Page 108 - Religion Belief
Women entering Sabarimala should be ripped into half: Actor Thulasi
Actor Kollam Thulasi on Friday made a shocking statement saying that women entering Sabarimala temple should be ripped into half. He was addressing a public gathering here.Thulasi, a Malayali actor, made the controversial remark while taking a dig at the central and state governments while threatening women from entering inside the Sabarimala temple.He said, "Women coming to Sabarimala temple should be ripped into half. One half should be sent to Delhi and the other half should be thrown towards Chief Minister's (Pinarayi Vijayan) office in Thiruvananthapuram."Four review petitions have been filed against the Sabarimala judgement. Before the judgement, women aged 10 to 50 were not allowed to visit the temple as per 'traditions'.On September 28, the apex court allowed women of all ages to enter the temple saying that "no physiological and biological factor can be given legitimacy if it doesn't pass the test of conditionality".The verdict has received mixed reactions from people across .
US Cardinal Donald Wuerl, accused over abuse cover-up, resigns
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of US Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who was blamed for not doing enough to deal with paedophile priests when he was a bishop in Pennsylvania, the Vatican said Friday. Wuerl, who has stepped down as archbishop of Washington, had announced last month that he planned to meet with the pope to discuss his resignation. 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 Pennsylvania. The report is thought to be the most comprehensive to date into abuse in the US church, but while prosecutors have filed charges against two priests, the vast majority of crimes happened too long ago to prosecute under current laws. In the report, Wuerl, who was bishop of Pittsburgh from 1988 to 2006, is repeatedly cited as one of the church leaders who helped to cover up the scandal. He has faced
Pope accepts embattled American archbishop's resignation
Pope Francis on Friday accepted the resignation of Donald Wuerl, the embattled archbishop of Washington, ending weeks of mounting speculation and rising anger over Wuerl's role in two clergy sexual abuse scandals.
US Cardinal Donald Wuerl, accused over abuse cover-up, resigns: Vatican
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of US Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who was blamed for not doing enough to deal with paedophile priests when he was a bishop in Pennsylvania, the Vatican said Friday. Wuerl, who has stepped down as archbishop of Washington, had announced last month that he planned to meet with the pope to discuss his resignation.
Pope OKs resignation of Cardinal Wuerl amid cover-up scandal
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl after he became entangled in two major sexual abuse and cover-up scandals and lost the support of many in his flock. Wuerl, who turns 78 in November, becomes the most prominent head to roll in the scandal roiling the Catholic Church after his predecessor as Washington archbishop, Theodore McCarrick, was forced to resign as cardinal over allegations he sexually abused at least two minors and adult seminarians. A Vatican statement Friday said Francis had accepted Wuerl's resignation, but named no replacement; Wuerl's office said he had been asked to stay on in a temporary capacity until a new archbishop is found. The decision came after months in which Wuerl initially downplayed the scandal, insisted on his own good record, but then progressively came to the conclusion that he could no longer lead the archdiocese. Wuerl had submitted his resignation to Francis nearly three years ago, when he turned 75, the ...
Navratri: This Durga devotee balances 21 urns on chest
Marking the commencement of the nine-day long Navratri festival, this ardent devotee of Goddess Durga has kept a structure made of 21 'Kalash' or sacred urns on his chest as a mark of respect to the deity.Bihar's Nageshwar Baba has been doing this nine-day annual ritual for 22 years as a mark of devotion towards Goddess Durga."I've been keeping Kalash on my chest every year since last 22 years. Goddess Durga has bestowed upon me the strength to continue with this task. I started fasting 15 days earlier than everyone. The excitement and happiness one is filled with can not be concealed as Durga Puja approaches. A number of people come for Maa's 'darshan' during this time and see my devotion towards her," he told ANI.Nageshwar continued, "I dreamt about falling sick and found myself actually falling sick at night. The doctor informed that both my kidneys were damaged. However, after worshipping and with the grace of Maa, I recovered the very next morning. Since then I have devoted ...
