Page 121 - Religion Belief
Law should take its course in nun rape case: Bishops' body
Denying that it wanted a Bishop accused in the rape of a nun to step down, the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) on Sunday said that law should take its course in the matter.
Kejriwal takes on Modi, Rahul over religious outreach
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress President Rahul Gandhi for visiting mosques and temples.
Kerala nun rape: Activist on hunger strike hospitalized
Activist Stephen Mathew, who has been on a hunger strike for the past nine days demanding the arrest of rape-accused Jalandhar Bishop Franco Mulakkal, was hospitalised after his health deteriorated earlier in the day.A nun from Kerala has accused the 54-year-old Bishop of raping her on several occasions between 2014 and 2016 and sought help from the Vatican.Meanwhile, Jalandhar Police on Saturday served a notice to Bishop Mulakkal to appear before Kerala police on September 19.
Dalai Lama: I knew of sex abuse by Buddhist teachers since 1990s
The Dalai Lama said Sunday he has known about sexual abuse by Buddhist teachers since the 1990s and that such allegations are "nothing new". The Tibetan spiritual leader, revered by millions of Buddhists around the world, made the admission during a four-day visit to the Netherlands, where he met on Friday with victims of sexual abuse allegedly committed by Buddhist teachers. He was responding to a call from a dozen of the victims who had launched a petition asking to meet him during his trip, part of a tour of Europe. "We found refuge in Buddhism with an open mind and heart, until we were raped in its name," the victims said in their petition. "I already did know these things, nothing new," the Dalai Lama said in response on Dutch public television NOS late Saturday. "Twenty-five years ago... someone mentioned about a problem of sexual allegations" at a conference for western Buddhist teachers in Dharamshala, a hill town in northern India, he added. The Dalai Lama, 83, lives in exile
Dalai Lama opens exhibition on Buddha's life in Netherlands
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Saturday opened a new exhibition in the Netherlands dedicated to the life of Buddha.
Sidhu must follow tenets of Sikhism before speaking on the religion: SAD
Senior SAD leader Prem Singh Chandumajra Saturday said Punjab cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu has no right to speak on Sikhism as he does not follow the tenets of the religion. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader's reaction comes a day after Sidhu urged the Akal Takht, the supreme temporal seat of Sikhs, to excommunicate former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir Singh Badal from the faith. Sidhu had alleged that the Parkash and his son-- former deputy chief minister of Punjab and SAD president-- had given orders to the police to open fire at protesters at Behbal Kalan in 2015 that led to the death of two people. "A patit (apostate) like Navjot Singh Sidhu regularly disrespects his religion by trimming and dying his beard and performing religious rituals forbidden in Sikhism," Chandumajra said in a statement here. "He has the audacity to approach the sacred Shri Akal Takht Sahib to vent his hatred against practising Sikhs (Badals)," the senior Akali ...
New bishop for Mangaluru diocese
Peter Paul Saldhana was Saturday ordained as the 14th bishop of Mangaluru diocese at the episcopal ordination and consecration celebration at Rosario Cathedral here. According to tradition, outgoing bishop Aloysius Paul DSouza as the main consecrator, along with Bengaluru archbishop Peter Machado and Udupi diocese bishop Jerald Isaac Lobo as co-consecrators, ordained the new bishop. Bishop Aloysius DSouza anointed the new bishop with holy oil, handed over the crosier and mitre and led him to the bishop's seat. Saldhana was then officially declared as the bishop of Mangaluru diocese. Messenger Javier D Fernandez G Papal Nuncio to India read out the mandate from the Holy See in Latin before the consecration ceremony, while Father Joseph Martis read it same in English and Father Victor DMello in Konkani. After the consecration, all the priests of the diocese paid honour and obedience to the new bishop. A large number of priests from various congregations in Karnataka and ...
