Missionaries of the World

The Pakistani Policeman shot two men in jail on Thursday, killing one accused of blasphemy and wounding another condemned to death on the same charge, lawyers and an activist said. Christian Pastor Zafar Bhatti was killed and 70-year-old Briton Muhammad Asghar, who has a history of mental illness in the jail where he is on death row for blasphemy was wounded in the attack in Rawalpindi, next to the capital, Islamabad.

The Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church has released a Communiqué following the Commission's 13th plenary session, which was held in Amman, Jordan on September 15- 23, 2014. In the statement, the Commission expresses deep concern for and solidarity with the Christians and members of other religious traditions of the entire Mideast region who are at present suffering brutally violent persecution, and promise continued prayers for all the persecuted.

The Holy See delegation at the IAEA General Conference in Vienna, on Monday said the risk of nuclear weapons being used is growing throughout the world due to three factors: the first, proliferation of such weapons; second, the vulnerability of nuclear command and control networks to cyber-attacks or human error; third, the possibility of nuclear weapons being accessed by non-state actors, terrorist groups in particular.

In his first trip to a Muslim-majority country – Albania, Pope Francis held a meeting with religious leaders in Tirana highlights one of the main purposes of his visit to Albania: to encourage inter-religious dialogue and mutual cooperation among believers. “The presence of the Pope in Albania is to tell all peoples that it is possible to work together,” the Holy Father said ahead of his voyage.

To remember the World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel (WWPPI) – 2014, Rev.Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, General Secretary of World Council of Churches (WCC) has encouraged and invited expressions of solidarity with Palestinian prisoners unjustly detained in Israeli jails. It will be observed from September 21 to 27, focuses on the theme “Let my people go!”. Inspired by the biblical precedent of Exodus 9:1, the theme draws attention to the situation of thousands of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails and detention centres, links to on-going military occupation of Palestine and stresses the urgent need for a just peace in the region.

The Catholic Church in India is set to celebrate the canonization of Fr Kuriakose Elias Chavara, the co-founder of the Carmalites of Mary Immaculate (CMI) and Sister Euphrasia Eluvathinkal of the Congregation of Mother of Carmel (CMC), who will be elevated as Saints at a function to be held in Vatican on November 23, 2014. Vatican recognised that miracles happened through their intercession. Fr Chavara was declared Servant of God in 1984 and as Blessed in 1986. Sr Euphrasia was declared Servant of God in 2002 and as Blessed in 2006.

Christians in India observed Black Sunday against the persecutions of Christians by offered mass prayers at Bangalore and expressed solidarity with the thousands of innocent people who are being persecuted and subjected to inhuman violence and other atrocities by the Islamic fundamentalists in Iraq, Syria, Nigeria and other countries on September 14, 2014.

The Council of Cardinals meets with Pope Francis in Vatican. The sixth meeting of the Council of Cardinals with Pope Francis began on Monday morning at Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican and it scheduled to continue until September 17. The Council of Cardinals was instituted by Pope Francis to assist in the governance of the universal Church and to draw up a plan for the revision of the apostolic constitution “Pastor bonus” on the Roman Curia. Previous meetings took place from October 1-3, December 3-5, 2013 and February 28-30, April 1-4 and July 1-4 of this past year.

To the simple strains of a harp, twenty grooms made their way up the central nave of St Peter’s Basilica with their mothers, followed by twenty brides dressed in white accompanied by their fathers. All of the couples were from the diocese of Rome and had come to be married, on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, by the Pope himself. In his Homily, which preceded the Rite of Marriage, the Holy Father, taking his cue from the morning’s readings offered a real or non-fictional, as he called it, view of married life.

Sri Lanka will get its first Catholic saint when Pope Francis visits the Country in January, 2015. The process for the canonization of Blessed Joseph Vaz, an Indian missionary considered the Apostle of the Sri Lanka Church, has reached the final stage and the church in Goa is expecting that the long-awaited announcement of his sainthood may come within a few months.

The willingness of religious congregations to accept gays and lesbians as members and even volunteer leaders, increased significantly between 2006 and 2012, except in the case of Catholic churches. The overall acceptance of gay and lesbian members increased from 37.4 percent to 48 percent, but decreased from 74 percent to 53 percent in Catholic churches, over the six years and the number of congregations open to gays and lesbians in volunteer leadership roles also increased from about 18 percent to 26.4 percent, according to Duke University which involved interviews with representatives of 1,331 American congregations.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) has expressed its deep anguish over the loss of lives and properties caused by the devastating floods in Jammu and Kashmir State, India and appealed to his people to support the affected with generous contribution. Flash floods, which began on September 3, have triggered landslides, putting at least half a million people in immediate danger. Thousands of homes have been destroyed in the neighbouring countries, along with vital infrastructure, communication equipment and crops.

Pope Francis approved the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church’s decision to name Bishop George Njaralakatt as the new Archbishop for the Syro-Malabarese Archeparchy of Tellicherry. His Mass of Installation will be held on October 30. The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Church which is headed by the Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly and which is based in Kerala.

Addressing the thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square to hear his weekly address, Pope Francis began by noting that “In our catechesis, we have often noted that we do not become a Christian on our own, but by being born and nurtured in the faith in the midst of the People of God, that is the Church.” In his homely, he continued his catechesis on the Church, turning to the aspect of her maternity, of which the Virgin Mary is a model encouraging us to reach out to our brothers and sisters.

Rev. Dr. Joseph D'Souza, a renowned national and international Church leader and a Pastor in the Good Shepherd Church was consecrated as Bishop and appointed as its Moderator by Bishop Alfred E Franks and the Council of Bishops of the Good Shepherd Church in a packed Church service in Hyderabad, India. During the service, the church leaders from the major Church traditions of Catholic, Protestant and Evangelical were participated. Non-Christians like Buddhist, Muslim and Hindu leaders were also present.

Christians are alarmed as the Seventh-day Adventist Church at Asroi village, 30km South of Aligarh city, Uttar Pradesh was turned into a Hindu Temple overnight reportedly after 71 Valmikis returned to Hinduism. On Tuesday, elaborate shuddhi karan (purification) ceremony was held inside the church and a portrait of Shiva was installed and the cross inside the church was removed.