Page 107 - Religion Belief
Bishop Mulakkal, accused of raping a nun, granted bail
Bishop Franco Mulakkal, who is accused of raping a nun, was on Tuesday granted bail by the Kerala High Court.The court has laid down conditions for the bail, directing him to surrender his passport and asking him not to enter Kerala.The prelate, who was in charge of the Jalandhar diocese, was arrested three weeks ago- on September 21 after three days of questioning in Kerala, over the charges of raping a nun of his congregation, Missionaries of Jesus, repeatedly between 2014 and 2016.He became the first Indian Catholic bishop to be arrested in a case of the alleged sex crime against a nun. He, however, refuted the allegations, terming them "baseless and concocted."After the arrest, the senior Catholic priest was sent to police custody and was produced before the Pala Judicial Magistrate Court in Kerala's Kottayam, where he was sent to judicial custody till October 6.Bishop Mulakkal's bail plea was rejected by a lower court last week, following which he moved the high court.The case ...
Kerala HC grants bail to rape accused Bishop Mulakkal
The Kerala High Court on Monday granted bail to Bishop Franco Mulakkal, who was arrested in September on charges of raping a nun repeatedly between 2014 and 2016.
This Muslim family is taking part in Ramleela for 3 generations
Spreading a message of communal harmony, a Muslim family in Lucknow's Bakshi Ka Talab area has been organising Ramleela during Navaratri since last three generations.Mohd Sabir Khan, who is the director of the play, has also been taking part in the play since 1972."This Ramleela was started in 1972 and since then, both Hindus and Muslims have been part of it. I started working on it when I was 13-year-old and since then, I have been a part of it," Khan said.Khan, his two sons, and a grandson take part in the play with much zeal every year.Calling for unity between Hindus and Muslims, Khan said, "God did not divide as Hindu and Muslims. We are all one, as brothers. Above all, we are a human being."The nine-day festival of Navaratri began on October 10 and would go on till October 19.Nine forms of Goddess Durga are worshipped during these days.
Karnataka CM inaugurates Mangaluru Dasara festival
The 'Mangaluru Dasara' celebrations were inaugurated Sunday by Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy at Kudroli Gokarnanatheshwara temple here. The Chief Minister lit the lamp to mark the inauguration of the 10-day festivities. Later, Kumaraswamy sought the blessings of Nava Durgas and also performed the 'Aarti' of Goddess Sharada. A huge number of devotees and tourists thronged the Kudroli temple. The festival would conclude with the immersion of idols in the temple pond, Pushkarani on the seventh day.
Modi govt should show courage and start Ram temple construction: Sena
The Narendra Modi-led government should "demonstrate courage" and start the construction of Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya, BJP ally Shiv Sena said Sunday. If the Muslims agreed to allow construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, it will end the vote-bank politics, said the Sena's Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut in an article in the party mouthpiece "Saamana". The Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute is pending before the Supreme Court. Raut, the executive editor of "Saamana", said the fear that there would be riots if the construction of Ram temple began in Ayodhya was baseless. "The Narendra Modi government should demonstrate some courage and commence Ram Temple construction by issuing an ordinance," he said. Raut argued that there have been instances of razing of mosques even in Islamic countries such as Iran and Pakistan. "This truth should be accepted by the Muslims who wish the Babri mosque to remain as it is. The day this takes place, it will be a big blow to the ...
Punjab government fails to punish killers of Sikhs: Kejriwal
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday criticized the Punjab government for not acting against the killers of two Sikhs who died during protests against the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib three years ago.
