Ajg oct 2017

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Special role of Christians in academic excellence, says President Kovind President Ram Nath Kovind said that the history of Christianity goes back 2,000 years in India, and that the Christian community has carved out a “special role for itself in education”. Speaking at the inaugural function of the golden jubilee celebrations of the Jesus and Mary College in Delhi, Kovind said that missionary institutions have become symbols of scholarship and academic excellence.

He said all religions in their essence urge people to constantly learn and evolve and grow, to acquire knowledge and gain wisdom.

To drive home his point, the President quoted the Gospel: “In the Gospel, According to John, chapter eight, verse 12, Jesus is quoted as saying, ‘I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life’.”

Invoking the metaphor light as wisdom, he also quoted the Upanishads, “Asato ma sadgamaya, tamaso ma jyotirgamaya (Lead me from falseness to truth, lead me from darkness to light).” Kovind said the Jesus and Mary College has contributed enormously to the cause of education, and for five decades, it has taught and prepared young women to break the glass ceiling, to achieve their potential, contribute to society and to the economy.

He also said, “Education of girls is much

more important than we realise. An educated girl contributes to the economy and at work.

She also ensures that other children in her family, as well as the family she may be married into, are educated. The next generation is made responsible and educated through the education of girls.”

The President said the goal of education is not just to acquire knowledge. “It is much more critical to use the knowledge one gets from education to enhance welfare of the lessprivileged among us.” “The truly educated are not those who collect degrees, but those who use those degrees and the underlying scholarship to become nation-builders,” he said.

Offer credible witness: Pope Francis urges African nuns

The Holy Father Pope Francis has asked members of the Association of Consecrated Women in Eastern and Central Africa (ACWECA) to deepen the bonds of friendship and communion among themselves so that they may offer a more convincing witness to society and the Church. He has also called on them to embrace a united apostolate to the poor, the sick and the marginalised.

In his message signed by Monsignor Paolo Borgia to the President of ACWECA, Sr Prisca Matenga, D.O.R, the Holy Father extended his prayerful good wishes to her and all religious women gathered for the 17th ACWECA Plenary Assembly.

“The Holy Father is moreover confident that this assembly will be an opportunity to rediscover the freshness of the Gospel, from which new avenues arise, new paths of creativity open up, with different

forms of expression, more eloquent signs and words with new meaning for today’s world,” read part of the message.

Pope Francis entrusted the participants of the ACWECA Plenary Assembly to the maternal protection of Mary, Mother of the Church, and gladly imparted his Apostolic Blessing as a pledge and joy in the Lord.

The ACWECA 17th Plenary Assembly commenced on Sunday 27 August at the Tanzania Episcopal Conference's Kurasini centre in Dar-esSalaam. The Plenary ends on 2 September.

João Cardinal Bráz de Aviz, the Holy See’s Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, delivered the message of the Holy Father to the Plenary. The Cardinal also presided over the opening ceremonies at the gathering by celebrating the Holy Mass.

Indian Supreme Court:

State Response to Anti-Christian Mob Violence ‘Inadequate’ In 2008, the death of a Hindu leader led to the worst case of anti-Christian violence in India’s history.

About 100 Christians were killed, 300 churches attacked, 6,000 Christian homes damaged, and 50,000 people displaced when Hindu fundamentalists blamed Christians for the murder of Hindu leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati. The violence took place in the Kandhamal district of the eastern coastal state of Odisha.

(The same state made the news on Christmas Eve the year before for another string of attacks connected to Saraswati, and in 1999 when Hindu radicals burned missionary Graham Staines and his two young sons to death as they slept in their Jeep. In 2008, fundamentalists announced their intention to destroy all of the Christians living there.)

This month, India’s Supreme Court ordered the Odisha government to

reinvestigate the trials of perpetrators “where acquittals were not justified on facts.” Of the 827 criminal cases registered, 315 were not pursued, and in the 362 cases where a verdict was given, only 78 resulted in conviction. About 6,495 people were arrested, but just 150 cases are still ongoing.

Chief Justice Tirath Singh Thakur and Justice Uday Umesh Lalit also ruled the compensation the state government offered—from $150 to $750 for destroyed homes and about $7,500 for families who lost a member—is not enough. Odisha state had set aside about $400,000 in all to pay for the damage.

Archbishop Raphel Cheenath, who filed the lawsuit, asked for about $6,000 per damaged house and about $22,500 for each family member killed in the riots. (Cheenath, 82, passed away yesterday.)

The judges didn’t go that far, ordering an

additional $4,500 for the widows and children of the 39 Christians on the government’s official death toll. They also ruled that the state and federal government pay another $300 for a home that was “partially damaged” and an extra $1,050 for a “fully damaged home.”

The court also said those who sustained minor injuries ($150) and major injuries ($450) also receive compensation.

“We do respect the judgement, but are not satisfied,” said Dibakar Parichha, a Catholic priest and advocate who has coordinated the legal fight for the Kandhamal victims. “Nevertheless, it is rather [a] good judgment for [many of] the victims of Kandhamal.”

Part of Parichha’s disappointment stemmed from the court’s decision not to increase the list of beneficiaries entitled to compensation.

“We are disappointed that Christian traders, NGOs, and others who lost their businesses to arson and violence have not been compensated,” said activist John Dayal.

“The economic strength of the Christians in the district had been severely impacted in the violence—by design. But they have not been paid any compensation at all.”

“Too little, too late,” said Tehmina Arora, a Supreme Court lawyer who has played a key role in the legal challenge on behalf of the Kandhamal victims. Even the improved compensation package “does not match the amount of compensation” paid to Sikhs and Muslims after similar communal attacks, she said.

Arora acknowledged the concern expressed by the Supreme Court.

“The minorities are as much children of the soil as the majority,” she said, quoting the chief justice’s assurance as he gave his judgment. However, “this concern is not backed by a clear directive and deadline on how to address the injustice,” she said. “Who is going to monitor and follow up this directive?”

Campaigners say that India’s National

Human Rights Commission has been “sitting for years” on the plea for better compensation.

For instance, despite more than 25 visits to government offices, Obseswar Nayak in Borimunda village was denied the maximum compensation of $750 for a “fully damaged house” because “part of the wall was intact.”

Another “partially damaged house”—with its first and second floor ceilings burnt—was John Pradhan’s home in Gurkapia village. Government officials also listed it as “partially damaged” since “part of the wall was intact.”

Three-quarters of the damage done to Christian homes took place along the route of Saraswati’s funeral procession, noted a website set up to protest the convictions of seven Christians for his murder. (A Maoist was also found guilty.)

“The [Hindu extremists] wanted to make a spectacle of [the body], and were prepared—as events were to prove—to take full advantage of the passions that would arise.

They did not even go by the shortest route, but meandered across [Kandhamal],” noted a report by a group of human-rights organizations.

Among the slogans shouted was, “Kill Christians and destroy their institutions!”

