செய்திகள் - 30.10.15

செய்திகள் - 30.10.15

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1. திருத்தந்தை: மனித துயரங்களில் இறைவன் தன்னையே இணைத்துக் கொள்கிறார்

2. திருத்தந்தை: மறைசாட்சிகள், வெறும் நினைவுச் சின்னங்கள் அல்ல

3. எல் சால்வதோர் பிரதிநிதிகள் குழு திருத்தந்தையுடன் சந்திப்பு

4. சாந்தா மார்த்தா அமைப்பை பாராட்டிய திருத்தந்தை

5. அனைத்து ஆன்மாக்களின் நினைவுநாள் - திருத்தந்தையின் திருப்பலி

6. அமைதியின்றி, யாருக்கும் நம்பிக்கை இல்லை - கர்தினால் பிலோனி

7. சுற்றுச்சூழல் பாதுகாப்பு குறித்து கத்தோலிக்கத் தலைவர்களின் விண்ணப்பம்

8. மரியாதையே தொடர்புகளை வளர்க்கும் வழி - வசாயி பேராயர்

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1. திருத்தந்தை: மனித துயரங்களில் இறைவன் தன்னையே இணைத்துக் கொள்கிறார்

அக்.30,2015. கடவுளின் இரக்கமும், கருணையும் பிறரைக் கண்டு பரிதாபப்படுவதோடு நின்றுவிடும் தன்மை கொண்டதல்ல என்று திருத்தந்தை பிரான்சிஸ் அவர்கள் இன்றைய மறையுரையில் குறிப்பிட்டார்.

இறந்துகொண்டிருக்கும் ஒரு நாயின் மீது நாம் காட்டும் இரக்கத்திற்கும், இறைவன் நம்மீது கொள்ளும் இரக்கத்திற்கும் பெரும் வேறுபாடுகள் உள்ளன என்று இவ்வெள்ளி காலையில், சாந்தா மார்த்தா இல்லச் சிற்றாலயத்தில் ஆற்றிய திருப்பலியில் மறையுரை வழங்கியத் திருத்தந்தை, மனிதர்கள் படும் துயரங்களில் இறைவன் தன்னையே இணைத்துக் கொள்ள விழைந்ததால், அவர் இவ்வுலகிற்கு தன் மகனை அனுப்பினார் என்று, இறை இரக்கத்தை விளக்கிக் கூறினார்.

இறை தந்தையால் அனுப்பப்பட்ட இயேசுவும், மக்களின் துயரங்களில் தன்னையே இணைத்துக் கொண்டதால் அவர்களது நோய்களை குணமாக்கினார் என்று கூறியத் திருத்தந்தை, அருள்பணியாளர்களும், இயேசுவைப் போல, மக்கள் வாழ்வில் தங்களையே இணைத்துக்கொள்ள வேண்டும் என்று கூறினார்.

இவ்வெள்ளி காலை திருப்பலியில் கலந்துகொண்ட, கர்தினால் ஹாவியேர் லொசானோ பர்ரகன் (Javier Lozano Barragan) அவர்கள் தன் குருத்துவப் பணியில் 60 ஆண்டுகள் நிறைவு செய்துள்ளார் என்பதை சிறப்பாகக் குறிப்பிட்டத் திருத்தந்தை, திருப்பீடத்தின் நலப்பணி அவையின் பணிகள் வழியே, இறைவனின் இரக்கத்தை கடந்த 60 ஆண்டுகளாகப் பறைசாற்றிவந்துள்ள கர்தினால் பர்ரகன் அவர்களைப்  பாராட்டினார்.

ஆதாரம் : வத்திக்கான் வானொலி

2. திருத்தந்தை: மறைசாட்சிகள், வெறும் நினைவுச் சின்னங்கள் அல்ல

அக்.30,2015. இயேசுவின் உன்னத தியாகத்தின் அடையாளமான திருப்பலியை ஆற்றிய வேளையில், பேராயர் ஆஸ்கர் ரொமேரோ அவர்கள் உயிர் துறந்தது, அவரது தியாக வாழ்வுக்கு ஒரு சிறந்த அடையாளம் என்று திருத்தந்தை பிரான்சிஸ் அவர்கள் கூறினார்.

