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The Latin rite archbishop of Kerala, in a letter dated April 15 has urged the Government not to interfere in the administration of church properties. 

Archbishop M. Soosa Pakiam, president of Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC), wrote to the secretary of the Kerala State Minority Commission to assert the fundamental right of Christians to manage and administer church property.

The prelate was responding to an email letter the secretary sent to KCBC seeking its response to the Kerala Christian Church Properties and Institutions Trust Bill 2009. Bishop Pakiam said he has consulted all dioceses, religious congregations and lay organization.

Quoting article 26 of the Constitution and what it entails the prelate asserts that the right to maintain included the right to administer the institutions. The article 26 guarantees not only the right to own and acquire movable and immovable properties but also the right to administer such property in accordance with law, he adds.

The Church, he says, has the fundamental right to administer its properties in accordance with the Canon law applicable to administration of Church properties. Only if such provisions in the Canon law and their application are against public order, morality and health, the state can interfere.

Observing that the proposers of the Bill have not raised such allegations, the archbishop describes it as unconstitutional as it violates the Article 26 of the Constitution. It is also against the spirit of secularism enshrined in the Constitution, he adds.

Archbishop explains to the secretary that canon law’s codified rules govern the administration of church properties and institutions. Canon law has also provisions to deal with violation of its rules and offers remedies.

The bishop says the Article 26 stipulates that only the members of the religious denomination can decide how its properties and institutions are administered and which law to use.

The letter also explains that the right to administer Catholic Church properties vests in the bishop of a diocese. He does it through various diocesan officials with proper consultation with parish council and diocesan pastoral council, which the prelate says is a form of democracy.

Archbishop Pakiam expresses the Church’s fear that the new law will adversely affect the “present peaceful and orderly administration of Church properties and institutions” as it opens to more disputes and litigations. “We also suspect that behind the Bill there is a hidden agenda to bring the administration of Church properties and institutions under Government control,” he added.

“We believe that the concern of the State Government should be to provide better governance to the people by promoting more democratic, efficient and just administration of the State, instead of denying the Christians their fundamental rights under Art.26 of the Constitution of India,” he added. (mattersindia.com)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Indonesian Diocese of Ruteng in the predominantly Catholic island of Flores, has vowed to step up its fight against the government issuing the license to a Chinese company to mine gold in a popular tourist destination.  Grand Nusantara Group won the license in 2016 from the East Nusa Tenggara provincial government to mine 2,831 hectares of a coastal area in Batu Gosok, Labuan Bajo. According to the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry there are 300,000 tons of gold deposited there.  The company recently held a meeting in Labuan Bajo with locals and activists, a process that they must go through before starting to mine.  However, locals walked out of the meeting and rejected the company's plan.  Acep, who goes by one name, a representative of Grand Nusantara Group, said they want to hold another meeting and hope their efforts will be welcomed.

However,  Bishop Hubertus Leteng of Ruteng, popular for his long-standing opposition to the project, urged the government to revoke the license. "The mining profits cannot pay for losses incurred by environmental degradation, destruction of biodiversity and harming the tourist attraction of Labuan Bajo," the bishop said.  “There is no way a tourist area should be mined. Mining will bring destruction and the pollution of the air, land and sea," he told UCANEWS on April 19.   He said the mining policy was contrary to the government's efforts to make Labuan Bajo a major tourist destination. They have already spent about US$225 million developing the industry in and around the small town.  "If the permit is not revoked, the church will step up encouraging and mobilizing the whole community to act," he added.

Father Marthen Jenarut, director of the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Commission in Ruteng Diocese said mining would be "a disaster [and] it would not help the local community, the majority of whom are farmers and fishermen."  He said they will ask for a dialogue with the government in the near future. "If there is a communication deadlock we will hold a massive demonstration," he said.   

Doni Parera, who lives in Labuan Bajo said the government must not prioritize money but think about the future of the environment and the local community.  "Mines can quickly bring in money, however, those who will suffer the consequences forever are us, our children and our grandchildren," he said.