“It was obvious that public reaction to the murder of a prominent religious leader like the Swami would be extreme,” noted the National Commission for Minorities after its September 2008 visit to Kandhamal. “Yet when options to be followed after the murder were being considered, there is little evidence that highlevel political and official leadership offered guidance and support to the local district administration.”

Five years after the riots, a report by several organizations—including the former UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing—noted that the government didn’t compensate the victims for any loss of household articles, equipment, clothing, or livestock.

The report recommended that the government “take immediate measures to adequately rehabilitate and resettle the victimsurvivors of the Kandhamal violence” and “ensure full reparation to those whose livelihoods were affected due to violence and strife.”

The ruling by Chief Justice Thakur is “a step forward in justice for the victims of Kandhamal,” Sajan K. George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians, told Fides news agency. “It is a positive sign that the Supreme Court of India recognized as unjust compensation paid. The justice procedure is slow and inadequate, but this is a sign of hope.”

After his appointment to the court in December, Thakur declared that “people of this country need not live in fear till the time the judiciary is independent. When the Constitution guarantees rule of law to those who are not our citizens, there is no question that citizens of India, no matter what religion or faith, should feel unprotected.”

Thakur ’s appointment was “like a beacon of hope for those living in fear,” wrote Anto Akkara, who wrote a book about the Kandhamal events and started a petition protesting the apparent discrepancies and injustices in the case against the seven Christians who were found guilty of Saraswati’s murder.

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Pope Warns Mercy Is Not ‘Philanthropy’ Nor ‘Pitying’ Pope Francis has reminded faithful to make sure they have straight what mercy truly is.

According to Vatican Radio, the Pontiff had done so in a video-message he sent Saturday to the participants of the 14th national meeting of the ‘Open Hands’ gathering in Santa Fe, Argentina, warning that mercy should not be confused for pitying nor philanthropy.

The Christian volunteer organization, Manos Abiertas “Open Hands,” was founded in 1992 at Villa de Mayo, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, by Jesuit Father Angel Rossi, with the motto “love and serve.” The theme of the national event this year was “Mercy: A Trip from the Heart to the Hands.””

In his video-message, Pope Francis recalled the parable of the Good Samaritan, and how it exemplifies mercy.

“The heart, which in the Good Samaritan is like that of Jesus, was touched by misery: The misery he saw there, the misery of that widowed mother whom Jesus saw, that misery of pain and the misery of the beaten man who was seen by the Samaritan.” When his heart was united with the other’s suffering, that, Francis pointed out, was true mercy.

Pitying Is Different Mercy, the Pontiff stated, is not the same as pitying.

“When the misery of the other comes into my heart, I feel mercy; which is not the same as to have pity, pity is another feeling,” the Pope said.

“I can feel pity when I see a wounded animal or such a situation, but mercy is another feeling,” Francis added. “It is when the misery of another, or a situation of pain or misery, gets

into my heart, and I permit the situation to touch my heart. I say this: It is an outward journey, the journey of misery to the heart. And this is the path: It is not mercy if it is not of the heart, a heart wounded by the misery of another.”

Not Mere Philanthropy Mercy, the Pontiff also underscored, is not ‘mere philanthropy.’

“It is distinct from having good feelings; this is not mercy, it is having good feelings,” Pope Francis explained. “It is distinct from hands-on philanthropy, which is not mercy: It is good, it is good, philanthropy is not a bad thing, but it is not mercy, which is another thing.

“Mercy is the journey of misery to my heart, taken up by my heart, that moves my heart; and sometimes it moves so much that the heart becomes like a compass at the North Pole, and does not know where to stop, because of what it feels.”

Some Advice Francis then went on to explain how one can discern whether something is mercy or pity.

“First,” he advised, “you must ask for the grace to have mercy; it is a grace, and we must ask it of the Lord.”

“The only way to have mercy is to yourself recognize your own sin, and be forgiven by the Lord; through recognizing sin and forgiveness. You can be merciful only if you truly feel that you have received the mercy of the Lord, otherwise you cannot be merciful … and having received mercy, you will be merciful.”

The Pope then encouraged faithful to let the mercy they’ve ever received inspire them to bring it to others.

“Stop torturing yourself over what

wounded your heart, both by others and yourself,” Francis stressed, concluding, “Let yourself receive mercy and begin the ‘return trip,’ and with your hands give mercy to others, spreading mercy and love.” ____________________________________

Pope’s Address to

Pallotine Society Dear Brothers and Sisters, welcome!

I am happy to receive you on the occasion of your 21st General Assembly. I greet you cordially and I thank the Superior General for his words. I extend my greeting to all the members of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate and to all those who share the charism of Saint Vincent Pallotti. He became an illuminating beacon and inspirer in the Church. His charism is a precious gift of the Holy Spirit, because it aroused and arouses various forms of apostolic life and spurs the faithful to commit themselves actively in evangelical witness.

Your Founder understood that to be able to live communion with God, Jesus must be at the center, “the Divine Model of the whole human race” (Complete Works II, p. 541). In this Holy Year of Mercy, I like to recall that Vincent Pallotti had the gift to recognize that Jesus is the Father’s Apostle; great in love and rich in mercy is He who fulfils His mission revealing to all the tender love and infinite mercy of the Father. This mystery of God’s paternity, which opens to each one through the work of the Son, His heart full of love and compassion, acquires a special significance in our times. Every day scenes of violence, merciless faces and hardened and desolate hearts pass before our eyes. We are in so much need of remembering that Father whose heart thinks of all and wants the salvation of every man. Mercy is “the force that conquers

The reflections of your General Assembly are focused on the following words of your holy Founder: “The fundamental rule of our little Congregation is the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, to imitate Him with humility and trust with all the possible perfection in all the works of the hidden life and of the public evangelical ministry” (Complete Works III, p. 40). In the light of these valuable pointers, every member of the Pallotine Family is called to put the person of Christ and the faithful following of Him, as the foundation of his existence.

Contemplating the life of Jesus and looking at our life as pilgrims in this world with so many challenges, we perceive the necessity of a profound conversion and the urgency to revive faith in Him. Only in this way will we be able to serve our neighbor in charity! Every day we are called to renew our trust in Christ and to draw inspiration from His life to carry out our mission, because “Jesus is the first and greatest evangelizer. The primacy in any form of evangelization is always God, who has willed to call us to collaborate with Him and to stimulate us with the strength of His Spirit” (Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, 12).

Dear Brothers, I encourage you to continue your journey with joy and hope, committing yourselves with all your heart and all your strength, so that the charism of your Founder bears abundant fruits also in our time.

He liked to repeat that the calling of the apostolate is not reserved for some, but is addressed to all, “regardless of their state, their condition, their profession, their fortune, all can take part” (Complete Works IV, p. 346). The Union of the Catholic Apostolate, which is bearer of Saint Vincent Pallotti’s charism, offers many areas and opens new horizons to participate in the mission of the Church.

