Indian Christians mark 8th anniversary of Kandhamal's anti-Christian carnage ?
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&view=post&articleid=141114&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Christians in India on Thursday marked the 8th anniversary of the terrible anti-Christian massacres and atrocities in eastern India’s Odisha state, with survivors still awaiting justice and compensation from the government. The orchestrated violence against Christians erupted with untold savagery on August 25 2008, with Hindu extremists blaming Christians for the August 23, 2008 murder of Hindu leader Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati, despite Maoist rebels claiming the assassination. The carnage led to the death of about 100 Christians, although the government officially speaks of 38 victims. An estimated 5,600 homes were looted and burned, while about 300 churches and other places of worship were destroyed. More than 50 thousand faithful fled into the woods and began a life as refugees to survive ethnic cleansing.The Governor of Odisha, Senayangba Chubatoshi Jamir, on August 25 received a copy of journalist Anto Akkara's investigative...
Christians in India on Thursday marked the 8th anniversary of the terrible anti-Christian massacres and atrocities in eastern India’s Odisha state, with survivors still awaiting justice and compensation from the government. The orchestrated violence against Christians erupted with untold savagery on August 25 2008, with Hindu extremists blaming Christians for the August 23, 2008 murder of Hindu leader Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati, despite Maoist rebels claiming the assassination. The carnage led to the death of about 100 Christians, although the government officially speaks of 38 victims. An estimated 5,600 homes were looted and burned, while about 300 churches and other places of worship were destroyed. More than 50 thousand faithful fled into the woods and began a life as refugees to survive ethnic cleansing.
The Governor of Odisha, Senayangba Chubatoshi Jamir, on August 25 received a copy of journalist Anto Akkara's investigative book 'Who Killed Swami Laxmanananda?' at the Raj Bhavan in Odisha’s capital, Bhubaneswar. The book busts the myth the Christians were behind the murder. After receiving the copy of the book, Governor Jamir listened eagerly to the shocking tale of the travesty of justice due to the Kandhamal fraud with seven innocent Christians - six of them illiterates – serving life imprisonment for murdering the Swami. Akkara, a rights advocate who has pursued Kandhamal's mockery of justice for eight years with 23 arduous trips to Kandhamal, in a letter urged the Governor "to ensure justice to the innocent convicts". "It is a blot on the Indian democracy and the judicial system that these innocent convicts have been languishing in jail for nearly eight years," reiterated the author requesting the Governor "to take up this cry of the oppressed with the concerned authorities." The Governor assured the author to go through the book 'carefully'.
The seven convicts languishing in jail for nearly eight years are Duryodhan Sunamajhi, Munda Badamajhi, Sanatan Badamajhi, Garnatha Chalanseth, Bijay Kumar Samseth, Bhaskar Sunamajhi and Budhadeb Nayak. The journalist author also launched an online petition for the release of the seven innocent Christian convicts at www.release7innocents.com in early March in New Delhi in the presence of the illiterate wives of the convicts along with a host of dignitaries.
Late retired Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack-Bhubaneshwar, whose jurisdiction includes Kandhamal District, had tirelessly campaigned for justice for his persecuted Christians, In 2008, he had filed a Public Interest Litigation in India’s Supreme Court seeking directives to the union and state governments for protection, compensation and rehabilitation of the victims.. The 82-year old Divine Word prelate died on August 14, after the apex court issued a ruling seeking directives to the union and state governments for protection, compensation and rehabilitation of the victims. The Aug. 2 ruling also called for re-investigation of 315 cases of communal violence against Christians.
Meanwhile, Indian Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay recalled the victims of Kandhamal, wishing they be raised on the altar of the martyrs. "May their blood and suffering bring many fruits to the Church in Odisha,” the cardinal, who’s also president of India’s Latin Rite Bishops (CCBI), told AsiaNews ahead of the first “Kandhamal Martyrs Day” which the bishops of Odisha have designated for Aug. 30, Tuesday. Speaking to AsiaNews, the cardinal who is also president of India’s Latin Rite Bishops (CCBI) The prelate to spoke to AsiaNews
“The Church in India stands in prayerful solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Odisha,” the cardinal who is also president of India’s Latin Rite Bishops (CCBI) , told AsiaNews. “It has been eight years since the horrific attack on our Khandhamal Christians, and the Indian Church suffers the painful anguish of the orchestrated communal violence. We continue to seek justice for survivors and victims,” Card. Gracias added.
Full Article
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=275268&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Pope Francis addresses the faithful at his Wednesday general audience on March 27, 2024. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Apr 19, 2024 / 10:07 am (CNA).In the latest move in Pope Francis' reform of the Vatican judiciary, the pope issued a new motu proprio on Friday on the retirement age and benefits for cardinal judges and magistrates in the Vatican's court system.The April 19 motu proprio states that Vatican magistrates will retire at the end of the judicial year in which they turn 75 and cardinal judges at the age of 80, unless Pope Francis asks them to remain in office beyond the age limit.Magistrates and judges who wish to resign from office before the retirement age can only do so with the approval of the pope.The pope also has the prerogative to dismiss magistrates unable to fulfill their duties at any time. Upon the termination of their duties, magistrates will retain the rights to assistance and welfare provided to Vatican citizens and employees.The motu proprio, wh...
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=275264&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Archbishop Marek Jedraszewski of Krakow announced on April 14, 2024, the decision to begin the process of beatification and canonization of Helena Agnieszka Kmiec, a young lay missionary murdered in Bolivia in 2017. / Credit: The Helena Kmiec FoundationACI Prensa Staff, Apr 19, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).Archbishop Marek Jedraszewski of Krakow, Poland, announced the decision to begin the process of beatification and canonization of Helena Agnieszka Kmiec, a young lay missionary murdered in Bolivia in 2017.The prelate said that after the preliminary phase began in December 2022, he made the decision to officially open the process for Kmiec after having consulted the Polish Bishops' Conference and receiving the go-ahead from the Vatican's Dicastery for the Causes of Saints."With this edict I call on all those who have any document, letter, or information about the Servant of God, both positive and negative, to send them to the Metropolitan Curia of Krakow before June 30," the archbish...
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=275254&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee speaks during the signing of the ELVIS Act to Protect Voice & Likeness in Age of AI event at Robert's Western World on March 21, 2024, in Nashville, Tennessee. / Credit: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Human Artistry CampaignWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 18, 2024 / 14:15 pm (CNA).The first English-language translation of the Bible in the United States will become an "official state book" in Tennessee on July 1.Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, signed a bill on Tuesday that names the Aitken Bible and nine other texts as official state books in the Tennessee Blue Book (an official manual on the state government). This is the first time Tennessee has formally recognized any official state books.The Bible translation was published by Philadelphia printer Robert Aitken in 1782 and received an official endorsement from Congress. The American Revolution, which began in 1776, halted trade with Great Britain and cut off the supply of Bibles, which prompte...