Mother Teresa. Hindu politician attacks Mother Teresa as ‘Christian conspirator’
A member of India’s parliament has denounced the legacy of Mother Teresa as “a conspiracy to Christianise India” during a major Hindu festival. Gorakhpur Yogi Adityanath, a member of the extreme Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a grouping frequently linked to Hindu attacks on minority communities in India, including the anti-Christian pogrom in Orissa in 2008, told Hindus gathered for a religious event in Uttar Pradesh, that “Hindus were targeted in the name of doing service and then converted by her.” He added that “Christianisation” had led to the growth of separatist movements in parts of India.
Mother Teresa remains a hero to millions in India as a result of her years of working with the very poorest in that society. Such was the measure of her esteem that she was afforded a state funeral in 1997, becoming only the second non-government figure after Mahatma Gandhi to receive that honour. The Missionaries of Charity sister will be canonised on September 4.
7.2 billion people live under religious restriction – study
A new study has revealed that 74% of the world’s people live in countries with ‘high’ or ‘very high’ restrictions on religion.
Conducted by the Pew Research Centre, the findings show that, in numerical terms, 7.2 billion people – in some of the 198 countries studied – live under some form of religious restriction. The same study, based on figures for 2013-2014, found there had been a significant increase in religiously-motivated terrorism, with countries suffering the phenomenon rising from 73 to 82.
Hate speech case against Spanish Cardinal dismissed
Spain’s Cardinal Antonio Cañizares of Valencia will not face charges in relation to inciting hatred through a sermon, a prosecutor has announced.
Following the cardinal’s comments that the traditional family faces threats from “the gay empire… radical feminism [and] gender ideology”, multiple complaints were lodged with authorities by gay activists and others alleging his sermon was likely to incite hatred.
However, having examined the sermon, a magistrate found no evidence of criminal intent and terminated the investigation. Reacting to the decision, Cardinal Cañizares published an open letter on his diocese’s website denying he was homophobic or sexist but adding an apology for any words that “might have hurt”.
He further added, however, “Stop harassing the Church and respect freedom of religion”, a clear reference to the organisers of a recent gay parade in Valencia who chose to display an image of Our Lady of the Forsaken (patroness of Valencia) and Our Lady of Monserrat (patroness of Catalonia), kissing.
Holy See welcomes new French Ambassador
Pope Francis has welcomed Philippe Zeller as France’s new Ambassador to the Holy See following an 18-month stand-off created by that nation’s insistence on appointing an openly gay candidate to the role. Despite Rome’s quiet insistence that it would not accept Laurent Stefanini, France left its ambassadorial position vacant until last April when it shifted Mr Stefanini to the role of envoy to UNESCO. Ambassador Zeller presented his credentials to Pope Francis on June 23.