எல் சால்வதோர் நாட்டிலிருந்து உரோம் நகருக்கு வருகை தந்துள்ள 500க்கும் அதிகமான பிரதிநிதிகளை இவ்வெள்ளி காலை திருப்பீடத்தில் சந்தித்தத் திருத்தந்தை, சான் சால்வதோர் பேராயராக பணியாற்றி தன் உயிரைத் தியாகம் செய்த ஆஸ்கர் ரொமேரோ அவர்கள், அருளாளராக உயர்த்தப்பட்டது குறித்து தன் மகிழ்வை வெளியிட்டார்.

மறைசாட்சிகளின்  இரத்தம், கிறிஸ்தவத்தின் விதை என்று தெர்த்துல்லியன் கூறியதை, தன் உரையில் சுட்டிக்காட்டியத் திருத்தந்தை, மறைசாட்சிகள், நினைவுச் சின்னங்களாக விளங்குவதைக் காட்டிலும், நம் வாழ்வுக்கு வழிகாட்டிகளாக இருப்பதே பொருளுள்ளது என்று எடுத்துரைத்தார்.

அருளாளர் ரொமேரோவும், அவருக்கு உற்ற துணையாக இருந்த அருள்பணி ருத்திலியோ கிராந்தே அவர்களும் எல் சால்வதோர் நாட்டு மக்களை தொடர்ந்து வழிநடத்த வேண்டும் என்று திருத்தந்தை தன் உரையில் குறிப்பிட்டார்.

தொடர்ந்து பல இன்னல்களையும், சவால்களையும் சந்தித்துவரும் எல் சால்வதோர் மக்களுக்கு, நெருங்கிவரும் இரக்கத்தின் சிறப்பு ஜுபிலி ஆண்டு, அருள் வழங்கும் ஆண்டாக அமையவேண்டும் என்ற ஆவலை, திருத்தந்தை தன் உரையில் வெளிப்படுத்தினார்.

ஆதாரம் : வத்திக்கான் வானொலி

3. எல் சால்வதோர் பிரதிநிதிகள் குழு திருத்தந்தையுடன் சந்திப்பு

அக்.30,2015. அண்மையில் அருளாளராக உயர்த்தப்பட்ட பேராயர் ஆஸ்கர் ரொமேரோ அவர்களை, புனிதராக உயர்த்துமாறு கோரும் விண்ணப்பத்துடன், எல் சால்வதோர் நாட்டின் தலத்திருஅவை அதிகாரிகள், அரசு அதிகாரிகள் மற்றும் பொதுநிலையினர் அடங்கிய 500 பேர் கொண்ட பிரதிநிதிகள் குழுவொன்று இவ்வெள்ளி காலை திருத்தந்தையைச் சந்தித்தது.

இவ்வாண்டு மே மாதம் 23ம் தேதி அருளாளராக உயர்த்தப்பட்ட ரொமேரோ அவர்களை புனிதராக உயர்த்தும் வழிமுறைகள் வத்திக்கானில் துவங்கியுள்ளன என்றும், ரொமேரோ அவர்களின் புனிதர் பட்ட நிகழ்வை, திருத்தந்தை பிரான்சிஸ் அவர்கள் முன்னின்று நடத்துவது, எல் சால்வதோர் மக்களின் கனவு என்றும், சான் சால்வதோர் பேராயர் José Luis Escobar Alas அவர்கள் கூறினார்.

மேலும், அருளாளர் ரொமேரோ அவர்களின் நெருங்கிய நண்பரும், எல் சால்வதோர் நாட்டின் அடக்குமுறை அரசால் கொல்லப்பட்டவருமான இயேசு சபை அருள் பணியாளர் ருத்திலியோ கிராந்தே அவர்களை அருளாளராக உயர்த்தும் முயற்சிகளையும் சான் சால்வதோர் உயர் மறைமாவட்டம் மேற்கொண்டுள்ளது என்று பேராயர் Escobar Alas அவர்கள் தெரிவித்தார்.

திருத்தந்தையைச் சந்தித்த பிரதிநிதிகள் குழுவில், எல் சால்வதோர் அரசின் வெளியுறவுத் துறை அமைச்சர் ஹுகோ மார்த்தினெஸ் அவர்களும், ஏனைய அரசுத் தலைவர்களும் வந்திருந்தது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.

