Page 123 - Religion Belief
Shouldn't have used 'prostitute' word: PC George
Kerala Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) PC George, who recently stoked a controversy by calling a nun "prostitute", on Wednesday, said that he shouldn't have used "such a word". The MLA, however, stood by his previous statement.George, an Independent MLA from Poonjar constituency in the Kottayam district of Kerala state, said "I am against the behaviour of the nun. According to me, she is not a nun.. To refer any women as a prostitute is wrong. It is a personal disregard. I should not use such a word. But I strongly stand by the statement which I had said regarding that woman, that's a fact.. I am strongly against her behaviour. Her behaviour is not like a Christian."On September 8, George called the nun who has accused Bishop of Jalandhar, Franco Mulakkal of rape, a "prostitute". "No one has doubt that the nun is a prostitute. Twelve times she enjoyed it and the thirteenth time it is rape? Why didn't she complain the first time?" he had said.Earlier, the National Commission of ...
Anti-corruption group: Many exporters fail to punish bribes
Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International said on Wednesday more than half of global exports come from countries that regularly fail to punish bribing of foreign officials. In its independent assessment of compliance with the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, the agency said only 11 of 44 jurisdictions conduct active or moderate enforcement, including Germany, Israel, Britain, the US, Australia and Sweden. Together, the 11 account for 30.8 per cent of world exports. Thirty-three countries, accounting for 52 per cent of world exports, had limited or little enforcement, including Canada, New Zealand, China, India, Japan and Ireland. China and India aren't party to the OECD convention but are signatories to the UN Convention on Corruption which also calls for enforcement against bribery abroad. Transparency says it's "unacceptable so much of world trade is susceptible to consequence-free corruption.
Kerala police summons Jalandhar bishop accused of raping nun to appear on Sep 19
The Kerala police Wednesday summoned Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jalandhar diocese to appear before it on September 19 in connection with the probe into allegations of rape by a nun amid mounting pressure for action against him and continuing protests. Announcing the decision to summon the clergyman after a meeting where the probe in the case was reviewed, Inspector General of police Vijay Sakhare said the delay in completing the investigation was due to "contradictions" in the statements given by the victim, the witnesses and the accused. Sakhare said a decision on arresting the bishop could be taken only after ironing out the contradictions in the statements. The review meeting also finalised the affidavit to be submitted on Thursday in the Kerala High Court, which had earlier this week directed the state government to inform it of the steps taken by the Special Investigating Team(SIT). The meeting, chaired by Sakhare, was also attended by Kottayam District Superintendent of Police ...
Interfaith meet held on 125th anniv of Swami Vivekananda's Chicago speech
An interfaith meet was organised here to mark the 125th anniversary of Swami Vivekananda's historic speech at the Parliament of the World's Religions held in Chicago in 1893, according to a statement by the Ramakrishna Mission on Wednesday. Former president Pranab Mukherjee was the chief guest at the event organised on Tuesday. The Mission said nine religious denominations were represented by various scholars and preachers, who explained how every faith bears similarities with the line of thought expounded by Swami Vivekananda in his speech which had drawn thunderous applause from the largely American audience. On the occasion, Mukherjee said the landmark speech in Chicago established India as the world leader in matters of spirituality. Swami Shantatmananda, Secretary of Ramakrishna Mission, in his concluding remarks, said today the need for intra-faith harmony is perhaps even more than interfaith harmony.
Police ask bishop accused of raping nun to appear on Sep 19
Amid mounting pressure and continued protests demanding action against him over allegations of rape by a nun, Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jalandhar diocese has been asked by the Kerala police to appear before the investigating team on September 19. Announcing the decision to summon the clergyman after a meeting where the probe in the case was reviewed, inspector General of police Vijay Sakhare Wednesday said here the delay in completing it was due to "contradictions" in the statements given by the victim, the witnesses and the accused. He also said a decision on arrest could be taken only after ironing out the contradictions in the statements. The meeting, chaired by Sakhare, was also attended by Kottayam District Superintendent of Police Harisankar and Vaikom Deputy Superintendent of Police K Subhash, who is heading the Special Investigation Team probing the case. "Bishop Franco Mulakkal has been summoned by the investigating officer (IO). He has been asked to appear ...
Treat Hindu spiritual leaders the same way: Minister on Kerala rape case
Commenting on the allegation against a bishop of raping a nun from Kerala, Union minister Giriraj Singh Wednesday called for similar treatment whether a Hindu religious leader or one from another religion was involved. When the Kerala issue comes up, the approach should not be different from when the issue relates to a Hindu spiritual leader, he told reporters when asked to comment on the controversy involving the bishop of the Jalandhar diocese. The minister did not elaborate on his remark. At the same event here he took a dig at Congress president Rahul Gandhi and the award wapsi people, a reference to protesting writers who returned their awards to the Narendra Modi government in 2015. He said the atmosphere in the country should not be vitiated, and the focus should be on development. The minister, who holds the micro, small and medium enterprises portfolio, launched products developed by a unit of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC). These included paper made out of ...