It is not the first time a mining firm has been interested in Labuan Bajo. In 2009 the local government issued a permit which was revoked a year later after the church and the community occupied the mine site.  

The Catholic Church has been helping locals in their fight since then. In 2010, Bishop Leteng celebrated Mass at a mining spot, as a sign of the church's decision to stand with local people.  Their campaigns were successful and stopped mining companies, Aditya Bumi Pertambangan from operating in Tumbak village, East Manggarai district, and Manggarai Manganese from operating in Legurlai village, both in 2014.  Based on the data from energy and mineral resources ministry, west Flores has mineral gold, silver, copper, iron ore, lead and manganese deposits.  (Source: UCAN)

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By

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- If U.S. President Donald Trump requests a meeting with Pope Francis in May, the Vatican will try to make it work, a top Vatican official said.

"Pope Francis always is willing to welcome heads of state who ask," Archbishop Angelo Becciu, Vatican substitute secretary of state, told the Italian news agency ANSA April 19.

Trump is scheduled to be in Taormina, in southern Italy, May 26-27 for a summit of G-7 leaders and representatives of the European Union.

Sean Spicer, White House spokesman, told reporters April 19, "We will be reaching out to the Vatican to see if a meeting, an audience with the pope can be accommodated. We'll have further details on that. Obviously, we would be honored to have an audience with his holiness."

Every U.S. president since Dwight D. Eisenhower has visited the Vatican to meet the pope. Eisenhower met St. John XXIII at the Vatican in December 1959.

But Woodrow Wilson was the first sitting U.S. president to meet a pope at the Vatican. He met with Pope Benedict XV in 1919 while on a European tour after World War I.

The visits are a mix of policy discussions and protocol, very civil and even warm affairs where, however, serious policy differences are raised. Depending on the president, his party and policies, the divergences run from issues related to the sacredness of the unborn to the obligation to care for creation and to welcome refugees.

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NEW YORK (AP) -- Oprah Winfrey doesn't scare easy and she wasn't frightened here....

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MONACO (AP) -- It may not be quite like the Jetsons, but for over a million dollars you too can soon fly around in a car....

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BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (AP) -- A Soyuz space capsule on Thursday safely delivered an American astronaut making his first space flight and a veteran Russian cosmonaut to the International Space Station....

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BOSTON (AP) -- Aaron Hernandez's apparent suicide in prison - just days after the former NFL star was cleared of additional murder charges - remains shrouded in mystery....

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VALENCIA, Venezuela (AP) -- General Motors announced Thursday that it was shuttering operations in Venezuela after authorities seized its only factory, a dramatic escalation of the chaos engulfing the South American nation amid days of deadly protests....

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WASHINGTON (AP) -- The major protests in Washington that have greeted President Donald Trump's first year in office are set to return in force, continuing an already expensive year for city officials who work to keep people safe during mass gatherings....

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(Vatican Radio)  In a clear sign of support and in response to Pope Francis’ call to care for and welcome forced migrants, displaced persons, victims of trafficking and refugees, the Latin American bishops are promoting a newa faith-based network for migrants in need.  

Known as CLAMOR (Latin American and Caribbean Migration Network, Shelter and Human Trafficking), the network brings together a large number of organizations that deal with human mobility and that shelter and give assistance to trafficked persons.

A meeting organized by the Latin American Episcopal Conference (CELAM) at the end of March provided the occasion to consolidate and bring together various proposals.

It resulted in the establishment of the CLAMOR Network that is described as a “field hospital” where “migrants, displaced persons, refugee and victims of human trafficking find welcome, protection and healing of their wounds, recognition of their dignity and promotion, integration and insertion in the communities and countries to which they arrive”.

The meeting included a working day on the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic where participants visited a missionary center for migrants and displaced persons living in shelters or bateyes in the area of Guayubin.

Amongst the organizations participating in the network the International Scalabrini Migration Network, the Jesuit Refugee Service, Caritas, the General Secretariat of the Latin American Council of Religious, Solidarity Network for Migrants and Refugees of Brazil, the Department of Human Mobility of the Episcopal Conferences of the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Guatemala and Haiti.

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