The Indian Social Institute (ISI) is a prestigious Jesuit-inspired centre for research, training, and action for socio-economic development and human rights in India. It was founded in 1951 in Pune, but shifted to the Indian capital, New Delhi in 1963. The ISI was the brainchild of a brilliant Jesuit priest, Fr. Jerome D'Souza an educationist who was remarkably active in the civil society of the days of Independence, for which he was inducted into the Indian Constituent Assembly. Another ISI branch was established in 1963 in Bangalore to deal with issues of southern India. It became independent in 1993. Last week, in the first part of an interview, Fr. Denzil Fernandes, the Executive Director of ISI, New Delhi, explained how his institute is part of the contribution of the Jesuits in the process of nation-building. The institute does research on labour, indigenous, tribal, Dalit and women’s issues. It also imparts training on these issu...
The Indian Social Institute (ISI) is a prestigious Jesuit-inspired centre for research, training, and action for socio-economic development and human rights in India. It was founded in 1951 in Pune, but shifted to the Indian capital, New Delhi in 1963. The ISI was the brainchild of a brilliant Jesuit priest, Fr. Jerome D'Souza an educationist who was remarkably active in the civil society of the days of Independence, for which he was inducted into the Indian Constituent Assembly. Another ISI branch was established in 1963 in Bangalore to deal with issues of southern India. It became independent in 1993.
Last week, in the first part of an interview, Fr. Denzil Fernandes, the Executive Director of ISI, New Delhi, explained how his institute is part of the contribution of the Jesuits in the process of nation-building. The institute does research on labour, indigenous, tribal, Dalit and women’s issues. It also imparts training on these issues as well as on legal awareness and empowering of women, which are useful to NGO workers, priests and religious. The Indian Social Institute, Delhi, is not affiliated to any university or government institute, but many of its researches are funded by government institutes. Fr. Fernandes said the setup of the ISI is very secular with staff and researches coming from every religious and social background. Today, Fr. Denzil Fernandes begins the final part of his interview explaining how the institute networks with other organizations and groups.
Attendees lay flowers at the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan to mark the 109th anniversary of World War I-era mass killings on April 24, 2024. / Credit: KAREN MINASYAN/AFP via Getty ImagesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 26, 2024 / 18:00 pm (CNA).As historians and human-rights activists mark the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide this week, some are warning that Armenia is once again facing another existential threat.Speaking on "EWTN News Nightly" on Wednesday, Simone Rizkallah, an Armenian activist with the Philos Project, said that "this feels less like a remembrance and more like a truly historical event that we are in the midst of."The Armenian Genocide was carried out by Ottoman Turks in 1915 and resulted in the deaths of some 1.5 million Armenian Christians, according to historians. Though recognized as a genocide by the U.S. and more than 30 other countries, Turkey denies that characterization.The massacre took place over a hundred ...
null / Orhan Cam/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 26, 2024 / 12:30 pm (CNA).The addition of "gender identity" in the Biden administration's interpretation of anti-discrimination rules could jeopardize state laws that restrict women's sports and women's locker rooms to only women, according to legal scholars.Late last week, President Joe Biden's Department of Education redefined the prohibition on sex discrimination in education, enshrined in the 1972 Title IX provisions, to include discrimination based on a person's "gender identity." The new guidelines prohibit any policy and practice that "prevents a person from participating in an education program or activity consistent with their gender identity."Although the new guidelines do not clearly explain how the mandate would be enforced, experts at the legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and the conservative Heritage Foundation told CNA that it could force educational institutions to allow men who...
Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne attends a German Synodal Way assembly on March 9, 2023. / Credit: Synodaler Weg/Maximilian von LachnerCNA Newsroom, Apr 26, 2024 / 13:57 pm (CNA).Four German bishops on Wednesday distanced themselves from the controversial Synodal Way's plans for a permanent body to oversee the Church in Germany, instead appealing for unity with the universal Church. The four bishops are the same who have previously blocked funding for this body: Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne and three prelates from Bavaria: Gregor Maria Hanke, OSB, of Eichstätt; Stefan Oster, SDB, of Passau; and Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg.In a joint statement, the prelates confirmed on April 24 that they would not be parties to a committee charged with setting up a German "Synodal Council, as this would conflict with the sacramental constitution of the Church."The four bishops also rejected the view that the German Bishops' Conference could legally establish a "synod...