George Abraham (Originally published in E-Malayalee) On the surface, President Trump appears committed fully to the idea of Religious Freedom. He has been very vocal about the issue on many forums that include the United Nations. To his credit, he has appointed Mr. Sam Brownback, a conservative Catholic, to the position at the State Department as the Ambassador of Religious freedom. Evangelical leaders in the U.S. are some of the most ardent supporters of this President anywhere because of his clear commitment to the cause. To the delight of his Evangelical base, he has not only spoken against the 'Johnson Amendment' that prohibits Clergy from commenting on politics from the pulpit but also issued an Executive order that lessens its enforcement power and limits its bureaucratic oversight. However, a different picture emerges if one delves deeply into the inner workings of this President concerning this very issue. As someone who has participated in the Religious Freedom Conference in Washington, D.C., I witnessed the selective application of this issue firsthand that suits his political purposes. There were many speakers from countries like China and Iran who detailed the suppression of religious freedom in those countries and the persecution of the faithful by the

President Trump concluded his two-day state visit to India on Tuesday and said the prime minister of India "wants people to have religious freedom very strongly." In a media conference in New Delhi, Trump said "I will say the prime minister was incredible on what he said

Christian leaders in India are greatly disappointed with President Trump's silence over declining religious freedom in the country during his first two-day state visit that concluded on February 25. In Tuesday's media conference, Trump praised Narendra Modi for his government policy and said that the prime minister of India "wants people to have religious freedom very strongly." Trump also stated that religious freedom or any religion-based violence going on in the country were an internal matter for India. Trump's failure to comment on the violence that radical Hindu nationalists are carrying out in the name of religion against religious minorities in the country has disappointed Christian leaders who had great expectations from the leader. Joseph Dias, general secretary of the Mumbai-based Catholic Secular Forum told UCA News that "Persecuted Christians had great expectations, but Trump lost the opportunity." Jesuit Father Denzil Fernandes, director of the Indian Social Institute in New Delhi and a social activist, said, "People were aware that Trump would not say anything about religious freedom or any minority issues because people knew that he was here for a business trip." According to Father Fernandes, domestic electoral compulsions and business forced the president of the USA to skip questions on religious persecution in the

False charges against eight Christians acquitted on Feb. 19 of kidnapping and forcible conversion in central India have traumatized families and cost them jobs, sources said. Schoolteacher Amiya Jal, one of the Christians arrested on May 22, 2017 for allegedly abducting and forcefully converting 59 children, was suspended from his job at a reputable school while he spent 103 days in jail unable to obtain bail, he said. “Even after I was bailed out, my school did not take me back, and so I was jobless for more than two years,” Jal told Morning Star News. “In July 2019 I have joined a school but not at my terms, as I was still under trial when they appointed me.” Before Jal and other Christian leaders and Sunday school teachers were arrested as they accompanied the children to a Christian summer camp in Maharashtra state, he had purchased a house. He had to make payments on it without any income, he said. “I borrowed money and paid them, and today I am in much debt,” Jal said. “We have exhausted all our savings, but I am thankful that the case is over and that I have been declared not guilty. I praise God for His faithfulness and

Not finding the Christian evangelist they planned to attack at home, worshippers of village deities in central-eastern India beat his mother, wife and 11-month-old son and destroyed a year’s food supply, sources said. Podiya Tati’s mother, Jimmey Tati, has been in a hospital bed in Dantewada District, Chhattisgarh state with a broken hand and injuries to her back and legs since the Feb. 20 attack with thick wooden rods. The six assailants left with threats that they would kill her son when he returned, sources said. Evangelist Tati, 30, was away on a paint job in Kirandul, 93 miles from their home in Tikanpal village, when the tribal animists attacked his mother and his 28-year-old wife, Hungi Tati. They struck Hungi Tati with the rods on her hands, thighs and back, sources said. “Hungi has not been able to walk since that day until Feb. 28, when she began to walk with much pain,” area pastor Ram Kumar told Morning Star News. Tati said his 11-month-old son was in his wife’s arms as they beat her and was also struck. “They did not care for the little child in my wife’s arms,” Tati told Morning Star News. “They beat my wife with the wooden rod,

