News & Events

Meet the young MC Sister from Miao Diocese

Congratulations to Sr. Marylinn Peenya Mema MC, daughter of Samngak Mema and Charan Mema from Paniduria village. She made her First Profession as a Missionaries of Charity Sister on 23 May 2023. She is posted in Ranchi. As we congratulate her, let us pray for her that she will serve the Lord in the poorest of the poor and lead people closer to the...

Guwahati: The Catholic Bishops of North East India made a fresh appeal for peace on Sunday amidst news of growing tension and reports of ongoing violence in Manipur. The appeal was made after the Bishops of North East India Regional Bishops’ Conference had an emergency meeting in Silchar on the occasion of the Episcopal Ordination of Joachim Walder as Auxiliary Bishop of Aizawl. “It is with great pain and intense anxiety that we have been following the great tragedies that have taken place in Manipur recently. We grieve with our brothers and sisters who have fallen victims to violence and have suffered in consequence,” John Moolachira, chairman of the North East India Regional Bishops Council, said in a statement. “The loss of precious lives and property has been immense. A large number of people have moved out of the state. The atmosphere continues to be tense. Painful incidents are still reported. While we have initiated relief work, we are far from a position to cope with the situation. We cry for help on behalf of those who suffer,” he said. “At the same time, we urge all our friends in Manipur to think of their glorious history when different communities wholeheartedly collaborated and set a model in various areas of civic life. Their cultural achievements have been many. Their contribution to the nation has been in various areas of life. Great possibilities still remain, if only they put their good will and talents together,” the chairman said. The council further stated, “We request intellectuals and creative thinkers of the communities to think ways of easing the situation, exploring a constructive way forward and devise ways of settling the differences. They will surely find areas where concessions can be made in view of the common good and collaborative steps can be initiated in view of a shared future. Both communities concerned know their destinies are intertwined.” “May future generations be able to thank the sobriety, balance and wisdom of our present leaders for their timely intervention and the entire society for their wholehearted collaboration,” it...

Namphai, 25 May 2023: In its effort to fight drug and other substance addiction among the youth in Arunachal Pradesh, Miao diocese has opened ‘Auxilium Wellness Centre’, a deaddiction facility for girls and women at Namphai II in Changlang district on 24 May 2023. Drug menace is a big problem across Arunachal Pradesh and it feeds on the future prospects of the nation, said Bishop George Pallipparambil of Miao diocese. Leading the inaugural function, he said, “It is a dream-come-true project for all the people of Arunachal Pradesh, especially in the eastern part. We hope this facility for girls will not only bring people out of addiction but also contribute to the overall health of the people all over Arunachal Pradesh.” According to a latest national survey, the districts of Namsai, Lohit, Dibang Valley, Upper Siang, Anjaw, Tirap and West Kameng are said to be among the 272 worst drug-abuse districts in the country. Speaking at the function as Chief Guest, Ibom Tao, the Additional Deputy Commissioner of Miao, said, “Drug and opium abuse is destroying our society and this centre is a need of the hour because there are so many addicted people here. Merely arresting them and putting them behind bars is not a solution. This wellness centre will be a great blessing and an asset for the people around.” The Wellness Centre with all the modern facilities has capacity to treat 45 in-patients for deaddiction. The centre has also day-care facility for alternative therapy, sujok therapy, magnet therapy, acupressure therapy and full-body wellness massage therapy available for both men and women. Appreciating the Church for this noble effort, Tao said, “Catholic Church wherever it has reached has contributed to the people with education, social-service and health care. This centre is also an example of how the Church constantly contributes to society building. Public and district administration should help, support and cooperate to ensure smooth functioning of this facility.” The centre has a small dispensary to cater to the medical needs of the people in the neighbouring villages, especially to pregnant women and children, including health awareness outreach programme. Sister Alphonsa Kurisingl FMA, the provincial superior of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, who will run the facility, said, “With this centre we commit ourselves to the healing ministry to provide the best care to everyone. Our wholistic approach involves working with mind, body and spirit for a complete change in behaviour and attitude that puts patients on the path to a healthy and worthwhile life.” Expressing happiness over the inauguration of the facility, Nongri Taidong, a public leader from Namphai town said the centre is indeed a blessing for our people. It will bring down the crimes related to drug-abuse in our district and beyond. “We hope in the coming days the district administration grants necessary permission to make the centre open also to men,” he said. Established to mark the centenary year of the FMA presence in North East India, the Auxilium Wellness Centre will be headed by Sister Sudem Basumatary FMA, a trained professional in dealing with addiction, counselling and alternative...