Therefore, it is called to work with renewed impetus to reawaken faith and rekindle charity, especially in the weakest segments of the population, poor spiritually and materially. In this, you are supported by the example of so many of your fellow brothers, genuine

witnesses of the Gospel, who dedicated their life to the service of others. I knew them also during my pastoral service in Argentina and I have a happy memory of them.

Following in the footsteps of Saint Vincent Palloti, who considered himself a prodigy of God’s mercy, you can help all those you meet in your minostry to rediscover the immense love of God in our life. He wrote: “O my Jesus, shining in you is the incomprehensible excess of your infinite love and your infinite mercy” (Complete Works XIII, p. 169).

I entrust you all to the protection of Mary Most Holy, whom Saint Vincent Palloti venerated in a particular way as Queen of the Apostles. She, effective example of apostolic zeal and perfect charity, invites us to incessant prayer to invoke the gifts of the Holy Spirit on today’s apostles, so that her Son’s Gospel is proclaimed in every part of the world. I also entrust myself to your prayers and, while I hope for the best fruits of the works of your Assembly, I impart to you my heartfelt Apostolic Blessing. ____________________________________

Of Pencils Love &

Isn’t is a curiosity that the most astounding contemporary Saint of our time would choose an image that has nothing to do with who she was? Mother Theresa was in all ways a “doer”. She was the one in the field and getting her hands dirty in places where others would not go. Yet, she was widely quoted, repeated and written about. There are scores of her quotes that are on cards, on plaques and in books, yet she was not really a writer herself.

So it is a great curiosity to me that one of her most beloved sayings is about writing. More than that it’s about God writing: “I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world.”

Saint Teresa of Calcutta Because I am a writer this quote causes me a lot of consternation. What is it, I wonder, that I don’t understand about the importance of writing that Mother Teresa did? One of the things that stirs me about this quote is that I am pretty sure that it was not planned. No persons of note really ever rehearse what comes out of their mouth. Sayings and quotes like the one above are straight out of the person’s soul.

So what is it that Mother “knows” from God himself that is reflected in this snippet of wisdom? No doubt it is a pretty accurate view of the deepest heart of God! Her trust of him was unfailing. Trust opens the door to knowledge, especially of “the other”. In fact, love is not possible without crossing over blindly into trust sooner or later. I guess that I might even find the above quote a little scary.

Pencil, pencil in someone else’s hand? That would mean I had completely surrendered any ability and/or influence that I might have to the wielder of the pencil. Huh, that would mean that I would not be free to express and write down my own thoughts unchallenged! That would mean I would have to “shut up” and let God completely have his own way with none of my interference and/or advice!

There it is: Father I am nothing in your presence, Jesus I Trust in You, Spirit I know nothing without you.

What a totally unsafe position to be in.

That would mean I would have to place myself into the arms of Jesus with ZERO reservations.

It seems that St. Teresa of Calcutta did this every minute of every day. She was able to totally remove all the barriers she had between herself and God. With a constant listening ear she was able to translate this to the world. The famous stories about her revolve around her willingness to touch the nastiest and most damaged in the human species. Without mask, gown, or any kind of barrier she embraced the dying, lepers, people with tuberculosis, those who had wounds filled with maggots, humans covered with waste and those overwhelmed by vermin in their flesh.

Nothing was repugnant to her. She taught us, of course, that this was the fulfilled and complete definition of love as God himself taught her.

Always loving, she told us Americans that this kind of ministry is not for everyone.

Here at home we should find “our own Calcutta”. But then again, there’s that “pencil” thing. As that quote looks me in the face, I must admit that it is beyond my level of courage. The quote, however, does not leave my head. That’s why they call it evangelization. It has changed me, it will change me. It will keep changing me along with its challenge. Just a tiny string of words.

When you speak or write never underestimate the effect for now and for the future! That’s how God writes! Thank you Mother.

Young People Welcome Theme of 2018 Synod The XV General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, to be held in October 2018, will focus on “Young people, the faith and discerment of vocation,” Pope Francis has decided.

Young people of the Focolare Movement are among those reacting to the decision with enthusiasm.

Read some of the response: Gloria, Uganda: “This is good news and it is also a response. The choice corresponds to the need. … We are so happy that the Pope has thought of us!”

Ryan, USA: “Great news. If young people are not offered a good environment in today’s Church, tomorrow’s Church will lack good culture. I think Pope Francis wants to leave the Church in good hands. We need good ideas about living the vocation, not just about future choices: getting married, becoming a priest, a religious, a focolarino….In my Focolare formation I have learned to consider the vocation as an anwer to a call that has to be lived also presently, right away. I hope that the Synod will also focus on this aspect so that the Church will be in good hands”.

Amanda, Brazil: “It’s a surprise! I am sure the Pope knows how to get to all young people. Many of those who no longer participate in the life Church have shown great interest in his encyclical on the environment. I consider this synod as a great opportunity. It will be fantastic if it reaches everyone” Aileen, India: “What I have learned from the Catholic Church in the State where I grew

up differs in certain aspects from its teaching in another State. Ideas vary even though the same material, as for example Youcat, is used.

Globalization and social media put us in contact even with what the Church teaches in other parts of the world. Differences in approach on important issues can cause confusion in the absense of a clear voice.The Pope and the universal Church have a very important role in this, while they take into consideration the different cultures. I think the Synod offers excellent prospects”.

Jorge, Peru: “Young people are getting to know more about Church problems, especially about hot issues: scandals, social problems, Church and politics. In Peru, for example, such issues cause further distance between the position of the clergy and the reality of youth. The news of the Synod fills me with hope: the contribution and the ideas of the youth,using the media and the social networks in a transparent and convergent manner, can show a more human face of the Church.”

Dam, Argentina: “I grew up in the parish, and I think that the theme on vocation and youth should have been addressed years ago. Today we are in the midst of a crisis of vocations: family, religious life, as citizens, etc.

So I say: Well done for chosing this theme, even if late”.

Jorge, El Salvador: “World Youth Days have shown the Church’s openness towards youth. Giving priority to youth shows that Pope Francis now wants to pass from words to deeds; even because we have to be the ones to find solutions for world problems.

Sometimes one tends to think that we are unable to address problems, but together with mature and experienced persons we do arrive to solutions. It seems as if the Pope is telling us: you are ready for this challenge”.

Jose Luis, Brazil: “Who knows what will really happen during the Synod! It would be great if some young people would actually be present. I think we all wish to have someone voicing us in this Synod”.

Pope at Audience: Give Food, Drink to Needy …

But Donations Don’t Replace You When we give to the needy, God’s mercy is present, Pope Francis says. Yet, he warns, don’t think solidarity campaigns and donations are enough, you must personally realize your responsibility….

The Pope stressed this today during his address at his weekly General Audience, in which he continued his catechesis on the theme of mercy as the Jubilee Year nears its end. This week, Francis focused on the fact that among the works of mercy, is that of feeding the hungry and giving drink to the thirsty.

Stressing that access to food and water is a universal right, he stressed that we need to personally respond to this urgent reality. The Holy Father recalled how often the media tells of those who are suffering from lack of food and water, with serious consequences particularly for children.