Pandalam royal family holds peaceful protest against Sabarimala verdict
Thiruvananthapuram witnessed a peaceful protest led by the Pandalam Royal Family on Friday, against the Apex Court verdict allowing women of all ages into the Sabarimala temple.The royal family, which claims to have a strong bond with Lord Ayyappa, said that if all women are allowed to enter the temple the Lord will curse devotees with bad fortune.Speaking to ANI, PG Sasikumar Varma, a Pandalam Palace representative, said, that their decades' old rituals can't be broken with latest Supreme Court's verdict. "This verdict has not only broken the beliefs of lakhs of devotees here, but from across India. We are raising our voices against the top court's verdict in order to safeguard Lord Ayyappa," he added.Another protestor, Shilpa Nair, was of the view that women who are entering the Temple are not coming to worship Lord Ayyappa but are doing so in order to break the law."I feel women who are coming to Sabarimala Temple are not coming as devotees but just to break the rules which bar ...
SC stays U'khand HC order banning religious outfits from issuing 'Fatwas'
The Supreme Court Friday stayed the order of Uttarakhand High Court which had banned all religious outfits, bodies, panchayats and groups of people in the state from issuing 'fatwas'. 'Fatwa' is advice or opinion given by qualified Islamic scholars in response to queries asked on religious matter. A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta also issued notices to the state government and the high court on a plea filed by Muslim organisation Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind challenging the court's August 30 order. In its order, the high court had banned all the religious outfits, bodies and statutory panchayats, local panchayats and groups of people in Uttarakhand from issuing fatwas saying it infringed upon statutory rights, fundamental rights, dignity, status, honour and obligation of individuals. The high court, while declaring 'fatwas' as unconstitutional and illegal, had passed the order after a media report was brought to its notice that a panchayat had issued 'fatwa' for externment of
Religious leaders call for end to 'manipulation of religion' by terrorists
Religious leaders on Thursday called for an end to "all forms of manipulation of religions" that lead to the activity of terrorist organisations in a joint statement signed at the end of the 6th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
Moscow rages as Ukrainian Church's independence recognised
The Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarchate on Thursday said it had agreed to recognise the independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, in a move welcomed with jubilation by Kiev but condemned as "catastrophic" in Moscow. Russia had warned against allowing the Ukraine Church to sever its ties with Moscow, with the powerful head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, travelling to Istanbul earlier this year in a bid to dissuade the patriarchate. The issue is set to play a key role in Ukraine's March 2019 presidential elections, with incumbent President Petro Poroshenko making independence from the Russian Orthodox Church -- known as autocephaly -- a key issue as he plans a re-election bid. Poroshenko quickly hailed the decision of the Patriarchate, which is based in its historic home of Istanbul, the former Constantinople and once the capital of the Byzantine Empire before the Ottoman Muslim conquest of 1453. "This is a victory of good over evil, light over darkness," ...
Ghaziabad: Cops suspended for thrashing couple
Three policemen posted at the Kavi Nagar police station here were suspended on Thursday for allegedly thrashing a couple, officials said. SHO Kavi Nagar Pradeep Kumar Tripathi, senior sub-inspector Hind Veer Singh and chowki in-charge Balram Singh Sengar have been suspended, Senior Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Krishna said. On Wednesday, Dhan Singh, a native of Muzaffarnagar, and his wife Manju Singh, were counting money in their car when a police patrolling team, including Sengar, reached the spot and questioned the couple. The couple got into a heated argument with the team, following which they were allegedly thrashed and taken into custody, the police said. Dhan and his wife were taken to the police station where they were allegedly thrashed again, booked under various sections of the IPC and arrested, they added. Manju raised the matter before Krishna on Thursday after getting bail, following which the trio was suspended. No one will be spared if found guilty, Krishna said.
It's a relief that cyclone Titi is weakening, says Mamata
Even as the Durga Puja organisers worry about the effect of cyclone "Titli" in Gangetic West Bengal, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said the gradual weakening of the cyclone is a relief.
Tercentenary of Asia's first protestant church celebrated
The Tercentenary of the New Jerusalem Church, believed to be Asia's first Protestantchurch at Tarangambadi in the district, was celebrated Thursday. Pastors from over 50 important churches the world over participated in the celebrations organised by the Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church (TELC). The Jerusalem Church was built in 1707 by BartholomeusZiegenbalg, a German-born Danish missionary, who arrived at Tarangambadi in 1706. He had dedicated the church specifically for local Tamils and conducted all prayers in Tamil. The church, which was functioning from a small building near the seashore, was damaged when a tsuanmi struck Tranquebar on November 27, 1715. Ziegenbalg then decided to build a new church nearby. The New Jerusalem Church, built on Danish architectural style, was inaugurated this day 300 years ago. To commemorate the completion of the tercentenary, the TELC had organisedcelebrations at Tarangambadi Thursday. Administrator of TELC and former judge of Madras ..
