FEMALE FETICIDE AND INFANTICIDE

In today's society "the modern Herod is anyone who practices female feticide and infanticide, who limits religious freedom and abuses human rights" said Oswald Gracias, president of the Indian Bishops' Conference and archbishop of Mumbai, on the Feast of Holy Innocents.news

There is a practice of dowry in India. Actually the marriage in India is happening like a bargain in the market. The parents of the bride has to pay dowry to the bridegroom in order to get marry their daughter. If the dowry is not given as it was agreed, the bride will be sent to her parent’s house even after the child bearing. Actually there is a saying in India, even a king will become a beggar if he has five female children. There are millions of cases in the court regarding murders, suicide, divorce connected with the dowry problem in India. To avoid these things people tend to kill the female baby after its birth or in the womb of the mother. It has become common in some parts of India. A female child is considered as a curse to a family because the family has to pay a lot for the marriage of the girl.

We must go to the root of the problem to solve the problem. To save the children from female feticide and infanticide it is necessary that the dowry system must be eradicated. Even if there is law against the dowry system the practice of this kind is common among the people. People must be enlightened not to give dowry for the marriage. If the dowry system is eradicated then there will be a difference regarding the sex. As a result there will not be female feticide and infanticide.

And it is important that those who do female feticide and infanticide must be arrested and should be punished.

THE DEFAMATION OF RELIGION

A United Nations forum on Thursday passed a resolution condemning "defamation of religion" as a human rights violation. This bill was passed in a United Nations forum in which the representatives of 193 countries were present.news

This world belongs to all the beings in the world. So we have the right to live anywhere and practice any religion. The restriction to embrace a particular in a particular region cannot be accepted. Many Muslim countries including Pakistan have passed bill to punish the Christians in the name of blasphemy of their religion. Innocent people were being persecuted, jailed and killed in some of the Muslim countries. In the name of religions, the human beings are humiliated and ill treated. It is not a stone age to agree and follow the state religion. We are living in a computer era and everywhere the human right is being implemented.

As we all have right to speak, write and to profess it is important that all human beings must have the right to practice a religion. Religions are meant for the good of the human society. If any nation has a law to restrict any human being to embrace a religion is violating the human rights. The defamation of religions is a serious affront to human dignity leading to a restriction on the freedom of their adherents and incitement to religious violence. The world as global village must be aware of the restrictions to embrace a religion and should protect the sentiments and beliefs of the human beings. There is superior or inferior religion but every religion is good and they lead the human beings to a good state of life. Passing a bill for condemning the defamation of religion is a warning to the Muslim nations who persecute the Christians and other religious minorities in the world.

save the earth

The Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council Thursday announced that Catholics should include sins against the environment when they visit the confessional.more

One of the reasons for the natural calamities like Tsunami and earthquake is all kinds of pollutions. If we eat something that is not good to the stomach we feel pain and we are not at ease. Our stomach become only when it ejects that which is creating problem. In the same way the earth ejects that which is not good to it. The result of this is earth quake or Tsunami.

We must reduce the use of plastics. We must find out the alternative for plastics and promote it among the plastic users. There are many paper products available in the market instead of plastics. But the danger of plastic is not felt as well as the good of paper product is also not felt among the people. All have the responsibility to save the earth and give a better world to the younger and future generation. The church has also the responsibility to instruct people to save the nature. 

Not only are the human beings creatures by God but also the nature. They are also living being. God created them for the well being of the human society. And he gave us the right to look after and use them for the sustenance of the human society. If we live against the commandment of God then it is sin. If we misuse the nature then we become sinners. The church must create sinful feeling for destroying the nature. People must be made to understand the gravity of destroying the earth by our small doings like putting the wastes in common place and use of plastics…

It is right thing that the Kerala Catholic Church has undertaken to include sins against environment.

A New Catholic TV Launch in North India

Prarthana Bhawan, a new catholic TV channel has been launched in Jhalandar in North India.click for full news Many people in North India are not educated. They do not have proper schools for the education. The Hindu fanatists become politicians and sow the hindu fanaticisam in their young age through the lessons. They are ruined and they are misled by the fanatists politicians. The fanatists know that the education will make the people aware and will be enkindled to act against them. So they make people to watch television. . The Christian missionaries are trying to educate them, but failed at times because of this television. The few school going children are also attracted by the television and they avoid going to school. They spend their day in front of the television. Elderly people every day they watch television at home. They do not go for work and be idle at home watching television. The films are ruining them. They became a slave to the television. 