Kerala police summons Jalandhar Bishop on Sept 19
The Kerala Police has summoned Bishop of Jalandhar Franco Mulakkal to appear before Vaikom Deputy Superintendent of Police K Subhash on September 19.The police has also asserted that scientific and technical errors still exist in the case and there are differences in the statements of witnesses.Inspector General Vijay Sakre told media, "There are lots of contradictions in the case on the part of everyone -- the complainant, the accused and the witnesses. This is an old case and is based primarily on oral statements. It is very difficult to gather scientific and technical evidence. We have to ensure that contradictions are ironed out suitably. As part of that process, Bishop Franco has been summoned to appear before the investigating officer on September 19 and notice for the same has already been sent."The senior police official also clarified that they had received a complaint from the nun who was allegedly raped by the Bishop, about death threats, following which security has been ..
Pranab Mukherjee, religious leaders uphold Vivekananda's Chicago speech
Exactly 125 years after Swami Vivekananda spoke at the Chicago World Parliament of Religions, former President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday attended a commemorative gathering of representatives of nine religions and delivered a message for interfaith harmony.
Controversial bishop asked to appear before Kerala Police
The Kerala Police on Wednesday sent a notice to controversial Bishop Franco Mulakkal of the Roman Catholic Diocese in Jalandhar, asking him to appear before them on September 19.
Sri Lanka to ban animal sacrifices at Hindu temples
Animal sacrifices in Hindu temples in Sri Lanka could be banned after the Cabinet approved a proposal Wednesday to enact laws banning the "primitive" methods of worship, amid calls from the Hindu community to make the ritual a "punishable offence" in the Buddhist-majority country. The Cabinet headed by President Maithripala Sirisena approved the proposal submitted by Resettlement, Rehabilitation, Northern Development and Hindu Religious Affairs Minister D M Swaminathan. Hindu Cultural Affairs Director Uma Maheswaran was quoted as saying by the government-owned newspaper 'Daily News' that the slaughter of animals such as goats and fowls in Hindu temples would be banned by this legislation. He said the Cabinet-approved draft legislation would be sent to the Legal Draftsman's Department for final consent. It will then be sent to the Attorney General's Department and published in the gazette. He said the law would come into effect once passed by Parliament. According to the Cabinet ...
Report: 3,677 sex abuse cases in German Catholic Church
A report on sexual abuse inside the Catholic Church in Germany details 3,677 abuses cases by clergy between 1946 and 2014, two leading German media outlets said Wednesday. Spiegel Online and Die Zeit said the report they obtained commissioned by the German Bishops Conference and researched by three universities concludes that more than half of the victims were 13 or younger and most were boys. Every sixth case involved rape and at least 1,670 clergy were involved, both weeklies reported. Some 969 abuse victims were altar boys, Die Zeit wrote. The report also says that the actual numbers of victims was likely much higher, according to the research by experts from the Universities of Giessen, Heidelberg and Mannheim. The German Bishops Conference had no immediate comment but said it was preparing a response. It had wanted to present the report on Sept. 25, both magazines reported. Die Zeit also reported that researchers were not allowed to look at the original church files but had to .
Cong leader asks Bishop Franco to step down from post
Congress leader V M Sudheeran Wednesday asked Bishop Franco Mullakal of Jalandhar diocese, accused by a nun of raping her, to step down and face legal proceedings. Speaking at a 'People's Gathering' here to express solidarity with some nuns who are staging a dharna in Kochi demanding Franco's arrest, former KPCC president Sudheeran said no one was above the law. It was not possible to cover up the truth, Sudheeran said, adding that their protest was not against the church. Former BJP leader P P Mukundan and former nun Jesmi were among those who participated in the protest.
Kerala police asks bishop accused of raping nun to appear on
Kerala police has asked Bishop Franco Mullakal of Jalandhar diocese, accused by a nun of raping her, to appear before the investigating team on September 19, Inspector General of police Vijay Sakhare said Wednesday. The decision to summon the clergyman was taken after a meeting chaired by Sakhare, IG (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. The nun had recently sought urgent intervention of the Vatican for justice and demanded the bishop's removal as the head of the Jalandhar diocese, questioning why the church was "closing its eyes to the truth" when she mustered courage to make public her sufferings. In a scathing letter to the Vatican that was made available to the media Tuesday, the nun also asked will the Church be able to give back what she has lost. She alleged that Bishop Franco ...
China tells US to stop playing Xinjiang card
China on Wednesday told the US to stop interfering in its domestic affairs on the pretext of Uighurs in Xinjiang and warned that bilateral ties will be hurt if it slapped sanctions against senior Chinese officials.