“Faced with some news and especially certain images, the public feels touched and responds occasionally with solidarity campaigns. The generous donations made this way, can help alleviate the suffering of so many.”

Charity, in forms of solidarity campaigns, donations, and so on, is important, but perhaps does not involve us directly enough, the Pope observed.

“But when, going down the street,” he explained, “we cross a person in need, or a poor man comes knocking at the door of our house, it is very different, because they are no longer in front of an image, but we are personally involved. There is no longer any distance between me and him or her.”

“In these cases, what is my reaction?” he asked those present to consider.

He told those present to ponder how often we say when praying the Our Father, “Give us this day our daily bread,” and yet we do not really focus on those words.

Every day, Francis lamented, many are starving, right next to abundance and waste.

Citing the Apostle James, he reminded those gathered that faith without works is dead, and that we cannot delegate our responsibility to help the starving and thirsty.

“This poor [person],” he urged those to realize, “needs me, my help, my word, my commitment.” He reminded them how Jesus instructs us to do so in Gospel.

If we offer the little we have, entrusting those in need to Jesus’ hands, and remain prayerful, the Jesuit Pope highlight, this can do great things.

Citing his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, in his Encyclical Caritas in Veritate, Francis quoted: “Feed the hungry (cf. Mt 25: 35, 37, 42) is an ethical imperative for the universal Church…It is necessary to cultivate a public conscience that considers food and access to water as universal rights of all human beings, without distinction or discrimination.”

The Holy Father concluded, stressing how we are to give food to the hungry and drink to the thirsty, imitating the mercy of the Lord, who said ‘I am the bread of life’ and ‘He who is thirsty come to me.’

Holy See’s Note on 1st Anniversary of Adoption of Sustainable Development Goals Below is the text of the Holy See’s Note On 1st Anniversary Of Adoption Of Sustainable Development Goals, written by Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations. It was published on Oct.18. on The Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nation website: Introduction 1. With proper and laudable aspirations, the 2030 Agenda, a non-binding international plan of action, was adopted by the General Assembly in the form of a resolution.[1] It is divided into five parts: (a) the preamble; (b) the Declaration; (c) the Sustainable Development Goals and targets; (d) the means of implementation and the Global Partnership; (e) the follow-up and review.

2.

In fulfilling its specifically spiritual and moral mission in the international community and within the framework of its particular status in the United Nations, the Holy See actively participated in the negotiations over the course of nearly two and a half years, both in the Open Working Group of the General Assembly on Sustainable Development Goals and in the intergovernmental negotiations on the post2015 development agenda.

3.

Pope Francis, in his address to the General Assembly on 25 September 2015, described the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the summit as “an important sign of hope”. A hope that will be realized if the Agenda is truly, fairly and effectively implemented.

4.

However, Pope Francis has warned the international community about the danger of falling into “a declarationist nominalism”, which means the practice of “assuaging consciences” with solemn and agreeable

declarations, rather than rendering “truly effective the struggle against all scourges”. The Holy See, for example, expresses its hope that the current indicator of extreme poverty, approximately a dollar a day, could be accompanied by or substituted with more ambitious and broader indicators. The Holy Father has also alerted the international community to the peril of thinking that “a single theoretical and aprioristic solution will provide an answer to all the challenges”.

5.

Heeding the words of Pope Francis, the Holy See wishes to consider certain principles in evaluating the 2030 Agenda and in interpreting and implementing it at the national and international levels. To this end, the present note is divided into two parts. Part I sets out the key points contained in the address of Pope Francis to the United Nations as they relate to the 2030 Agenda. Part II considers the 2030 Agenda in the light of these and other principles.

Part I: general principles 6.

Understanding integral human development. The pillars of integral human development, namely, the right to life and, more generally, the right to existence of human nature itself, are threatened when we no longer recognize any instance above ourselves or see nothing else but ourselves. This can only be remedied by recognition of a moral law that is written into human nature itself, one which includes absolute respect for life in all its stages and dimensions and the natural difference between man and woman. Human rights derive from a correct understanding of human nature, the human person, inherent human dignity and the moral law.

7.

Recognizing the poor as dignified agents of their own destiny. To enable men and women to escape from extreme poverty, they must be dignified agents of their own destiny, taking into consideration that integral human development and the full exercise of human dignity cannot be imposed, but rather allowed to unfold for each individual, for every family, in relation to others, and in a right relationship with those areas in which human social life develops.[2] 8.

Providing both spiritual and material means. At the same time, the minimum spiritual and material means are needed to enable a person to live in dignity and to create and support a family, which is the primary cell of any social development. In practical terms, this means: religious freedom and education, as well as lodging, labour, land, food, water and health care.

9.

Respect for the principle of justice.

Justice[3] requires concrete steps and immediate measures for preserving and improving the natural environment and putting an end to the phenomenon of social and economic exclusion, with its baneful consequences.[4] 10. The right to education in the light of the transcendent destiny of the human person.

The right to a quality and integral education must include religious education. This presupposes a holistic approach, which is ensured first and foremost by respecting and reinforcing the primary right of the family to educate its children, as well as the right of churches and social groups to support and

assist families in this endeavour. Indeed, education, which etymologically means “to bring out” or “to lead out”, has a fundamental role in helping people to discover their talents and potential for putting them at the service of mankind: each person has something to offer to society and must be enabled to provide his or her contribution. An authentic education should focus on relationships because development is the fruit of good relations.

11. Respect for the rule of law. It follows that if we want true integral human development for all, we must work to avoid conflict between nations and between peoples by ensuring the uncontested rule of law.

12. Peaceful resolution of disputes. We must have recourse to the peaceful resolution of disputes through dialogue, negotiation, mediation and arbitration; the renewal and acceleration of efforts in the disarmament process; transparency in the sale of arms and prohibitions in this trade to countries in conflict.

13.

Service to others and respect for the common good. This calls for a wisdom which is open to the reality of transcendence and which recognizes that the full meaning of individual and collective life is found in selfless service to others and in the prudent and respectful use of creation for the common good.

14.

Building the foundation of universal fraternity. In the final analysis, the common home of all men and women must continue to be constructed on the foundations of a correct understanding of universal fraternity and respect for the sacredness of created nature, beginning with every human life.

Part II: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 15. The 2030 Agenda is a clear sign that, in spite of differences in some areas, the international community has come together and affirmed its commitment to eradicate poverty in all its forms and dimensions and to ensure that all children, women and men

throughout the world will have the conditions necessary to live in true freedom and dignity.

Keeping in mind that the Holy See agrees with most of the goals and targets enumerated in the Agenda, at this point, the Holy See, in conformity with its nature and particular mission, wishes to make clarifications and reservations on some of the concepts used in the 2030 Agenda. The Holy See wishes to highlight the fact that the comments made herein take into consideration the reservations it entered into the record concerning targets 3.7 and 5.6, paragraph 26 of the Agenda as well as certain expressions, the full details of which can be found in the Holy See’s position statement on the 2030 Agenda.[5] 16.