Murdered Salvadoran, Pope Paul VI raised to sainthood
Pope Francis raised slain Salvadoran archbishop Oscar Romero and Pope Paul VI to sainthood on Sunday in a ceremony at the Vatican attended by tens of thousands of pilgrims. "We declare and define Paul VI and Oscar Arnulfo Romero Galdamez... to be saints and we enrol them among the saints, decreeing that they are to be venerated as such by the whole church," Francis said, before the crowds broke into wild applause. The pair were elevated to the highest position in the Roman Catholic Church along with five others, including an Italian orphan who died of bone cancer aged 19 and a German nun. Relics of each new saint were carried to the altar -- part of a bone for Romero and the shirt Paul VI was wearing when he was stabbed in an assassination attempt at Manila airport in 1970. Among those present were El Salvadoran president Salvador Sanchez Ceren, Chile's president Sebastian Pinera and Spain's Queen Sofia. Francis was wearing a blood-stained rope belt which belonged to Romero, who stood
Sainthood for murdered Salvadoran, Pope Paul VI
Slain Salvadoran archbishop Oscar Romero and Pope Paul VI, Catholic giants who sparked controversy during their lifetimes, will join the church's highest rank Sunday with an elevation to sainthood. Pope Francis will wear a blood-stained rope belt which belonged to Romero, who was murdered at the altar, as he leads the ceremony in front of some 60,000 pilgrims and heads of state from across the world. The pontiff will also use a chalice and pastoral staff belonging to Paul VI in a canonisation being seen as a reminder of Francis's call for "a poor church for the poor". Both men have been hailed by Francis for their courage in turbulent times and their dedication to social justice and the downtrodden. Their giant portraits were unfurled on Saint Peter's Basilica along with those of five other new saints, including an orphaned youth and a German nun. Romero stood up for peasant rights in the face of a right-wing backlash which painted him as a radical supporter of "liberation" theology ..
UP: Muslim man observes Navaratri fast
Setting an example of communal harmony, a Muslim man keeps fast for nine days during Navaratri and worships Lord Durga in Uttar Pradesh's Siddharthnagar district.Mohammed Shafiq, the head of the village, has been celebrating Navaratri from past five years.Talking about the same, he told, "I am celebrating this festival from past five years. Hindus and Muslim both take part in it with zeal. We celebrate all the festivals in the same way."He further gave a message of harmony and said that people of every community should maintain peace and unity.The nine-day festival of Lord Durga began on October 10 and would go on till October 19.Nine forms of Lord Durga are worshipped during these days.
Pope defrocks 2 former Chilean bishops for abusing minors
Pope Francis has defrocked two Chilean former bishops for allegedly sexually abusing minors, the Vatican said on Saturday after a meeting between the pontiff and Chile's president. The decision to expel former archbishop Francisco Jose Cox Huneeus and former bishop Marco Antonio Ordenes Fernandez -- the latest heads to roll in a country hit hard by the cleric abuse scandal -- is not open to appeal. Both were stripped of their priesthood "as a consequence of overt acts of abuse against minors", it said. The announcement came a day after the pope accepted the resignation of Washington DC archbishop Donald Wuerl, who has been blamed for not doing enough to deal with paedophile priests. Saturday's defrocking was "an extremely unusual, if not unprecedented" move, wrote Ines San Martin, a Vatican expert working for specialist Catholic website Crux. Defrocking is considered the Church's harshest penalty for priests, barring the offender from exercising any clerical duties at all, even in ...
Separatist movements will never succeed in India: Meghalaya Governor
Separatist movements have not succeeded in India because most people have not supported them, Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy said on Saturday.
Separatist movements did not succeed in India: Tathagata Roy
Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy Saturday said the separatist movements did not succeed in India because they did not have the support of the majority. He said this while addressing a get-together on harmony, organised by the Central Puja Committee (CPC) here. "The majority of the people in this country want to live together; they did not want to be separated from India. We have been like that for the last 70 years and we will continue to remain united for all times to come," Roy said. Roy also lauded the CPC for its initiative in bringing together people from different religious denominations, religious leaders and people of different ethnicities Khasi, Garo, Bengalis, Nepalese and others under one roof. "This in a way is a manifestation of that mindset. The CPC has been able to bring here Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims. This itself is a great success and this reflects the greatest thing about this country which is unity in diversity," he said. The leader of ...