Introduction Are we speaking with the heart? As journalists, do we speak the truth in love? These are two relevant questions we need to ask ourselves, reflecting on the message of Pope Francis on 57th World Communication Day. With misinformation almost becoming synonymous to journalism, its credibility has hit an all-time low. Deliberate publication of misinformation by journalists is an aberration in journalism practice and a threat to the harmony of the society. This article does not intend to make an exhaustive study on this dangerous environment of falsehood. It rather tries to study the core principles of journalism to aid the journalists in general and church journalists in particular to fight misinformation and disinformation or fake news. Disinformation is an old story fuelled by new technology Mobilising and manipulating information was a feature of history long before modern journalism established standards which define news as a genre based on particular rules of integrity. An early record of fake news dates back to ancient Rome, when Antony met Cleopatra and his political enemy Octavian launched a smear campaign against him with short, sharp slogans written upon coins in the style of archaic Tweets. But the 21st century has seen the weaponisation of information on an unprecedented scale. Powerful new technology makes the manipulation and fabrication of content simple, and social networks dramatically amplify falsehoods peddled by States, populist politicians, and dishonest corporate entities, as they are shared by uncritical publics. What journalism needs to do In this context, it is a time for news media to tack more closely to professional standards and ethics, to eschew the publishing of unchecked information, and to take a distance from information which may interest some of the public but which is not in the public interest. All news institutions, and journalists whatever their political leanings, should avoid inadvertently and uncritically spreading disinformation and misinformation. In much news media today, the elimination of positions providing internal fact checking has to an extent led to the function now being assumed by the “fifth estate” of bloggers and other external actors who call out mistakes made by journalists – though after they are already disseminated. This emergent phenomenon can be welcomed by news media as reinforcing society’s interest in verifiable information. Journalists should bring the work of independent fact-checking groups to larger audiences. The media should be careful that external post-publication corrections do not become a substitute for internal processes of quality control. Journalists have to do better and “get it right” in the first place, or forfeit the possibility of a society to have believable media. In sum, a game of catch-up corrections by external watchdogs is not one in which journalism is a winner. Journalists cannot leave it to fact-checking organisations to do the journalistic work of verifying questionable claims that are presented by sources. Journalism needs to proactively detect and uncover new cases and forms of disinformation. This is mission critical for the news media, and it represents an alternative to regulatory approaches to ‘fake news’. Core principles Aided by process transparency and explicit application of ethical standards, journalism’s distinctive role today lies in its capacity to contribute clarity and build trust around verified content. The following seven principles, which are to varying extents about ethics, should aid the church journalists and...

Margherita, 15 May 2023: A group of nearly 500 youth from across Arunachal Pradesh prayed for peace and forgiveness in Manipur at the Divine Renewal Retreat Centre, Margherita, Assam on Sunday. Leading the candle-lit prayer for peace, Bishop George Pallipparambil of Miao diocese appealed to the youth to be messengers of peace and forgiveness. “What we have witnessed in Manipur is nothing less than what has happened in Ukraine. In this tragic moment of pain and uncertainty, we need to stand united and spread the message of peace across Manipur and in the region,” said the Chairman Bishop of Youth Commission of North East India Regional Bishops’ Council. Ethnic violence that began across the State of Manipur on 3 May has claimed more than 70 lives and over 200 have been critically injured and according to an official record some 30,000 people displaced. “The victims of any form of violence are always the innocent. We express our solidarity with the families affected and we pray that peace and normalcy returns to Manipur soon. We also appeal to each of you to extend your helping hand to support the people affected,” said the Salesian prelate. Having spent weeks in temporary shelters in military camp, many have fled the State to safety across the country. Speaking at the prayer meet, Taw Tebin, the President of Arunachal Pradesh Catholic Association (APCA), said to the youth, “I appeal each of you to keep your eyes and ears open to guard yourselves from the divisive forces that are scheming to create division and polarization on ethnic and religious lines in our state.” In the multi-cultural tribal context of Arunachal Pradesh, the APCA president reminded the youth, “In a state like ours where more than 100 tribes have peacefully coexisted, we can ill afford to have an ethnic conflict like in Manipur. It is not enough that we pray for peace but we need to promote peace.” The unrest in Manipur began when ethnic tribal people organized a protest march against the likelihood of the non-tribal community being recognised as a Scheduled Tribe. “Having to spend cramped camps for weeks, having lost all that we called home once and with our churches being reduced to ashes, our families are left with so much uncertainty towards our future. We do not know when things are going to be normal again,” said Sister Anna Gangmai, a missionary Nun from Manipur working in Arunachal Pradesh. Her family too has been displaced in the violence. 60 percentage of the 30-lakh population of Manipur belong to the Hindu-majority Meitei group, while largely Christian tribal groups like Kukis and Nagas make up the remaining 40 percentage. What began as an ethnic violence has taken an anti-Christian shape with many churches and Christian institutions belonging to both the Maitei and Kukis and Nagas. Considering the selective destruction of property belonging to the Christian groups, the violence bears all the semblance of an orchestrated crime against the minority Christians in the State. As per the official report of the Archdiocese of Imphal on the cost of destruction of St. Paul’s Parish and Pastoral Training Centre, Imphal alone is nearly nine crore Indian rupees. This prayer meet is not just to pray for peace in Manipur but also to guard ourselves against all the...

News & Events

Meet the young MC Sister from Miao Diocese

Catholic Bishops of NE India make fresh appeal for peace in Manipur

Miao Diocese opens deaddiction centre for girls

57th World Communication Day: Journalism in time of misinformation

Arunachal youth pray for peace in Manipur