Interpretation. The 2030 Agenda acknowledges that it must be interpreted in accordance with international law, including international human rights law (General Assembly resolution 70/1, paras. 10, 18 and 19). (a) That the Agenda should be interpreted pursuant to these norms means — and the Holy See emphasizes — a “proper interpretation” in accordance with consolidated and recognized principles.[6] (b) In this regard, the Holy See maintains that the 2030 Agenda should be construed in good faith according to the ordinary meaning of the terms in their context and in the light of the 2030 Agenda’s object and purpose, which is set out in the preamble and reaffirmed in the Declaration. (c) It follows that the goals, targets and eventual indicators should not be considered in isolation from the Agenda. (d) The Holy See is guided by the concept of the common good, as defined in the present note (see para. 19 (b)), in addition to the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity, which are explicitly reflected in the 2030 Agenda, in a variety of ways. (e) The principles of national sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of States are also explicitly acknowledged

along with the “different approaches, visions, models and tools available to each country” (ibid., para. 59; see also preamble, para. 5 and paras. 3, 5, 18, 21, 38, 47, 55, 56).

17.

Purpose of the Agenda. With the 2030 Agenda, the international community is committed to “eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions” (preamble, para. 1) based on the “centrality of the human person as the subject primarily responsible for development” and the related pledge that “no one will be left behind” (preamble, para. 2 and paras. 4, 48).[7] (a) It is in this perspective that the entire 2030 Agenda should be read, and this includes the respect for the right to life of the person, from conception until natural death.[8] (b) The poles of human life have been described by Pope Francis as “the strength” and “memory” of the family in underlining that “[a] people incapable of caring for children and caring for the elderly is a people without a future, because it lacks the strength and the memory needed to move forward”.[9] 18. Centrality of the human person. That the human person is the primary subject responsible for development (preamble, paras.

1, 2, 5 and 7 and paras. 1, 2, 27, 50, 52, 74 (e)), means that we need a deeper appreciation “of our common origin, of our mutual belonging, and of a future to be shared with everyone”.[10] (a) This, in turn, entails a growing awareness of our general human nature, of the transcendent dimension of human existence as well as respect for the human body in its femininity or masculinity.[11] (b) A correct understanding of the human person, as a unity of body and soul, leads to a recognition that sexuality is an important dimension of human identity. (c) Sexuality must be lived in accordance with the dignity of each person, who does not have individual sexual rights, since a sexual relationship requires full respect for the dignity and liberty of each person forming the couple.

19. The concept of human dignity. The 2030

Agenda uses the term “dignity” in a variety of ways (preamble, para. 4 and paras. 4, 8, 50). (a) It acknowledges the dignity of every human being in using the term “human dignity”, which the Holy See understands to mean inherent and inalienable human dignity, that is, the transcendent worth of the human person, from which rights and duties derive.[12] (b) The Agenda also speaks of persons who live in dignity, which the Holy See relates to the principle of the common good: an objective evaluation of a relatively thorough and ready access to the sum of conditions of social life directed to integral development and genuine fulfillment.[13] (c) In addition, the Holy See maintains that each person has an “acquired dignity” that is developed when one freely maximizes or perfects his or her possibilities in accordance with right reason, and for believers, such reason is illumined by faith.[14] 20. Promotion of women and men, girls and boys. We must acknowledge that women have a special role to play in the family and society and with specific regard to integral human development per se. (a) This is due to their unique presence in the creation of life as physical and spiritual mothers, who have special, but not exclusive gifts, that include defending, nurturing, and caring for life, from conception until natural death. (b) It follows that women must be promoted and given the means to realize their inherent dignity as feminine persons and protected from psychological and physical violence, through all forms of abortion, including female feticide and female infanticide, so that they can contribute their gifts in all contexts of society, including informal peace processes (such as the family and various organizations) and formal peace processes. (c) The Holy See emphasizes that any references to “gender”, “gender equality” and “gender equality and empowerment of women and girls” are understood according to the

ordinary, generally accepted usage of the word “gender” based on the biological identity that is male and female, which is, in turn, reinforced by the numerous references in the 2030 Agenda to both sexes (paras. 15, 20, 25). Pope Francis, following in the footsteps of his predecessors, has frequently spoken about the perils of “gender ideology” which denies the relevance of biological sex, male and female, in opining that there is a plethora of “genders” based on one’s subjective perceptions.[15] (d) By using the term “promotion”, instead of “empowerment”, the Holy See seeks to avoid a disordered view of authority as power rather than service,[16] and expresses the hope that women and girls, in particular, will challenge this flawed perspective of authority with a view to humanizing the situations in which they live. (e) Consequently, to avoid ideological and political connotations, the expression “promotion of women” should be understood as respect for the dignity of women, strengthening them, educating them, giving them a voice when they have none and helping them to develop abilities and assume responsibilities. (f) However, the promotion of women is difficult to achieve without the “promotion of men”, in the sense of encouraging and supporting them to be responsible husbands and fathers and to assume their responsibilities in advancing the integral development of women and girls.

21.

Health. The Holy See supports and

promotes access to basic health care and affordable medicines as well as a broad healthcare context which includes clean water, sanitation, electricity for hospitals and healthcare units and the training of nurses and doctors. The Holy See reads Goal 2 as including the right to food and Goal 6 as including the right to water and the concept of affordable water. (a) The term “healthy life” is to be understood to mean the health of the person as a whole — including the most vulnerable, the unborn, the sick, the disabled — during all stages of development of the life of the person, taking into consideration every dimension (physical, psychological, spiritual and emotional). (b) Since the right to health is a corollary to the right to life, it can never be used as a way to end the life of a person, who is such from conception until natural death. The same is true for targets 3.7 and 5.6. In brief, target 3.7 advocates “universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes” while target 5.6 calls for “universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights”. (c) In regard to “reproductive health” and related expressions, including “sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights” (target 5.6), the very terms “reproduction” and “reproductive” are problematic since they obscure the transcendent dimension of human procreation. The term “procreation” is preferred because it reflects the participation of the couple, man and woman, in God’s work of creation. (d) The Holy See does not consider such terms as applying to a holistic concept of health, as they fail to embrace, each in their own particular way, the person in the entirety of his or her personality, mind and body, and they further fail to foster the achievement of

personal maturity in sexuality and in the area of mutual love and decision-making, thereby overlooking the characteristics of the conjugal relationship between a married man and woman that are in accordance with moral norms.[17] The Holy See rejects the interpretation that considers abortion or access to abortion, maternal surrogacy or sexselective abortion, and sterilization as dimensions of these terms. (e) In regard to Goal 10 devoted to reducing inequality within and among countries and target 10.b on development assistance, it should be understood that States and international organizations are not permitted to use coercion or the exertion of pressure on other States and organizations in order to impose policies that undermine the ethical and cultural foundations of the society through international economic assistance or development programmes.[18] (f) Similarly, national governments should ensure that public and private health care respect the inherent dignity of the human person and ethical and medical protocols, based on right reason, as well as the freedom of religion and right to conscientious objection of health-care workers and providers.