Mumbai: Ayyappa devotees protest against SC Sabarimala verdict
Ayyappa devotees from Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai Saturday held a protest at Azad Maidan here demanding that the Kerala government issue an ordinance to protect age-old rituals of Sabarimala Temple. The Supreme Court, last month, had struck down a rule that disallowed girls and women in the age group of 10-50 years from entering the Sabarimala temple in Kerala. The apex court had said in its order that the rule violated women's right to equality and worship. The protest in Mumbai Saturday also sought that the Kerala government and the Devaswom Board (temple board) file review petitions against the SC verdict. The organisers of the protest said that a memorandum on the issue would be submitted to Maharashtra Governor C VIdyasagar Rao as well as the President of India and the Kerala government. A statement from the organisers said that an online portal planned to collect one crore signatures from people asking the Kerala government to file a review petition. Among those ..
Pope defrocks two ex-Chilean bishops for sex abuse
Pope Francis on Saturday defrocked former Chilean bishops Jose Francisco Cox and Marco Antonio Ordenes Fernandez who have been accused of sexual abuse.
Case against Kollam Thulasi for derogatory remark on Sabarimala verdict
The Kerala Police on Saturday registered a case against actor Kollam Thulasi for allegedly making a derogatory remark on the entry of women into the Sabarimala Temple in Kerala.Thulasi, while addressing a gathering in Kollam, suggested that women coming to the Sabarimala Temple should be ripped into two. "One half should be sent to Delhi and the other half should be thrown towards Chief Minister's (Pinarayi Vijayan) office in Thiruvananthapuram," he added.Thulasi is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party and fought 2016 assembly elections from Kundra in Kollam.On September 28, the apex court allowed women of all ages to enter the Sabarimala Temple saying that "no physiological and biological factor can be given legitimacy if it doesn't pass the test of conditionality".While many, including the Kerala state government, welcomed the decision, a large number of devotees have organised protests, demanding to retain the age-old tradition.The Sabarimala Temple, located in Kerala's ...
Red Cross appreciates IFRF's Humanitarian support to Faridabad flood victims
ISKCON Food Relief Foundation branded as Annamrita, a not-for-profit, non-religious, non-sectarian public charitable organization, has earned appreciation from District Red Cross Society for extending the selfless humanitarian and generous support to the flood victims of Basantpur Village, Faridabad.The organization pro-actively reached out to the state government and offered unsolicited aid to the 500 villagers who were deeply affected by such a critical and uncontrollable situation. The efficient team of Annamrita not only managed to cook the healthy and sumptuous Khichdi meal for the victims but also systematically delivered it to government officials in an extremely short span of time."We are extremely glad to partner with the District Red Cross Society for such a noble cause. We have consistently tried to cater to communities in the best manner possible. I hope this initiative will inspire others to walk on a similar path," said Vice - Chairman, North India, Annamrita, Dhananjaya
Will soon arrive at Sabarimala: Gender activist Trupti Desai
Amidst strong sentiments against the Supreme Court's verdict allowing women in the 10-50 age group into the Sabarimala Temple in Kerala, gender equality activist Trupti Desai said on Saturday that she was still determined to visit it.
Pope accepts resignation of US cardinal over abuse cover-up claim
Pope Francis on Friday accepted the resignation of Washington DC archbishop Donald Wuerl, who has been blamed for not doing enough to deal with paedophile priests. Cardinal Wuerl, 77, had offered to resign on September 21 after facing strong criticism over a report detailing mass sexual abuse cases when he was a bishop in Pennsylvania. Francis finally accepted his resignation on Friday in a letter in which he praised Wuerl's "nobility" and said the cardinal would stay on until his successor is appointed. Wuerl said in a statement that he was "deeply touched" by the pope's letter and that his replacement would "allow all of the faithful, clergy, religious and lay, to focus on healing and the future". He also apologised for "any past errors in judgement". A sweeping US grand jury report released in August revealed credible allegations against more than 300 predator priests and identified over 1,000 victims of child sex abuse covered up for decades by the Catholic Church in the state of .
SC stays blanket ban on 'fatwas' by religious bodies
The Supreme Court on Friday put on hold the Uttarakhand High Court order imposing a blanket ban on the issuance of 'fatwas' by the religious bodies.
South Kashmir Mirwaiz in porn video, sacked
After a video clip went viral showing him in an obscene pose with a girl, Qazi Yasir Ahmed was on Friday removed as the South Kashmir Mirwaiz and also sacked from the President's post of Tahqeeqat-e-Islami, a religious group.