Wow!: Son, father farm to feed neighbours during lockdown in India
EMILY LESHNER, of the Associated Press, reports from India on how a garden project started in response to the coronavirus pandemic is providing food for a neighbourhood…
Wow!: Cut! Barber ‘for all’ ends discrimination against Dalits of India
ANURADHA NAGARAJ, writing for Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how a “salon for all” aims to correct an historic wrong in India…
Indian state vows to end homelessness with free flats
Bangkok, ThailandThomson Reuters Foundation The Indian state of Kerala is offering free flats to homeless people, an ambitious model that activists say other states must follow as a nationwide “Housing for All” plan falls short. The first 145 families moved into their newly constructed flats in a 270-unit complex in Adimali town in southern India […]
Despite scandal, St Thomas Christians in Kerala aren’t going anywhere
Kochi, IndiaRNS On a hot Sunday morning as high Mass let out at St Thomas Kottakavu Church, Niya Francis, 24, found her shoes among a sea of sandals left outside the church doorway and joined her fellow catechism teachers as they headed to class in a small building next door. Teaching her faith has been […]
Catholic priest thanks Muslims for aid during India’s flood crisis
A Catholic priest has thanked Muslims who assisted victims of recent floods in the southern Indian state of Kerala after they had sought shelter in his church. Agenzia Fides reports that Fr Joseph Puthussery visited the Juma mosque at Vechoor where he delivered a speech in the prayer hall thanking more than 250 gathered Muslims for their aid […]
Indian churches perform fasting prayers, hold bucket collections, in solidarity with Kerala’s worst calamity
As Kerala, the southern state of India, nicknamed “God’s Own Country,” battles one of the worst flood disasters in a century, various religious communities have opened their doors to help homeless people. One such is St George’s Church in Ambayathode, Kannur, which opened its gates to house those affected by the floods. Rescue team near […]
India wins praise for ‘exemplary’ flood relief as community pitches in
New Delhi, IndiaThomson Reuters Foundation From helicopters plucking families from rooftops to fishermen ferrying villagers to safety, India’s response to deadly floods in Kerala has won praise, but experts say unchecked development contributed to the disaster. Nearly 400 people have died since 8th August in the worst floods to hit the coastal state in a […]
Updated: More than 350 killed, hundreds of thousands displaced in floods in India
More than 350 people have died and hundreds of thousands have been displaced from their homes amid what has been described as the worst floods in the southern Indian state of Kerala in a century. Rescue teams were working to save thousands of people who remain marooned with the state’s Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijanyan reportedly […]
Indian government body wants church confessions banned
World Watch Monitor The Indian government should ban the sacrament of confession in the country, the National Commission for Women has proposed, saying Catholic clergy use it to harass women, AsiaNews reports. The state advisory body said in its statement that confessions can lead to blackmail and that “priests pressure women into telling their secrets”. Cardinal […]
India’s church rejoices after release of Fr Tom Uzhunnalil
World Watch Monitor India’s church, government and politicians from across the political landscape have all expressed relief and joy over the release of Salesian Fr Tom Uzhunnalil, kidnapped in Yemen in March, 2016. Statements hailing the release of the Indian priest have poured in – from India’s foreign minister, Sushma Swaraj, to the president of the […]