Kerala Police reviews progress in nun rape case, protest enters 5th day
Amid mounting pressure on the police to initiate action against a Roman Catholic Bishop accused of raping a nun, a meeting was held Wednesday to review the progress made in the case even as a clergyman of an influential Kerala diocese slammed the public trial in the matter. Kottayam District Superintendent of Police Harisankar, Vaikom Deputy Superintendent of Police K Subhash, who is heading the special investigation team, and other officials attended the review meeting chaired by Ernakulam Range IG Vijay Sakhare in Kochi. Before the meeting, being held amid allegations of attempts to sabotage the case, Subhash told reporters that a notice may be issued to Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jalandhar diocese to appear before the investigating team. Harisankar, however, said the meeting was held to finalise the affidavit to be filed before the high court in this connection tomorrow. On Monday, the Kerala High Court had directed the state government to inform it of the steps taken by the special
Bishop Franco committed rape repeatedly: Investigating official's affidavit
The police affidavit in the Kerala nun rape case has revealed that the victim was repeatedly raped by the Bishop of Jalandhar, Franco Mulakkal.The affidavit, dated August 10, 2018, was filed in the Kerala High Court. It stated, "During the course of the investigation so far conducted and the available evidences collected so far, it is revealed that the accused Bishop Franco committed unnatural offence and committed rape repeatedly on different dates from September 23, 2016 to May 5, 2018."This comes to light just a day after the accused Bishop cried foul over the rape allegations against himself. He had accused the 'anti-church elements' of falsely implicating him."I think some internal forces are using these nuns for some advantage. The antis in the church are pushing these nuns forward to raise their own issues. There is a conspiracy behind this. Few people are taking advantage of this. I will cooperate to all legal measures," Bishop Mulackal had told ANI.The nun from Kerala had ...
Finding spiritual common ground between India's religions (Comment)
"Recent events in India have damaged the country's image as a vibrant, plural and successful democracy." That is the opening line of former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran's recent article in which he expresses his "growing concern over the rising polarisation and communalism of our social and political discourse". Saran pointed out: "We pride ourselves in being the most tolerant of people, celebrating our diversity of faith, culture and tradition, ways of life and language. Diversity thrives on sharing; it becomes poison when it becomes an instrument for separating 'us' from 'them'. One cannot construct an over-arching Hindu identity on the basis of creating a binary Hindu-Muslim divide."
Pope to meet US Church leaders after abuse cover-up claim
Pope Francis will meet leaders of the US Catholic Church on Thursday, the Vatican announced, after a high profile accusation that the pontiff covered up sexual abuse allegations against an American cardinal. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, the president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, will attend the meeting after saying last month he was eager to meet the pope following the scandal. Two other conference officials will be at the meeting, as will Cardinal Sean O'Malley, the head of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said on Tuesday. Conservative Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano sparked a firestorm last month when he claimed Francis had personally ignored abuse allegations against prominent US cardinal Theodore McCarrick for five years. Vigano, a former Vatican envoy to Washington, also called on the pope to step down. Francis has so far refused to respond to the allegations. The Vatican did not detail what the topic would be for the ...
Cancellation of Chicago trip an unholy conspiracy: Mamata
In an apparent reference to the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday described the cancellation of her proposed trip to Chicago as an "unholy conspiracy". Addressing a gathering at Belur Math, the global headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission, to mark 125 years of Swami Vivekananda's historic speech at the Parliament of Religion, Chicago, Banerjee expressed disappointment over not being able to commemorate the occasion in the US. "I wanted to go to Chicago... I could not go there because of an unholy conspiracy hatched by certain people," Banerjee said without naming anybody. "This incident has given me a lot of pain," she added. While the Trinamool Congress supremo had made all the preparations for the Chicago visit, the organisers of the event had in a letter in June informed her that the scheduled programme was cancelled. Banerjee, without taking the PM's name, criticised his leadership abilities. "Everybody can't ..
Nun seeks justice from Vatican in rape case; accused Bishop says charges concoted
Weeks after accusing a Roman Catholic Bishop of raping her, a nun has sought urgent intervention of the Vatican for justice and demanded his removal as the head of the Jalandhar diocese, questioning why the Church was "closing its eyes to the truth" when she mustered courage to make public her sufferings. In a scathing letter to the Vatican that was made available to the media Tuesday, the nun also asked will the Church be able to give back what she has lost. She alleged that Bishop Franco Mulakkal was using "political and money power" to bury the case against him. Noting that she felt the Catholic Church was still doubting her over the argument as to why she allowed the bishop to sexually abuse her multiple times, the nun said she had tremendous fear and shame to bring this out into the open. She also feared 'threats' her family members. Bishop Mulakkal on his part rejected the charges against him as "baseless and concocted" and said he was open for a probe. The bishop also accused ..