22. The rights and duties of the family. That the human person, a social being, is at the heart of the 2030 Agenda means — and the Holy See emphasizes — that the family, the natural and fundamental unit of society, based on marriage between one man and one woman, is also at the centre of development, and in accordance with international human rights law is entitled to protection by society and the State.[19] The 2030 Agenda also rightly recognizes the importance of “cohesive communities and families” (para. 25). (a) The communion between husband and wife gives life to the love and solidarity of all members of the family, from which local, national, regional and international solidarity derive. For purposes of international law, a distinction must be made between the family as

a “unit of society” and “household”, the term used in Goal 5, target 5.4. (b) The latter term includes a variety of living situations (for example, child-headed households, single mothers with children under their care, cohabitating couples), whose individual members and their well-being are always of concern for the State. On the other hand, such protection should never detract from the special protection that must be given to the family which is the natural and fundamental unit of society as a subject of rights and duties prior to the State.[20] (c) On this point, the Holy See relies on the “Charter of the Rights of the Family” (1983) in relation to what protection for the family might entail through its consideration of the issues based on right reason. (d) In the words of Pope Francis, “[w]e cannot call any society healthy when it does not leave real room for family life. We cannot think that a society has a future when it fails to pass laws capable of protecting families and ensuring their basic needs”.[21] 23.

The rights and duties of parents. The recognition of the special protection to be given the family based on the marriage between one man and one woman, recognized in international law, means that the international community favours the transmission of life with the intimate relationship of parents and care of their children. (a) This reality is supported by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, when it recognizes that the family is “the natural environment for the growth and well-being of all its members and particularly children” (Convention on the Rights of the Child, preamble, para. 5); and when it acknowledges that a child has the “right to know and be cared for by his or her parents” (Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 7). (b) The Holy See underlines that it cannot endorse methods of family planning which fundamentally separate the essential dimensions of sexuality, namely the unitive and

procreative elements of the conjugal act between a husband and a wife.[22] (c) Moreover, the responsible and moral decisions concerning the number of children and the spacing of births belong to parents, who must be free from all coercion and pressure from public authorities, including any demographic data that might induce fear and anxiety about the future. Fertility awareness and education are fundamental in the promotion of responsible parenthood.[23] (d) The governments of countries should also be free from similar coercion and pressure, especially by “oppressive lending systems”.[24] In this regard, Pope Francis has also underlined the perils of “ideological colonization”, that is, when the cost of receiving the money is the imposition of an idea upon the people that “changes, or means to change, a mentality or a structure”.[25] (e) Furthermore, in the first instance, parents have the responsibility to protect the rights of the children “before as well as after birth” and together with the State must ensure access “to pre-natal and post-natal health care” (Convention on the Rights of the Child, preamble, para. 9 and para. 24). (f) Consequently, the Holy See reads the 2030 Agenda, with particular regard to the reduction of preventable “newborn, child and maternal mortality”, so as to include the unborn child. (g) With specific regard to young parents, so that a man and a woman of the appropriate age may marry each other, conditions must be developed to assist these couples with particular attention to work, education, rest and family balancing issues. (h) In addition, the Holy See has continually emphasized the prior rights of parents to educate their child according to their religious and moral beliefs, including dimensions of human love and related matters concerning the nature of sexuality, marriage and the family.[26] 24.

Freedom of religion. From the perspective of the Holy See, the phrase ending

“poverty in all its forms” (General Assembly resolution 70/1, preamble, para. 1), includes material, social and spiritual poverty. The 2030 Agenda acknowledges intercultural understanding and recognizes international human rights law, both of which include religious freedom. (a) The Holy See wishes to emphasize that the religious dimension is not a “subculture without right to a voice in the public square”; it is a fundamental part of every people and every nation and “by its nature, transcends places of worship and the private sphere of individuals and families”.[27] (b) Religious freedom “shapes the way we interact socially and personally with our neighbours whose religious views differ from our own” and interreligious dialogue, permits us to speak to one another, as opposed to taking up arms.[28] (c) Taking into consideration the ongoing atrocities against Christians and other religious minorities, the Holy See maintains that issues relating to religious freedom per se and freedom of conscience as well as interreligious and intrareligious dialogue must be given priority for the ultimate success of the 2030 Agenda. (d) Indeed, the separate goals in the 2030

Agenda relating to peace and inclusive societies are of particular importance for the related crisis concerning the increasing numbers of migrants, refugees and displaced persons, who are obviously bringing with them various religious traditions. (e) The strength, determination and perseverance of these people “remind us of the transcendent dimension of human existence and our irreducible freedom in the face of any claim to absolute power”.[29] 25. Integral human development. According to the 2030 Agenda, it is an “integrated” development plan based on the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental, which, as noted above, puts the human person at the heart of the plan (preamble). (a) This means that the success of the 2030 Agenda depends upon going beyond the language of economics and statistics precisely because the real emphasis is on the human person and his or her activities.[30] (b) Therefore, considerations of a moral, spiritual and religious dimension cannot be ignored without serious detriment to the human person and his or her full development. (c) It follows that Goal 12 on ensuring sustainable consumption and production

patterns should be understood as not only regarding limits on natural resources but also as including criteria that relates to the promotion of solidarity and self-restraint. (d) With regard to the term “sustainable development” the Holy See understands the concept as referring to the acknowledgement of “the limits of available resources, and of the need to respect the integrity and the cycles of nature … [as well as] the nature of each being and of its mutual connection in an ordered system, which is precisely the cosmos”.[31] (e) The Holy See prefers to use the expression “integral human development”, which includes sustainable development.

1. General Assembly resolution 70/1 of 25 September 2015, entitled “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”.

2. For example, families, friends, communities, towns and cities, schools, businesses and unions, provinces and nations.

3. It is noteworthy that the perennial concept of justice is the constant and perpetual will to give to the other what is his or her due.

4. For example, human trafficking, the marketing of human organs and tissues, the sexual exploitation of boys and girls, slave labour, including prostitution, the drug and weapons trade, terrorism and international organized crime.

5. Position statement of the Holy See on the

outcome document of the United Nations summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda, “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” (New York, 1 September 2015); see also the explanation of position and reservations of the Holy See on the report of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (A/68/970/Add.1, pp. 2223).

6. Ibid.

7. Ibid.

8. Ibid.

9. Pope Francis, “Prayer vigil for the Festival of Families: address of the Holy Father”, Philadelphia, 26 September 2015.

10. Position statement on the 2030 Agenda.

11. Ibid.

12. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, preamble, para. 1; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, preamble, paras. 1 and 2; and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, preamble, paras. 1 and 2.

13. See Catechism of the Catholic Church 1905-1912, 1924-1927 (1993); and Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the modern world, Gaudium et Spes, 7 December 1965, No. 26.