Ranchi, March 3, 2020: The Church believes in an inclusive society, said Auxiliary Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas of Ranchi archdiocese. He was also the secretary-general of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI). Bishop Mascarenhas told The Telegraph, “The present chief minister (of Jharkhand) is a nice person and we are hopeful that the Church would be able to continue its services in the state smoothly. There’s a lot of work to be done.” He added that everyone, irrespective of religion, acknowledges the “contributions of the Church in the fields of education, health care and social transformation” and hoped it would continue. Christians go back a long way in Ranchi. Though a small band of Christian missionaries belonging to the Protestant Church had reached Ranchi in 1845, the Roman Catholic Church started functioning in the region three decades later in 1885. Christian organisations have since been running educational institutions and medical facilities in the state. Bishop Mascarenhas said there were some Church-run institutions that were famous. “But there are also many small ones in rural areas, especially those that spread education among rural children and youths irrespective of religion,” he pointed out. “They do excellent work.” He said the Church believed pluralism was the hallmark of Indian society. “India

Across four days they were scheduled to distribute Christian literature and spread the message of the Bible. It has been alleged the men were stopped by a member of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, Ponniah, who seized the texts and accused the men of converting people by force. He then alerted local authorities to the presence of the men. Christian Solidarity Worldwide reported the men were then severely beaten by police. Officers apparently took a bamboo baton to one member of the group, Pastor Barnabas, who sustained injuries to his back and legs. Nine pastors were allegedly beaten by the police for spreading Christian literature (Image: AFP) The pastors were there to give out Christian literature and talk about God (Image: Getty) Ponniah, who had first reported the men, then registered a police report against the nine Christians. He was supported by members of a local Hindu nationalist group. The group was taken to prison, but released later following intervention by human rights activists. It is reported that Pastor Barnabas is receiving treatment in a private hospital nearby. Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s Chief Executive, Mervyn Thomas, said: “The failure of the police to conduct their duties in an impartial manner makes them complicit in ongoing violations of the right to freedom of religion

The statue depicting Jesus was removed from Mahima Betta cemetery along with other statues. Local people appreciate the Christian community, but external groups accuse the faithful of forced conversions. The archbishop claims the freedom guaranteed by the Indian Constitution: government and local authorities inertia "unbelievable". A statue depicting Jesus was removed from the Mahima Betta cemetery in the village of Doddasagarahalli (Karnataka) yesterday. The archbishop of Bangalore, Peter Machado criticizes the local authorities for bowing to the claims of groups outside the village, who accuse the faithful of having made forced conversions. In reality, the people of the village confirmed that there is peace and friendship between Christians and other religious communities. We publish below the statement issued by the archbishop. In Karnataka there are more and more episodes of intolerance by Hindu fundamentalist groups. In recent months, radical groups demonstrated against another statue of Christ in Kanakapura. Mahima Betta in Doddasagarahalli Village, Devanahalli Taluka, is the burial place of Christians of the area, situated on 4.5 acres of land, allotted by the Government of Karnataka for burial. This place was graced with 12 feet Statue of Lord Jesus Christ and other smaller statues. During the weeks before Good Friday and Easter, the Christians

Christian leaders in Karnataka condemn the act of police and revenue officers for removing 14 crosses and a statue of Jesus Christ from the three-decade-old burial place in Doddasagarahalli village on allegations that Christians were infringing the government land. Church officials denied the allegations of Christians encroaching on government land or engaging in religious conversions and said that the police acted according to the right-wing Hindu groups who would have pressurized the officials to remove religious pieces from the burial land in Mahima Betta hillock. According to Father Cyril Victor Joseph of the archdiocesan media commission, the 4.5 acre burial land has been used by Catholics for almost three decades with no objections from local people and that the land was legally given to the Church by the government. "We have documents to prove the ownership," he told UCA News on March 4. "It is unfortunate that officials pulled down the statue and crosses without even allowing to hear us." Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore said that "The forceful removal of the statue of Lord Jesus from our legally allotted burial ground" was "unacceptable and has greatly shocked" Christians in Karnataka. The statue removal "is a blow to the communal harmony of the people in

A court in Karnataka, southern India, on March 5 denied bail to the public relations officer of a Catholic hospital arrested for hurting Hindu religious sentiments. The police arrested Simon George, the PRO of Sanjo Hospital in Mandya town, three days ago. “The court has not given the reasons for denying bail,” Father Josekutty Kalayil, who takes care of the legal matters and spiritual needs of the hospital, told Matters India over phone on March 5. Earlier, the priest had expressed confidence that they would get bail for George saying the allegations against him were baseless. The 100-bed, which has received reviews such as “well maintained hospital at affordable price,” is managed by the Medical Sisters of St Joseph, a Syro-Malabar congregation based in Kothamangalam, Kerala. Kalayil said the case was connected with the admission of an elderly person with high blood pressure on March 1. The next day, as he was about to be discharged the man asked George, who visited the room as part of his routine job, why a copy of the Bible was kept there. George answered that it was Christians’ holy book and those interested could read it. The man called his son, a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the