Prison Ministry India (PMI), headquartered in Bangalore, in southern India’s Karnataka state, is a nation-wide voluntary organization, operating under the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), for the release, renewal and rehabilitation of all prisoners, irrespective of religion, caste or nationality. To know more about Prison Ministry India we talked on the phone with its national coordinator, Fr. Sebastian Vadakumpadan. Last week, in the first of a 2-part interview, Fr. Sebastian narrated how PMI was initiated. In late 1981, two philosophy students, Varghese Karippery and Francis Kodiyan of St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary in Vadavathoor in Southern India’s Kerala state, had an unusual spiritual experience that urged them to become “a love-bomb… to heal the broken hearts." Subsequently, inspired by a Protestant prison ministry, a group of 12 brothers and a priest began ministering to prisoners in...
Prison Ministry India (PMI), headquartered in Bangalore, in southern India’s Karnataka state, is a nation-wide voluntary organization, operating under the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), for the release, renewal and rehabilitation of all prisoners, irrespective of religion, caste or nationality. To know more about Prison Ministry India we talked on the phone with its national coordinator, Fr. Sebastian Vadakumpadan. Last week, in the first of a 2-part interview, Fr. Sebastian narrated how PMI was initiated. In late 1981, two philosophy students, Varghese Karippery and Francis Kodiyan of St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary in Vadavathoor in Southern India’s Kerala state, had an unusual spiritual experience that urged them to become “a love-bomb… to heal the broken hearts." Subsequently, inspired by a Protestant prison ministry, a group of 12 brothers and a priest began ministering to prisoners in the jails of Kerala. Thus Prison Ministry India was officially established on 1 March 1986.
Fr. Sebastian also explained how PMI is organized across the country. Altogether, there are over 850 PMI branches or units involving some 6000 well-wishers, donors and volunteers. The prison ministry also has 33 rehabilitation centres for men, women as well as children run by various religious congregations and Catholic groups all over the country. Each year Prison Ministry Sunday is observed on the Sunday before the August 14 feast of St. Kolbe, to create awareness and support for prisoners and their problems and needs. PMI has numerous programmes both inside and outside prisons.
Well today, Fr. Sebastian begins the final of this 2-part interview explaining that for funding its numerous ministries and programmes, PMI largely depends on what he described as ‘begging’.
God "is our peace" and "prayer leads us to meet him," said the archbishop of Bogotá, Cardinal Luis José Rueda Aparicio. / Credit: Colombian Bishops Conference / ScreenshotACI Prensa Staff, May 2, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).The Colombian Bishops' Conference (CEC by its Spanish acronym) has called on all Catholics to join on May 3, Day of the Holy Cross, in a day of prayer for peace and reconciliation in the country."The call is made directly by the bishops and is based on recognizing the serious humanitarian crisis that multiple territories face amid armed conflict and other types of violence, as well as the complex sociopolitical panorama that the nation is experiencing today, permeated by division and polarization," the CEC announced on its website.Since Pope Francis' visit to Colombia in September 2017 and his meeting with victims of the armed conflict, the Church in that country has established a National Day of Prayer for Reconciliation and Peace to be celebrated every May...
Thousands of pilgrims come together each year to take part in the annual Walk to Mary, which takes place on the first Saturday of May in Wisconsin. The 21-mile pilgrimage starts at the National Shrine of St. Joseph in De Pere, Wisconsin, and ends at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in Champion, Wisconsin. / Credit: The Shrine of Our Lady of ChampionCNA Staff, May 2, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).Thousands of pilgrims come together each year to take part in the annual Walk to Mary, which takes place on the first Saturday of May in Wisconsin. The 21-mile pilgrimage starts at the National Shrine of St. Joseph in De Pere, Wisconsin, and ends at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in Champion, Wisconsin.The Walk to Mary will take place on May 4 this year and includes several "join in" points along the route that offer participants unable to walk the entire distance to participate. These locations shorten the pilgrimage length, allowing pilgrims of all ages to take part in...
null / Credit: Juthamat8899/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 1, 2024 / 17:05 pm (CNA).The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released a new report on Wednesday highlighting the countries with the worst religious persecution in the world.From this report, which is released annually, USCIRF makes recommendations to the State Department on how to best advocate for religious freedom. The suggestions typically translate into sanctions from the U.S. against violating countries to pressure them to improve their religious tolerance. This year, the countries topping USCIRF's list of the world's most egregious religious freedom violators were Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, India, Iran, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam.USCIRF recommends these nations be designated as "countries of particul...