Christian persecution

Commemorated on December 2, St. Bibiana, Virgin and Martyr, stands as a powerful testimony of faith and virtue, even though historical records offer limited factual details about her life.

A special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Bilaspur has granted bail to two Catholic nuns from Kerala, Sr. Vandana Francis and Sr. Preethi Mary, both members of the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate (ASMI), along with Sukhman Mandavi, a tribal youth from Narayanpur who was arrested with them.

Two Catholic nuns were detained by authorities in central India over allegations of human trafficking, prompting strong reactions from Church leaders who decried the incident as part of a growing trend of hostility toward religious minorities.

Reflection Date: April 17, 2024
“I came down from heaven,... but the will of him that sent me”

President of India Droupadi Murmu received a delegation of Christian leaders from Delhi at the Rashtrapati Bhawan (Presidential Palace) on April 13.

The Kandhamal Human Right Awards recognize individuals/organizations/movements for their outstanding contribution to the promotion, protection, and advancement of human rights, social justice, and equitability for all. 

According to the senior administrative officer, Broadwell Christian Hospital has been subjected to "physical, mental, and emotional assault for one year, based on false charges of forced religious conversions."

The protesters expressed serious concern over attack on persons, churches and institutions and registration of malicious FIRs against Christians along with illegal detentions and non-registration of FIRs despite complaints filed by victims.

The complainant has told that people who reached the church for prayer on Sunday evening found that the church was lit from the inside and the name 'Ram' was written on the wall, allegedly hurting religious sentiments.

Union Minister of Minorities John Barla strongly refuted allegations of conversion by Christian groups. “After so much contribution, there is no respect. Why are there allegations that we convert people? No, we don’t convert people,” he said.

The monument enshrines the names of 105 Christians who were martyred during Kandhamal persecution in 2008.

According to the Vicar General, "majority of the victims were Catholics, and the attackers were Fulanis who occupied some of the villages they had abandoned after earlier attacks.” “11 people were killed, including women and children, and many with life-threatening wounds in the hospital."

Pope Francis is urging everyone to pray for the soul of a Nigerian priest who was murdered last Sunday, and to continue to remember and pray for the many Christians who suffer violence directly, especially for the suffering people of Ukraine.

Fr. Joseph Amudakani, a priest belonging to the Catholic Diocese of Jhabua was arrested based on the false allegation of conversion on 18th January at Thandla, Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh.

“This documentary recounts the decade-long travails of the 7 Innocent Christians of Kandhamal behind bars due to a political fraud,” journalist author Akkara

Eight families, consisting of around fifteen men, women and children, got attracted to Christian prayer and began practicing Christian way of life. The fellow villagers want then to return to their original tribal faith.

As the year approaches Christmas, Christians in India continue to bear the onslaught of targeted violence for their faith. The year 2022 sees the greatest increase in the number of incidents of violence against Christians in India, compared to 505 incidents of violence against Christians in 2021 and 511 in 2022 through November.

The employees belonging to different religious traditions working in Christian institutions submitted a memorandum to the district administration demanding an impartial investigation into the action taken against the head of their institution.

The ACN Report Persecuted and Forgotten? "provides first-hand testimony and case studies proving that in many countries Christians are experiencing persecution – let us do all that we can do to show that they are not forgotten,” said Report author John Pontifex.