India is a vast country and it is mostly dominated by Hinduism. The majority of the country is Hindus. The ordinary people do not know about the Hinduism and Hindu gods they are simple people. Many innocent people are being by the Hindu fanatists. If people become educated and intelligent and they become capable of deciding what is good and bad. The knowledge of them makes them realize their slavery to the landlords and Gundas. They use television as their instrument to immerse the people in the virtual world. So that they may not fight against them.

Someone must take the responsibility to tell them to use the television for the useful purpose. So it is best medium for the turning the people around. It is a means for evangelization. Now the television is itself an instrument to educate and tell them what is right and what is wrong it is a good initiative from the part of the Indian Catholic Church.

San Jose Articles.

The scientists, doctors and humanists have made an article against abortion. Many have signed from different countries against the abortion. Two weeks ago, 39 have signed in Rome in San Jose articles. 

In some countries already there is law for abortion. Who has given them the right to abortion? How countries can make a law to kill another human being? We must remember that almost all the countries have eliminated the capital punishment. If we are able to eliminate the capital punishment then we should not approve the abortion, because a life is killed in abortion. After all, why there is law? It is for the common good. If the law is against the human being, let us destroy the law. If abortion is approved my many countries, it cannot be the absolute decision and it is not right. It need not be a model. We need someone to raise a voice against the abortion. Now a San Jose article has raised the voice against the abortion. And it receives good response from all over the world.

The human society in general is against the abortion and thinks that it is a murder. But when it comes to the individual it becomes just an act. It is not a murder. If we are wounded by someone else, we file a case to get justice. If it happens to us we file a case as attempt to murder. When we think of abortion we do the same thing to embryo. Embryo cannot speak and fight with us not to kill it. If we do abortion we are killing a disabled being. Then it becomes more than a sin.

San Jose articles is one of the prophetic article the human society of the third millennium is very much in need.

TWO MILLION EXIT FROM CATHOLIC CHURCH IN US

Two million faithful flee from the Catholic Church. The sex abuse scandals in the Catholic Church have caused a haemorrhage of faithful in the United States.news

It is bad time for the Catholic Church. The picture of the Catholic Church is being distorted by the child abuse. But Pope Benedict XVI has accepted and asked for forgiveness in name of the Catholic Church and has promised ‘Zero tolerance’ towards the abuser priest. Child abuse cannot be the only reason that people flee from the Catholic Church in United States because the child abuse is everywhere. It is there in the family and work place and so on... It is right for the Catholic Church to question itself and renew itself for the service of the people. 

Since the issue about the child abuse has projected big, we cannot take that is the only reason for the exit of the people. Exit of the Catholics from the Church is not new. And the Church cannot remain quiet and watching the exit of the people rather must introspect in to the exit of the Catholics and find out the problems. The church should take this opportunity to purify the church as it is rightly said by the Pope Benedict XVI that it is time for the purification of the Catholic Church. The new spirit should be blown in to the mission of the Catholic Church. The one of the reason may be a good approach and missionary character of the Baptist denomination which embraced the most of the Catholics who went of the Church this year. Likewise there may be problem concerning the ministers or the mood of ministry or service or the type of administration that tends people to leave the church. The root must be found out to resolve the perennial problem in the Church.

MARTYRS ARE NOT BURIED BUT SOWED

Sr. Valsa John is added in the list of victims (Pastor.Stein, Fr. Arul Doss and Sr. Rani Maria) who were fighting for the justice of the poor and innocent people in North India.see link. The martydam of these religious people have never had ceased the fight for justice but it has enkindled the fire.

India is a rich country where 80% of wealth is swindled and used by the 20% of the selfish people. The 80% of people consists of the middle class and people below poverty line. the people who live below poverty line are mere slaves to the landlords and fanatists, especially in North India. The christian missionaries, being the followers of the liberator the Christ,  teach these uneducated poor people of their rights and dignities. This awareness is given for the last decade in a constant manner. So now these poor people realize and question the landlords and swindlers. these landlords want to eradicate the cause of these protest of the innocent poor people. so they like to get rid of these educators. For this mission they employ the religion and anti conversion bill.

