Latest from us

From Catechism to Catechesis (Corollary to “From Catechism to Atheism)

Opinion | Articles | Chhotebhai |

The previous article was just a brief commentary on another person’s testimony, about the gross inadequacy of Sunday School/catechism classes that largely focused on stories about what happened, rather than why things happen......

Prime Minister Modi’s ‘Sapta Dhara’ call from the Red Fort

Opinion | Articles | Isaac Harold Gomes |

In his address from the Red Fort on India’s 80th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon all Indians to embrace of ‘Make.....

The Society of St. Pius X: From Archbishop Lefebvre's Vision to Its Current Canonical Status

Opinion | Articles | Thou Ngaoni Paul |

Abstract: This article examines the historical conflict between the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) and the Holy See, focusing on the Society’s objections to certain reforms of the Second Vatican Council and the subsequent development of its disciplinary.....

The Dawn of Faith in St. Peter's Church, Tesophenyu

Opinion | Articles | Benjamin Chang |

As the pioneer cradle of Catholicism among the Rengma people, Tesophenyu Village holds a unique and revered place in the history of the regional Church. Looking back to the historical years of God's grace, the community reflects with profound joy and grat.....

Ninth of August 2026 spells ‘COURAGE '!

Opinion | Articles | Cedric Prakash |

The Ninth of August 2026 spells ‘Courage’: It was on this day in 1942 that the ‘Quit India Movement’ went into action and thousands of our freedom fighters who were on the streets were arrested. The previous day (8 August), at the Bombay session of the Al.....

The Merchant Navy: A rewarding Career on the Sea

Opinion | Articles | Capt. Eddie Viegas |

Though the Merchant Navy is one of the attractive career options for young students with a science background, it is not adequately explored and understood by many, except in states where shipping as a career is traditionally prevalent and widespread. In.....

From Catechism to Atheism

Opinion | Articles | Chhotebhai |

Can catechism lead to atheism? Not surprisingly, it can. I am sharing below the testimony of a Sunday School teacher of 20 year’s standing. It brought me to tears. If you too are a parent, priest, pastor, catechist, student or a critically aware young per.....

Bishops, Theologians, and Cockroaches

Opinion | Articles | Chhotebhai |

About 10 bishops and 50 theologians from across the country gathered at the Pastoral Centre, Agra on 25th/ 26th July for the 27th Colloquium of the CBCI’s Commission for Doctrine. As a layman I was the only cockroach. The theme was: A Rereading of the The.....

The origin of the Catholic faith among the Rengma Nagas

Opinion | Articles | Benjamin Chang |

Until 1967, the Catholic Church remained entirely unknown to the Rengma people of Nagaland. The seeds of the faith were first planted through the dedicated efforts of a devout layman, the late Mr. Pralie Paulus Angami of Kohima Village. In 1966, Mr. Prali.....

Bishop Albert Hemrom Appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Guwahati

Current Updates | NE Brief | NECARF Rep |

New Delhi, 16 July 2026 (CCBI): Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Albert Hemrom (57), Bishop of Dibrugarh, as the Coadjutor Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Guwahati, Assam. The appointment was made public on Thursday, 16 July 2026......

Does God Need our Money?

Opinion | Articles | Chhotebhai |

The theft and alleged misappropriation of offerings at the Ram Janambhoomi Temple in Ayodhya has been hogging the headlines. Will the big fish be caught? Were huge sums of money siphoned off to purchase the loyalty of wayward MPs from some Opposition Part.....

If Stan Swamy, the Martyr, were alive today ….

Opinion | Articles | Cedric Prakash |

Exactly five years ago, on 5 July 2021, Jesuit Father Stan Swamy was murdered. He was killed because he refused to kow-tow to a brutal, fascist regime. He was killed because he took a stand for justice and truth! He was killed because he accompanied the A.....

Fallout of Ayodhya Temple Episode on our religious sites

Opinion | Articles | Isaac Harold Gomes |

The Ayodhya Temple defalcation allegations have badly dented the high-moral-plank of the twelve-member Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra (SRJTK) Trust and in the process, that of the U.....

FCRA Amendment designed to kill the Poor!

Opinion | Articles | Cedric Prakash |

The ruling regime continues in a systematic yet manipulative manner, with its vicious, anti-people agenda. The latest is its insensitive and draconian proposed changes to the FCRA. On 25 March, the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, w.....

Editorial

Why the proposed Amendment to the FCRA is matter of concern

The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 has created a sense fear among the Charitable and Social organisations. It is widely suspected that the bill was intended to target minority faith-based NGOs working for the poorest of the poor in.....

Football opened a window to an unknown Nation

One is not sure how many people in the world would have known or heard about a country by the name of Cabo Verde prior to the commencement of the FIFA World Cup 2026. But beginning with the night the former Portuguese colony created history by holding Spa.....