14. Pontifical Council for the Family, “The family and human rights”, 1998, No. 13.

15. See, for example, Pope Francis, “Address to the bishops of the Episcopal Conference of

Puerto Rico on their Ad Limina visit”, Domus Sanctae Marthae, 8 June 2015; see also encyclical letter “Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home”, 24 May 2015, No. 155; and “Address to the United Nations Organization”, New York, 25 September 2015.

16. Pope Francis, homily, 19 March 2013; see also Congregation on the Doctrine of the Faith, “Letter to the bishops of the Catholic Church on the collaboration of men and women in the Church and in the world” (2004).

17. See Report of the International Conference on Population and Development, Cairo, 5-13 September 1994 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.95.XIII.18), chap. V, para. 27; see also position statement on the 2030 Agenda.

18. In “Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home”, No. 50, the Pope lamented that “[i]nstead of resolving the problems of the poor and thinking of how the world can be different, some can only propose a reduction in the birth rate” and apply international pressure on developing countries, “which make economic assistance contingent on certain policies of ‘reproductive health’”.

19. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, art. 16.3; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 23.1; and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, art. 10.1.

20. Ibid.

21. See “Prayer vigil for the Festival of Families: address of the Holy Father”, 2015; see also the intervention of the Secretary for Relations with States at the United Nations summit for the adoption of the post-2015 d e v e l o p m e n t a g e n d a , N e w Yo r k , 2 7 September 2015: “The family, the natural and fundamental unit of society, is the primary agent of sustainable development, and therefore the model of communion and solidarity among nations and international institutions. A shared concern for the family and its members is a sure contributor to poverty reduction, better outcomes for children, equality between girls and boys,

women and men, as well as improved workfamily-rest balance, and stronger intra- and intergenerational bonds. It would do us well not to forget the ample evidence that family-friendly policies — including respect for religion and the right of parents to educate their children — contribute effectively to the achievement of development goals, including the cultivation of peaceful societies”.

22. See position statement on the 2030 Agenda; see also Report of the International Conference on Population and Development, chap. V, para. 27.

23. See Pope Francis, “Meeting with representatives of civil society: address of the Holy Father”, Apostolic journey to Ecuador, Plurinational State of Bolivia and Paraguay, July 2015.

24. See “Address to the United Nations Organization”, New York, 25 September 2015.

25. See Pope Francis, in-flight press conference from the Philippines to Rome, 19 January 2015; see also “Meeting with families: address of His Holiness Pope Francis”, Mall of Asia Arena, Manila, 16 January 2015.

26. Ibid.

27. See Pope Francis, “Meeting for religious liberty with the Hispanic community and other immigrants: address of the Holy Father”, Philadelphia, 26 September 2015.

28. Ibid.

29. Ibid.

30. See position statement on the 2030 Agenda; see also the intervention of the Secretary for Relations with States, New York, 27 September 2015.

31. Pope John Paul II, encyclical letter, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 30 December 1987, Nos. 26 and 34.

Pope Francis says Christians without tenderness, respect are The sin committed most frequently in Christian parishes and groups is bad-mouthing and backstabbing each other, which not only divides the community, but drives away people who come seeking God, Pope Francis said to parishioners in his homily during an evening Mass at a parish on the outskirts of Rome on 21 May. “Truly, this pains me to the core. It’s as if we were throwing stones among ourselves, one against the other. And the devil enjoys it; it’s a carnival for the devil.”

The Holy Father told parishioners at the church of San Pier Damiani how important their use of language was. As baptised members of the church, every Christian has been given the gift of the Holy Spirit, he said.

“People must continue to pray for and safeguard that gift, which includes using a ‘special language’. It is a language of tenderness and respect that is also mirrored in one’s behaviour.

“It is so awful to see these people who call themselves Christians but they are filled with bitterness or anger, he said in a homily that was off-the-cuff.

“The devil knows how to weaken people’s efforts to serve God and safeguard the Holy Spirit’s presence inside them. He will do everything so our language is not tender and not respectful,” the Pope said.

“A Christian community that does not safeguard the Holy Spirit with tenderness and with respect is like the serpent with the long, long tongue, who is depicted in statues as being crushed under Mary’s foot,” he added.

Pope Francis greets a family during his visit to the parish of San Pier Damiani May 21 at Casal Bernocchi on the outskirts of Rome.

Photo: CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano.

Pope Francis said a priest once told him about some people in a parish whose tongues were so long from wagging gossip that they could take Communion from the front door; they could reach the altar with the tongue they have.

“This is the enemy that destroys our communities – chatter, adding it was also the most common sin in our Christian communities.

“A language that boasts or shows off out of ambition, envy, jealousy not only divides those already gathered, it drives off newcomers,” he said.

“How many people step inside a parish in search of God’s peace and tenderness but instead they encounter gossip, competition and internal fighting among the faithful.

“And then what do they say? ‘If these are Christians, I’d rather stay pagan.’ And they leave, disappointed,” the Pontiff said. “We are the ones pushing them away.”

Before celebrating Mass in the parish, the Pope heard the confessions of four penitents, greeted the sick, met with members of the Neocatechumenal Way and spent time with people receiving assistance from the local

Caritas.

“While poverty or not having enough to get by is a terrible cross, it is the way Jesus chose to come into the world and live.

“We have to pray for the wealthy, for the wealthy who have too much and do not know what to do with the money and want more.

Poor things.

“It’s not about hating the rich, because that is not Christian but praying for them so they will not become corrupt and they will recognize the wealth is not theirs, it is God’s that he gave them to administer by being generous, working honestly and living simply and austerely,” Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis also told them he understood why, because of all the red tape, their pastor built without legal permits the kitchen they use to make meals for those in need. Sometimes things are made so complicated as a way to bring in bribes, since bureaucracy, usually, loosens with payoffs.

Earlier, the Pope sat down with children and young adults at the parish-run sports centre for a brief Q&A outside in the warm sun.

He reminisced about growing up as one of five children who knew how to have fun.

Wanting to illustrate the happy times they had, he also had to preface his anecdote with a, ‘don’t try this at home’ warning, as he told them about a parachuting contest they had which involved jumping off a balcony with an umbrella. One brother went first and escaped harm by a hair’s breadth.

“These are dangerous games but we were happy,” he said, emphasising how they should cherish having a family and relatives who care about them. He also said that they should obey their parents because they make many sacrifices for their well-being.

“It’s a beautiful thing, it is a beautiful vocation, to have a family,” the Pope ended.

Major Christian Charity Is Closing India Operations Amid a Crackdown India’s crackdown on foreign aid will claim its most prominent casualty this month, as a Colorado-based Christian charity that is one of India’s biggest donors closes its operations here after 48 years, informing tens of thousands of children that they will no longer receive meals, medical care or tuition payments.

T h e s h u t d o w n o f t h e c h a r i t y, Compassion International, on suspicion of engaging in religious conversion, comes as India, a rising economic power with a swelling spirit of nationalism, curtails the flow of foreign money to activities it deems “detrimental to the national interest.”