Jalandhar bishop hands over administrative charge, catholic priests join protest
Bishop Franco Mulakkal, facing probe after a nun accused him of rape, has handed over administrative responsibility of Jalandhar diocese to a senior priest even as a group of Catholic priests on Saturday extended support to the protest by various Catholic reformation organisations seeking justice for the nun. In a circular addressed to priests, nuns and brothers of the diocese, the Bishop said, "In my absence Msgr Mathew Kokkandam will administer the Diocese as in the normal practice when I am away from the Diocese". He also requested them to continue to pray for him and for the alleged victim and her supporters who have come out against him "so that divine intervention may bring about change of heart and the truth of the matter may be revealed." The bishop claimed there were "several contradictions" in the evidence collected against him by the police probing the case. "I leave everything into the hand of God as I await the result of the findings of the team probing the allegation," ..
Sexual abuse accused Bishop to join investigation
Bishop Franco Mulakkal, who has been named in a sexual abuse case by a senior nun, is likely to join an ongoing investigation into the matter with the Kerala Police soon and will hand over charge of his Diocese to his second-in-command during his absence.
Kerala nun rape: Vatican forms probe panel, accused bishop writes to clergy
The Vatican, the highest seat of authority in the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy, has formed a one-member panel to probe the rape allegations against the Bishop of Jalandhar, Franco Mulakkal.Sources told ANI that a church representative from India is in the Vatican to discuss the issue of a rape charge against the Bishop by a Kerala-based nun.The development followed after the nun wrote to the Apostolic Nunciature- the representative of the Pope in India- describing the ordeal she allegedly went through at the hands of Bishop Mulakkal.The reaction from the Holy See has come amidst Pope Francis ordering an investigation into the sexual misconduct by an American bishop Michael J. Bransfield who recently resigned from the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia. The pontiff, on Thursday, met the US Catholic church leaders to discuss the scandal that has sparked a furore over clergy abuse crisis.Back home, Bishop Mulakkal, who has been summoned by the Kerala Police for questioning .
Jalandhar bishop hands over administrative charge to fellow priest
Bishop Franco Mulakkal, facing probe over allegations of rape by a nun, has handed over his administrative responsibility of Jalandhar diocese to a senior priest. "In my absence Msgr Mathew Kokkandam will administer the Diocese as in the normal practice when I am away from the Diocese," Bishop Mulakkal said in a circular. The circular was issued on September 13, a day after the Kerala Police had asked him to appear before the investigating team on September 19. The decision to summon the clergyman was taken after a meeting chaired by Sakhare, Inspector General (Ernakulam range), which was also attended by Kottayam District Superintendent of Police Harisankar and Vaikom Deputy Superintendent of Police K Subhash amid mounting pressure on police to initiate action against Mullakal. In the circular, the bishop said there were "several contradictions" in the evidences collected against him by the police probing the case. "I leave everything into the hand of God as I await the result of the
Kerala nuns 'will rest' after accused Bishop arrested
A group of protesting nuns from Kerala on Saturday said that they "will rest" only after a bishop accused of sexually abusing a senior nun is questioned and arrested.
'Nowhere to worship': Crackdown bedevils China's Catholics
A government sign outside a Catholic church in central China warns that children are not allowed to attend mass. "Illegal" churches are being bulldozed. Priests are handing over personal information about their flocks to authorities. Roman Catholics in Henan province are running out of space to worship as the atheist Communist government steps up a campaign to "Sinicize" religions and demolishes old neighbourhoods to make way for development projects. The campaign has intensified even as the Vatican and Beijing, which severed ties in 1951, are reportedly close to resolving a longstanding dispute over who gets to appoint bishops. The standoff has split China's roughly 12 million Catholics between those who follow government-approved prelates and those in "underground" pro-Rome churches. A tattered poster of Jesus and a few wooden pews beneath bricks and broken planks are the only evidence that a church once stood in Puyang city before it was deemed an "illegal construction". Liu ...
San Diego diocese adds 8 priests to list of predators
The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego has added eight priests to its list of those believed to have molested children. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Bishop Robert McElroy's move responds to recent events including a Pennsylvania grand jury report that found children had been molested by priests there and the resignation of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who was accused of assaulting altar boys, seminarians and priests. The names were released in piecemeal fashion with critical details missing. They are the Revs Jose Chavarin, Raymond Etienne, J Patrick Foley, Michael French, Richard Houck, George Lally and Paolino Montagna, plus Monsignor Mark Medaer. In 2007, the diocese settled 144 claims of child sexual abuse by 48 priests and one lay employee.