Culture of Presumption: Disservice to a Man who saw no Evil

In May 2026, a popular priest, Fr. Bomax Pereira, suffered a cardiac arrest, and he was treated at the Goa Medical College. He was in the intensive care unit for a few days before he finally gave in and left while still in the ICU. Fr. Bolmax was one prie.....

Thank you Kerala, for keeping the Spirit of India alive

The most notable bright spot of the 2026 assembly elections is clearly the manner in which voters in Kerala exercised their franchise; Not because they voted any particular party to power, but because they avoided voting along communal lines. The victorie.....

Some Accountability for Social Media platforms

In March, a Los Angeles court hearing a petition filed by a 20-year-old woman, Kaley, who was a minor at the time of filing the case, held Meta and Google guilty of coming up with attention-grabbing applications, resulting in minor addiction to YouTube an.....

Sanju Samson's Silent Prayer was the Loudest Thanks giving

In a country where cricket is not just a game but considered next only to religion, a spectacle unfolded on March 1 inside the mammoth and iconic Eden Gardens cricket stadium in Kolkata, where the Indian and West Indies teams played the last of the Super.....

Stooping Beyond a Limit

When Himanta Biswa Sarma exited his parent party, the Indian National Congress, in 2015 and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, not too many eyebrows were raised since such leapfrogging from one political party to the other was nothing new in Indian politi.....

The Culture of othering is an unhealthy trend

A German Lutheran pastor, Martin Niemöller, was against the Communist ideology and also against Semitism. His distaste for them made him a natural ally and supporter of Rudolf Hitler. When Hitler ultimately assumed power and insisted on the supremacy of t.....

Persecutions in the land of Tagore, Vivekananda, and Gandhi

India is fortunate to have given birth to three outstanding sons, Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, and Mahatma Gandhi, who inspired generations not only in India but across the world. Apart from their liberal thinking, their thoughts on religious f.....

The determination was written on every Indian player’s face

On the intervening night of November 2nd and 3rd, the Indian women’s cricket team created history by winning the ICC Women’s World Cup for the first time at the DY Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai. They defeated South Africa, a team dubbed by many cricketing.....

Zubeen Garg unites people even in his death

Many ordinary people who are not connected to music and art might not have even heard of Zubeen Garg, despite being an iconic artist and a person who cared for others. However, after his unfortunate and untimely demise on September 19, 2025, social media.....

How serious are educational Institutions about the mental health of young people?

During the monsoon session of the Parliament in July 2025, Union Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar informed the house that student suicide cases accounted for 7.6 per cent of all suicide cases reported across India in 2022, showing a slight.....

Previous Articles

Four, Five and Eleven

Opinion | Articles | Chhotebhai

This is obviously not a mathematical equation. Let me tell you why I chose these random numbers. The number Four reminded me about the Readers’ Digest. It invariably carried a feature, “Drama in Real Life”; of how human beings endured and overcame insurmo.....

Voting, A Christian Duty

Opinion | Articles | Chhotebhai

It’s that time of year when we head to the hustings for the great Indian tamasha, the Lok Sabha elections 2024. The present regime at the Centre is so confident of a third term in office that it has invited representatives from various world political par.....

Digital learning in today’s World

Opinion | Articles | Joseph M Thohrii

The 21st century is an era of digital transformation, a change that would remain in our activities of learning and pursuit of knowledge. The digital transformation brings unparallel change to the growth of communication and development. It is believed tha.....

Bishop Hemrom Takes Over Dibrugarh Diocese

Current Updates | NE Brief | NECARF Rep

With Holy Father Pope Francis, having accepted the resignation of Most Rev. Joseph Aind, SDB (75) from pastoral governance of the Diocese of Dibrugarh, Most Rev. Albert Hemrom (51), who was the Coadjutor Bishop, has taken over as Bishop of Dibrugarh with .....

Dying for Someone!

Opinion | People's Edit | Neli Linus

“When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today.” This British classical epitaph is seen in many places of war memorials. I saw it first at Kohima war cemetery. This epitaph is attributed to John Maxwell Edmonds (1875-1958.....

The Journey to my Vocation Part-II

Opinion | Articles | Benjamin Chang

The Journey to my Vocation Part-II In my previous post, I had written about My Vocation as Part I and I am so overwhelmed by the response and request for ‘My Vocation Part II.’ I ended with a note that I was given a break and with all the limited resourc.....

Dilution, Clericalism, overshadow National Syntheses

Opinion | Articles | Chhotebhai

The Synod on Synodality was kick-started in October 2021.The first phase, the national level, was to conclude by 15th August 2022 and the National Syntheses (NS) were to be sent to the Synod Secretariat at the Vatican. A communiqué from Rene Reid, Direct.....

