents of violence continued and an enraged mob of around 100 tribals damaged at least 16 houses and a prayer hall in worst-hit Raikia area, said official sources. At least four houses were gutted at Beheragaon. Torching of some houses was also reported from Gochhapada, while some agitated locals protesting against arrests gheraoed the police station at Tumudibandh. Another church attacked in TN  COIMBATORE : Another church in Tamil Nadu came under a spell of stone pelting by miscreants — this time, in communally sensitive Coimbatore. The glass door of Scion Assembly of Church in Kuppanur near Perur in rural Coimbatore was damaged on Tuesday evening.   Read it all

Protest in Delhi over violence against Christians

September 26th, 2008 - 6:02 pm ICT by IANS -

New Delhi, Sep 26 (IANS) A collage of faces - young students, leaders of religious minorities, Christian priests, nuns and others - gathered at the Jantar Mantar in the heart of the capital Friday to protest the violence against the Christian community in Orissa and other parts of the country.Holding banners reading “Prosecute vandalists and communal elements” and “Violence against Christians is violation of human rights”, the protesters raised their voices against the vandalisation of churches and attacks on Christians in Orissa, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.

The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) Thursday demanded immediate deployment of paramilitary forces in sensitive areas of Karnataka and sought stringent action against Bajrang Dal activists involved in attacks on churches in the state.

In its report to the Prime Minister’s Office, the minorities panel requested the central government to ensure that protection is immediately given to vulnerable members of the Christian community.  Read

Church attacked in Tamil Nadu

First Published: 01:14 IST(27/9/2008)
Last Updated: 01:27 IST(27/9/2008)

Tension prevailed in Dharapuram town, 80 km from the textile centre of Erode in Western Tamil Nadu, for a while following an attack on the front portion a church by some miscreants in the wee hours early today.

The glass pane of a small square enclosure at the entrance to the St. Aloysius Church there was smashed in an incident of stone-pelting after 1 am early this morning, police sources in Erode told HT over telephone.

A statue of ‘Infant Jesus’ kept in that enclosure suffered minor damage, sources said, but there was no cause for alarm. An FIR has been registered on a complaint given by Fr. Jerome who heads the church, but no arrests have been made yet.

A similar incident was reported from Kanniykumari district down South yesterday, where some miscreants damaged a statue of Virgin Mary, in St. Xavier's Church in Nagercoil.

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Jabalpur Church set on fire by Dharm Raksha Sena, a new terrorist outfit

New Terrorist Groups are Coming Up Under BJP Rule.  Besides Bajrang Dal, Shri Ram Sena in Karnataka, Dharm Raksha Sena in MP

» 09/19/2008 17:30 INDIA Hindu radicals set fire to Jabalpur cathedral, threaten new attacks in Madhya Pradesh by Nirmala Carvalho Dharm Raksha Sena groups dare parish priest to stop their action. More destruction is planned. Violence is tied to BJP election campaign. Gathering is to take place tomorrow, bringing Christians, Muslims, Sikhs and moderate Hindus together in Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh). Bhopal (AsiaNews) – A group of Hindu extremists have set fire to Jabalpur’s Sts Peter and Paul Cathedral. Mgr Gerald Almeida, bishop of the diocese of Jabalpur, said he received threats announcing more attacks. The attack against the cathedral occurred yesterday around 8.15 pm. Eyewitnesses said they saw three people fleeing the church area on motorbikes at high speed. After that they eventually realised that the building was burning. The fire destroyed the altar, the statues of Sts Peter and Paul, a Bible, missals, crosses and other precious holy items. This is the third time in two weeks that a church has been set on fire in Madhya Pradesh. The other incidents took place in Ratlam and Indore district. A few days ago a convent of Carmelite nuns was attacked in Banduha. In these cases police blamed Christians for the attacks even though all the evidence suggests that they are part of a wider anti-Christian campaign led by Hindu extremists that began in Orissa and that is now spreading to other Indian states. For Fr Davis George, principal of the St. Aloysius College, the Hindu fundamentalist origin of these attacks is confirmed by the fact that “in all these cases members of the Dharm Raksha Sena were involved. Led by Yogesh Agrwal, the members of this group introduced themselves yesterday morning to Father Rocky, the cathedral’s parish priest, and threatened to burn to church, daring him to stop them, if he could.” As soon as news of the fire spread, at least 3,000 faithful gathered in and around the church, demanding justice, blocking downtown streets. According to Marko Anthony, joint secretary of the Madhya Pradesh Joint Christian Forum (Madhya Pradesh Isai Mahasang), the “police knows the culprits, but is protecting them. We shall not allow all this.”  ...>More

More churches attacked in Karnataka

MANGALORE/CHIKMAGALUR/KOLAR: Even before the dust on the attacks on prayer halls on Sunday could settle, a fresh wave of attacks has been reported. Three incidents have been reported since Tuesday night even after the ruling BJP government threatened to act tough against those responsible for the attacks.

Unidentified persons broke into a church in Ujire, 70 km from Mangalore, in Dakshina Kannada district and another at Gorigandi in Chikmagalur district and ransacked it, police said on Wednesday.

In Kolar, a statue of Virgin Mary was damaged on Wednesday morning. At Ujjire, miscreants desecrated the St George Church belonging to Syro Malabar Catholic Rite under Diocese of Belthangady in the early hours. They gained entry by breaking the front door lock and burned the Bible, prayer books and destroyed holy icons.

The miscreants threw away the tabernacle where the Blessed Sacrament was kept. They also set the carpets inside the church afire. The incident came to light when the parish priest, and others came to the church for mass at 6 am. They informed Joseph Valiaparambil, vicar general of the bishop's house. Joseph in turn informed the authorities.

Stating that the police inspector and tahsildar arrived and assessed the situation, Jospeh said the diocese strongly condemned the act. "We are not violent and do not believe in violence. We respect the administration and the law of the land. We respect all religions. The Christian community need protection from these kinds of anti-social, anti-religious activities," Joseph said.

In Chikmagalur district, one church was vandalised by miscreants at Gorigandi. The St Thomas church was attacked by three people who came on a motorcycle and broke open the door and damaged prayer mater ials. Balehonnur police have registered a complaint given by Fagin. This is the fifth attack on a church since September 14 in the district.

In Kolar district, miscreants damaged the statue of Virgin Mary outside the St Mary's church in Kolar town in the wee hours of Wednesday. They hurled stones at the church breaking window panes.

As the news spread, people Christians assembled near the church and expressed concern over the incident. Chief of the Roman Catholic church Fredrick urged the district administration to take action to nab the culprits. Link

20 August 2008 | 08-0669 |

Indian Christians mourn priest's killing, despair of justice

Bangalore, India (ENI). Hundreds of mourners have attended the funeral of a priest brutally killed in India's southern Andhra Pradesh state, with a warning that Christians are losing faith in the country's ability to bring to justice those responsible for a string of communal attacks.