Actually these landlords want to retain their power in the villages. In order to retain power they need to destroy the followers of Jesus who teach the people about the human dignities and the liberation. Fr. Arul Doss, Sr. rani Maira and Australian missionary Pastor. Stein and his sons became the victim of these fanatists. their death has never ceased the missionary zeal of the South Indian to come to north India for Evangelization. Sr. Valsa John was also fighting for the poor people against the exploitation of the mining corporations in Pakur district, near the city of Dumka. It seems she is shot dead. The blood of a martyr is never in vein. it will bear hundred fold.

Human Life is Precious

Pope Benedict XVI praised the work of those involved in developing medical cures from adult stem cells in the conference held form Nov. 9-11, jointly organized by the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Culture and the US-based Stem for Life Foundation which promotes adult stem cell research. see link

The Pope has rightly appreciated and also reminded, we human beings do not have the right to kill a human life for the sake of experiments. The medical experts make use of the poor living human beings. Whether they are poor or not the human life is the same. It cannot be sold or bought for money to make use for the new findings. Poor people may be ready to sell their life for the sake of the other members of the family but the medical experts who know the value of the human life being in the place of God the protector must realize and deny the temptation. In north India poor formers are ready to commit suicide. Some medical experts would like to utilize the poverty of the people. The advancement in science is for the human life to live better in this world. This cannot be achieved at the cost of any human life irrespectable of status of human being in the society.

God the creator has handed over the world to the human beings who are made in His likeness and image. So the human beings have the duty to safeguard all the beings entrusted to them. The police should not become a thief. If we do so we betray Him who has created us. What a happy surrounding will there be, when a child and mother are saved during the delivery time. The creator will have the pain of losing a creation. Human beings are also the creators in one or the other way. The church appreciates the science which generates the medicine for the survival of the human species rather than using the human life for the new findings. In this way the Catholic Church resembles Christ who is the savior of the world.

The New Evangelization for the Migrants

 

Pope Benedict XVI has called for new evangelization for the Migrants. More and more young people come out of their own country. They migrate with the fine intellectual capability of their own countries and live in places where in they are accepted. It is very difficult for the youngsters to safeguard the faith they have received in their own culture.

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/migration/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20110921_world-migrants-day_en.html

The God’s own people-Israelites were also Migrants. They suffered a lot in their journey to the Promised Land. God the father was with them to guide them and lead them towards the Promised Land. In the same way, the church tries to take care of the young emigrants in various aspects. The church not only speaks about the faith oriented topics but also it is bothered about the human lives in the world. The church is not a spectator where in the people struggle for the day to day lives. God insisted the people of Israel to have faith in Him even in their trials and tribulations. The church today also insists the same. The young migrants suffer a lot. But the church urges the young Catholics not to lose their faith in the mobility of life one part of the world to the other.

Usually the migrants lose their ancestral tradition when they pass on to the other place or the new place. Though it may be an opportunity for the innovative world to come, the lack of ancestral tradition will have the impact on the interpersonal relationship. The modernized world has already lost the value of love. It has become the world of materialism. The materialism has already led to the indifference to religion and God. So it is right time to call for the new evangelization for the migrants. Though the Israelites were the nomads, God the father never led them astray from Him. The young immigrants must be able to find out the providence of God in the new place. They must be able to find out the meaning of life in the light of faith of the Catholic Church.

“FAITH”: A KEY FOR MISSION.

When do we pray? When we are in need. What does this present generation need? Faith. So it is right that the Pope has announced the year of faith in the right time. It is another occasion that the church has witnessed to act according to the signs of the time. Catholic Church is one of the biggest and ancient churches in the world. It has got more members in the world. But what happens in reality? The church is empty in almost throughout Europe. It is because Catholics are Catholics only during their baptism and funeral. So it is right and just that the Catholic Church is in search of faith which is the essential for the mission. 

It is an opportunity for the Catholics to grow in faith which is the basis of the Christina life. One cannot deny that the Catholics do not have faith but it has to be strengthened. The year of faith is meant to deepen the faith and also to receive blessings from God the father. The Catholic Church may use this year of faith to demonstrate the life of faith and attract the whole world to embrace the catholic faith. The best teacher is one who inspires. So the catholic must live the faith through which others will be inspired.

One must have faith to proclamation it to others. Only when the faith is strong, the mission will be strong enough to be achieved. It is not the theory that makes us strong but it is the experience that forms us and motivates us in the mission. St. Paul was very strong and committed in his mission, it is because of the faith experience that he had on the way to Damascus. It is right time for lost sheep who has gone long way from the Catholic Church to come back. It is duty of the church to bring back the lost sheep through this year of faith. It is a right way to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the Vatican council II.