More than 11,000 nongovernmental organizations have lost their licenses to accept foreign funds since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014. Major Western funders — among them George Soros’s Open Society Foundations and the National Endowment for Democracy — have been barred from transferring funds without permission from Indian security officials.

But few have been as vocal about their struggle as Compassion International, which solicits donations through its $38-a-month “sponsor a child” program and distributes them through church-affiliated service centers. It has repeatedly ranked as India’s largest single foreign donor, transferring around $45 million a year.

Narendra Modi’s Crackdown on Civil Society in India.

U.S. Ambassador Criticizes India’s Crackdown on Charities and Activist Groups MAY 6, 2015

Indian Authorities Put Restrictions on Ford Foundation APRIL 23, 2015 Its executives vehemently deny the government’s allegation that it is funding religious conversions, and say India has given them no opportunity to rebut the accusation.

Instead, they say they found themselves in murky back-channel negotiations with a representative of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or R.S.S., a right-wing Hindu ideological group that is closely connected with the governing Bharatiya Janata Party, or B.J.P., but that has no official role in governing.

“You think, ‘Wow, am I negotiating with the government or am I negotiating with an ideological movement that is fueling the government?’” said Santiago Mellado, Compassion International’s chief executive officer, in a telephone interview from the charity’s offices in Colorado Springs. He added that a briefing on the situation would be submitted to the Trump administration this week.

A spokesman for India’s Ministry of Home Affairs, which oversees regulation of foreign charities, declined repeated requests for comment on the case.

A Foreign Ministry official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, following diplomatic protocol, said that Compassion International’s partners were violating Indian law by engaging in religious activities, and that

the organization declined a government offer to re-register as a religious organization, which would have allowed it to continue its work in India.

Religious charities, which make up half of the dozen top international donors to India, are watching the case closely, Mr. Mellado said.

“What we hear from our friends in India is that it would be tragic if they were successful in shutting down Compassion, because that would leave other ministries very vulnerable,” Mr. Mellado said. “They are feeling like they’re next.”

India has long had a law regulating the use of foreign aid, but Mr. Modi’s government has applied it in rigorous fashion, canceling the registrations of more than 10,000 nongovernmental groups, mostly small ones, in 2015.

That summer, income tax investigators began raiding offices affiliated with Compassion International, apparently seeking evidence that funds were being used to convert Indian families.

Sam Jebagnanam, a field officer based in Chennai, described the searches as “harrowing,” with staff members questioned through the night and forbidden to leave the office, summon a lawyer or order food.

The investigators, he said, focused their questions on a vacation Bible school funded by the charity. Seventy-six percent of the children served by the program are Hindu, and 28 percent are Christian, he said.

At another raid, he said, a top executive was interrogated under oath at 3 a.m.

“They kept asking him: ‘Why did you have a spiritual component to the program?

What do you do in the area of spiritual development?’” he said. “We said we teach moral values; we do not force anyone into religion.”

Compassion International executives learned early last year, from an item in an Indian newspaper, that their group had been added to the list of organizations whose

transfers required prior permission by the Ministry of Home Affairs, said Stephen Oakley, Compassion’s general counsel.

By summer, $600,000 in donations was stuck in an Indian bank account awaiting permission that did not come. In November, two of the group’s main affiliates — in Chennai and Kolkata — were denied authorization to use foreign funds.

In the United States, Mr. Mellado was pressing, with an increasing sense of urgency, for an opportunity to plead his case with Indian officials.

But the only interlocutors they could find were through unofficial channels. In October, a Washington-based representative of the R.S.S., Shekhar Tiwari, reached out to John Prabhudoss, who heads an umbrella organization of Indian-American Christians and has a long association with Compassion International and its leaders, Mr. Prabhudoss said.

Mr. Mellado said he was puzzled by the indirect outreach, but decided to give it a try.

“We are trying to navigate through understanding of the dynamics on the Indian side,” he said. “We understand that the B.J.P. and the R.S.S. are tied together somehow, so it seems to us that we also need to be talking to the R.S.S.” Through Mr. Prabhudoss, Mr. Tiwari put

forward a proposal: The government might view Compassion International more favorably if the charity routed a portion of its $45 million in annual charitable donations away from churches and through non-Christian aid groups, including Hindu ones.

“They were asking me, ‘How do you think we can solve this problem?’” Mr. Tiwari said. “I told them, instead of having all your partners Christian, have some Buddhists, Hindus, Jains, Sikh organizations.”

Mr. Prabhudoss and Mr. Mellado both said that the suggestion was to fund R.S.S.affiliated organizations, though Mr. Tiwari denies suggesting that. They rejected the idea, which they viewed as “inappropriate,” Mr. Mellado said.

An official from India’s Ministry of External Affairs denied that the R.S.S. representative had any role in the government’s actions, calling the discussion “totally extraneous to the law enforcement action.”

Things went downhill quickly after that. In early January, Mr. Oakley, the general counsel, went to New Delhi to plead his case to India’s foreign secretary, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, in a meeting also attended by the secondranked United States diplomat in India.

It was the first and last meeting between the charity’s leaders and government officials, and Mr. Oakley described it as bitterly contentious.

As it came to an end, he said, a Home Ministry official suggested that Compassion International re-register its Indian partners as religious entities, a step that the charity’s legal team discouraged, saying it would lead to further paralysis.

“It was a very disingenuous offer,” Mr. Oakley said. “Either he didn’t know that was legally impossible, or it was an offer designed to end the meeting.”

Last week, word went out to the group’s 500 Indian partners that they would have to shut down their operations. Among them is

Bethesda Charitable Endeavors, which funds a community center in a town called Haldwani, in the Himalayan foothills.

The center’s employees have cleared out four of their nine rented rooms, and 250 children have been told not to return there.

Pramod Dass, who directs the charity, organized a morose little closing ceremony last week in his Delhi office.

“I was heartbroken, because for the past six months, we were living in hope that something would happen,” he said. “Maybe a miracle.”

Already, 15,000 of the 145,000 Indian children regularly receiving services through Compassion International have been severed from the programs. Beginning on Friday, the sponsors will be contacted individually, at the rate of 2,500 per day, and asked to transfer their sponsorships from Indian children to children from other countries.

“That process is irreversible,” Mr. Mellado said. “We would have to start all over in India, and for 145,000 children, it will take years.”

Priya Saxena, 13, is among the children who have been asked not to return to the community center in Haldwani.

Over the four years she has been attending the center every day after school, she said, she has learned to speak and write English, received vaccinations for typhoid and eaten regular high-protein meals.

Her father, a vegetable vendor, earns a monthly salary of about 1000 rupees, or around $16.

“Now I do not know what the future holds for me,” she said. “I hoped to become a doctor.

But now that we are told we will no longer have sponsors to see us through the education, I don’t know what will happen.”

She added: “This place taught me to have a life. It is finished now.”