Indian woman pilgrim dies in Nepal
An elderly Indian woman, who was on a pilgrimage to the famous Muktinath temple located at Nepal's Mustang district, died on Thursday due to altitude sickness, police said. The woman identified as 62-year-old Yashoda Brahmanyam from Bangalore fainted at the temple. She was taken to a government hospital in Baragung Muktichetra where she breathed her last, police said. Muktinath, located at an altitude of 3,710 metres at the foot of the Thorong La mountain pass, is a sacred place for both Hindus and Buddhists. Muktinath is one of the most ancient Hindu temples of lord Vishnu. For Tibetan Buddhists, it is a very important place of goddesses known as Sky Dancers, and one of the 24 'tantric' places.
Tamirabharani 'Maha Pushakaram' begins after 144 years
The Tamirabharani "maha pushkaram" (festival of worshipping of rivers), held after 144 years based on unique planetary positions as per the almanac, got off to a start here Thursday. The 12-day festival, inaugurated by Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit at Papanasam near here, is expected to draw lakhs of devotees from different parts of the country. Elaborate arrangements had been made to enable the people to take the holy dip in the river which runs through the districts of Tirunelveli and Tuticorin. More than 60 bathing ghats had been spruced up while special 'homams' and 'pujas' would also be performed during the 12 days. Though pushkaram was celebrated every 12 years, the maha pushkaram at Tamirabharani occurs after a gap of 144 years based on a unique combination of planetary positions, signifying the transit of Jupiter to the next zodiac sign, organisers said. Speaking after inaugurating the festival, Purohit said holy rivers such as the Yamuna, Ganga, ...
Sabarimala ruling exposes political, caste groups: CPI-M
The opposition to the Supreme Court ruling allowing women in the 10-50 age group to enter the Sabarimla temple in Kerala has "exposed the hypocrisy and patriarchal worldview of some political parties and caste organisations", the CPI-M has said.
Bishop: Possible pope trip to North Korea 'a gigantic step'
A South Korean bishop says a visit by Pope Francis to North Korea would mark a "gigantic step" for peace on the peninsula but that there are many issues about religious freedom that must be resolved. South Korean President Moon Jae-in is expected to relay North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's invitation for Francis to visit the atheist country when Moon meets with Francis next week. The bishop of Daejeon, South Korea, Monsignor Lazarus You Heung-sik, told Vatican reporters Thursday that it would be "beautiful" if Francis could visit but that "some things must change" a reference to the lack of priests or religious freedom in the North. But he added: "If the pope goes there he will make a gigantic step, a qualitative step for the Korean peninsula.
Salvadoran priest to be declared saint
Oscar Romero, the Salvadoran priest who championed social justice for the poor and dispossessed, will be proclaimed a saint by Pope Francis on Sunday, almost four decades after he was assassinated by a right-wing death squad.
MP: Girls above 10 yrs of age asked to avoid jeans, top
In the wake of a Garba event, the Mali community in Madhya Pradesh's Alirajpur has asked girls above the age of 10 to not wear jeans and top."We are holding a Garba programme. We have decided that girls above the age of 10 will not wear jeans and top. They will not wear it in houses too and not in any of other events," Manjula Mali, president, women committee of the Alirajpur community."The reason is that men don't look at women in a decent way. So, we need to make our girls understand," she added.The men of the community have also given go-ahead to the decision."We have taken this decision because boys don't see women properly. We want to run this event properly as per our religion and customs," said Himmat Mali, president of the community.
Hindu group files PIL in HC seeking direction to govt enabling women to enter mosques
A Hindu group filed a PIL Wednesday in the Kerala High Court seeking directive to the Centre for issuing an order enabling Muslim woman to enter mosques for offering prayers. The petitioner submitted that in the context of a recent Supreme Court order allowing entry of women of all age groups into the Sabarimala temple, the need of the hour is the entry of Muslim women devotees in mosques for prayers along with men. He submitted that women were discriminated against by not allowing them to enter and pray in mosques in the main prayer hall. The petition was filed by Swamy Dethathreya Sai Swaroop Nath, who is the state president of Akhila Bharatha Hindu Maha Sabha, Kerala unit. "Thus, women of Muslim community were being disgraced and discriminated against which was against Article 21 and 14 of the Constitution," his plea said. This was to be viewed in the context that Muslim women were allowed entry in Mecca, his petition said. He also said imposition of a dress code like purdah for ...