Bishop Albert Hemrom Appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Guwahati

Current Updates | NE Brief | NECARF Rep

New Delhi, 16 July 2026 (CCBI): Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Albert Hemrom (57), Bishop of Dibrugarh, as the Coadjutor Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Guwahati, Assam. The appointment was made public on Thursday, 16 July 2026......

‘Transitus’ of Francis: End of an Era and a Great Legacy Pope Francis (1936-2025)

Opinion | Articles | George Plathottam

The world mourns for Pope Francis at his ‘transitus’, to use a word that is both rich in meaning and familiar to the Church and the Franciscan spiritual tradition to describe one’s passing. His death, no doubt, is the end of a remarkable era. He leaves b.....

Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil receives World Peace Award 2023

Current Updates | NE Brief | NECARF Rep

Archbishop Emeritus Thomas Menamparampil of Guwahati, whose name is synonymous with a crusader of ‘Peace and Reconciliation’, has been awarded the prestigious Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam World Peace Award 2023 on the occasion of the United Nations International H.....

Have Religions become the opium of the people?

Opinion | Articles | M L Satyan

KJ Yesudas has been a legend in the field of music. We can never forget his mesmerising voice. One of his prophetic songs in Malayalam was titled: Manushyan Mathangale Srishtichu. He sang this song on various platforms. This song is very thought-provoking.....

Opinion

Why the proposed Amendment to the FCRA is matter of concern

Articles | John S. Shilshi |

The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 has created a sense fear among the Charitable and Social organisations. It is widely suspected that the bill was intended to target minority faith-based NGOs working for the poorest of the poor in.....

From Catechism to Catechesis (Corollary to “From Catechism to Atheism)

Articles | Chhotebhai |

The previous article was just a brief commentary on another person’s testimony, about the gross inadequacy of Sunday School/catechism classes that largely focused on stories about what happened, rather than why things happen......

Prime Minister Modi’s ‘Sapta Dhara’ call from the Red Fort

Articles | Isaac Harold Gomes |

In his address from the Red Fort on India’s 80th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon all Indians to embrace of ‘Make.....

The Society of St. Pius X: From Archbishop Lefebvre's Vision to Its Current Canonical Status

Articles | Thou Ngaoni Paul |

Abstract: This article examines the historical conflict between the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) and the Holy See, focusing on the Society’s objections to certain reforms of the Second Vatican Council and the subsequent development of its disciplinary.....

The Dawn of Faith in St. Peter's Church, Tesophenyu

Articles | Benjamin Chang |

As the pioneer cradle of Catholicism among the Rengma people, Tesophenyu Village holds a unique and revered place in the history of the regional Church. Looking back to the historical years of God's grace, the community reflects with profound joy and grat.....

Ninth of August 2026 spells ‘COURAGE '!

Articles | Cedric Prakash |

The Ninth of August 2026 spells ‘Courage’: It was on this day in 1942 that the ‘Quit India Movement’ went into action and thousands of our freedom fighters who were on the streets were arrested. The previous day (8 August), at the Bombay session of the Al.....

Current Updates

Bishop Albert Hemrom Appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Guwahati

Articles | NECARF Rep |

New Delhi, 16 July 2026 (CCBI): Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Albert Hemrom (57), Bishop of Dibrugarh, as the Coadjutor Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Guwahati, Assam. The appointment was made public on Thursday, 16 July 2026......

History and Spread of Christianity in Arunachal Pradesh

Articles | Editorial team |

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Arunachal Pradesh, located in the eastern Himalayas, is one of India’s most culturally diverse and geographically isolated states. Formerly known as the North East Frontier Agency (NEFA), it became a Union Territory in 1972 and attained full statehood in.....

ICF Writes to the President of India

Articles | Editorial team |

Hon’ble Smt Draupadi Murmu, PRESIDENT OF INDIA Rashtrapati Bhawan New Delhi presidentofindia@rb.nic.in 31st December 2025 Respected Rashtrapatiji, Sub: Christmas attacks on Christians Namaskar! I respectfully place before you some of the.....

Attacks aginst Christians increased by 500% since 2014: Rights Groups

Articles | Editorial team |

Attacks Against Christians Increased by 500% Since 2014: Rights Groups New Delhi: On November 4, Christian rights activists assembled at the Press Club of India to release a report about an alarming and sustained annual surge in incidents of violence a.....

An MSMHC Nun from Mizoram did the North East Proud

Articles | NECARF Rep |

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October 14, 2025: Sr Rose Paite, an MSMHC nun from Mizoram, received the prestigious National Award from the Catholic Mental Health Ministry (CMHM) at the World Mental Health Day Conference in Kerala. The prestigious award was handed over to the recipie.....

Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez’s address

Articles | Editorial team |

Synodality: Why No, and Why Yes Some have hoped that our new pope would ease up a little on this matter of synodality. Instead, Pope Leo has expressed a strong desire to continue along the path of synodality. For example: “Synodality becomes a mindset, .....