Gunning for Badals, Sidhu seeks their excommunication
Taking his fight against former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal further, Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday urged the Akal Takht to excommunicate both from the Sikh religion.
Dalai Lama meets alleged victims of abuse by Buddhist gurus
Four people who say Tibetan Buddhist teachers abused them physically or psychologically presented the Dalai Lama with written accounts from 12 alleged victims and appealed to him Friday in the Netherlands to address the problem. A group using the hashtag "metooguru" gathered some 1,300 signatures on an online petition calling for a meeting with the spiritual leader so he could receive its collection of testimonies. He met with four representatives for about 20 minutes on the first day of a four-day visit to the Netherlands. The Dalai Lama is the leader of one school of Tibetan Buddhism. Organizers of Friday's meeting at a Rotterdam hotel hope the Nobel Peace Prize winner will use his moral authority to influence the faith more broadly. "What we want from him is that he is very clear about the fact that religious leaders in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition are not above the law," said Oane Bijlsma, one of the four people who met the Dalai Lama. "That even if they claim that their ...
Sidhu seeks excommunication of Badals from Sikh faith
Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu Friday approached the Akal Takht seeking the excommunication of former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir Singh Badal from the Sikh faith over their alleged involvement in the police firing on protesters in 2015. Sidhu also alleged that Parkash and his son Sukhbir-- former deputy chief minister and the president of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-- influenced the Jathedar of the Akal Takht to pardon Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a blasphemy case to garner votes of the Dera followers. However, the edict granting pardon to the controversial Dera chief, who is currently lodged in a jail in Rohtak, Haryana, was later annulled by the Akal Takht, the supreme temporal seat of Sikhs. Sidhu in his personal capacity as a Sikh submitted a memorandum at the secretariat of the Takht demanding excommunication of Badals for hurting the sentiments of the Sikh community. However, as the Jathedar was not present when Sidhu visited, ...
Rationalists influencing nuns' thoughts: Missionaries of Jesus
The Missionaries of Jesus on Friday, on the basis of the findings unearthed by its inquiry commission, stated that the nuns who were protesting against Bishop of Jalandhar, Franco Mulakkal, were influenced by the "thoughts of rationalists."In a statement released earlier in the day, the organisation reiterated that the victim, along with other nuns and four other people, were conspiring against the Bishop, and accused the nuns of tampering with the visitor's register and the CCTV system on the day of the incident."Victim's friend was handling the visitor's register in the convent, they must have tampered with this. The victim has forcefully taken control of the CCTV system from mother superior, " a statement read.The organisation also claimed that on the day of the incident as cited by the nun, the Bishop was not present in the premises of Kuravilangad convent."The bishop did not stay in the Kuruvilangad convent on 5/5/14 as claimed in the rape complaint by the nun. On 23/05/15, she ..
PM Modi to hold meeting with officials to discuss rupee fall - government source
(Reuters) - Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a meeting with finance ministry officials on Friday to discuss the fall in the rupee and other economic issues, a government source told Reuters.
PM Modi lauds Bohra community for its patriotism
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the Dawoodi Bohra community, a sect within the Ismaili branch of Shia Muslims, has shown us the path of righteousness with their doctrines of peace, unity and patriotism."With their doctrines of peace, unity and patriotism, the Dawoodi Bohra community has shown us the path of righteousness. The community is inspiring the youths in the country," the Prime Minister said while addressing a religious congregation of the community here at the Saifee Mosque on the occasion of 'Ashara Mubaraka'.Recalling his long-standing relationship with the Bohra community, the Prime Minister said: "It is my good fortune that I have received the affection of the Bohra community. The community even assisted me during my tenure as Gujarat's chief minister. It is the sheer affection shown by you people that has brought me here today."'Ashara Mubaraka' is observed at the beginning of the Islamic year and is organised to commemorate the martyrdom of Prophet ...