ஆதாரம் : வத்திக்கான் வானொலி

4. சாந்தா மார்த்தா அமைப்பை பாராட்டிய திருத்தந்தை

அக்.30,2015. இன்றைய காலத்தின் அடிமைத்தனத்தை ஒழிப்பதற்கு முயற்சிகளை மேற்கொண்டுவரும் சாந்தா மார்த்தா அமைப்பை பாராட்டுகிறேன் என்ற வார்த்தைகள் அடங்கிய ஒரு வாழ்த்துச் செய்தியை, திருத்தந்தை பிரான்சிஸ் அவர்கள் அனுப்பியுள்ளார்.

சாந்தா மார்த்தா என்ற அமைப்பினர், ஸ்பெயின் நாட்டில் புனித இலாரன்ஸ் துறவற மடத்தில் மேற்கொண்டுள்ள ஒரு கூட்டத்திற்கு, திருத்தந்தை அனுப்பியுள்ள வாழ்த்துச் செய்தியில், வெகு குறைந்த காலத்தில் இவ்வமைப்பினர் ஆற்றியுள்ள அர்த்தமுள்ள பணிகளைப் பாராட்டியுள்ளார்.

குழந்தைகள், சிறார் படைவீரர்களாகவும், போர்க்களங்களில் வேறு பல பணிகளிலும் ஈடுபடுத்தப்படுவதை, 2025ம் ஆண்டுக்குள், அனைத்துலகிலும் ஒழிப்பதற்கு அரசுகள் முடிவெடுத் துள்ளதை இச்செய்தியில் சுட்டிக்காட்டியுள்ள திருத்தந்தை, இம்முயற்சியில் மனித சமுதாயம் இன்னும் தீவிரமாக ஈடுபடவேண்டும் என்று கேட்டுக் கொண்டுள்ளார்.

உலகின் 193 நாட்டு அரசுகள் நவீன அடிமைத்தனத்தை ஒழிக்க சட்டங்களை வகுத்துள்ளன என்பதையும் குறிப்பிட்டுள்ள திருத்தந்தை, அரசுகளின் முயற்சிகளுக்கு சாந்தா மார்த்தா அமைப்பைப் போன்று பல அமைப்புக்கள் உறுதுணையாகச் செயலாற்றவேண்டும் என்று திருத்தந்தை பிரான்சிஸ் அவர்கள் இச்செய்தியில் கூறியுள்ளார்.

சாந்தா மார்த்தா அமைப்பு என்பது, பன்னாட்டு காவல்துறை அதிகாரிகள் மற்றும் ஆயர்கள் ஆகியோரைக் கொண்ட ஓர் அமைப்பு. இதன் தலைவராக, வெஸ்ட்மின்ஸ்டெர் பேராயர், கர்தினால் வின்சென்ட் நிக்கோல்ஸ் அவர்கள் தேர்ந்தெடுக்கப்பட்டுள்ளார்.

2014ம் ஆண்டு வத்திக்கானில் இடம்பெற்ற ஒரு கூட்டத்தில் கலந்துகொள்ள வந்திருந்த 24 நாடுகளைச் சேர்ந்த காவல்துறை அதிகாரிகள், சாந்தா மார்த்தா இல்லத்தில் தங்கியிருந்ததால், அவ்வில்லத்தின் பெயரையே தங்கள் அமைப்பிற்கு பெயராக தேர்ந்தெடுத்தனர் என்பது குறிப்பிடத் தக்கது.

ஆதாரம் : வத்திக்கான் வானொலி

5. அனைத்து ஆன்மாக்களின் நினைவுநாள் - திருத்தந்தையின் திருப்பலி

அக்.30,2015. வருகிற நவம்பர் 2ம் தேதி, அனைத்து ஆன்மாக்களின் நினைவுநாள் கொண்டாடப்படுவதையொட்டி, திருத்தந்தை பிரான்சிஸ் அவர்கள், நவம்பர் முதல் தேதி மாலை 4 மணிக்கு உரோம் நகரில் அமைந்துள்ள வெரானோ (Verano) கல்லறை தோட்டத்தில் திருப்பலியாற்றி, அங்குள்ள கல்லறைகளை அர்ச்சிப்பார் என்று, உரோம் மறைமாவட்டம் அறிவித்துள்ளது.

மேலும், வருகிற நவம்பர் 10ம் தேதி, இத்தாலியின் தொஸ்கானா மாநிலத்தின் தலைநகர் பிளாரன்ஸ் மற்றும் பிராத்தோ ஆகிய இடங்களில் திருத்தந்தை மேய்ப்புப்பணி பயணம் மேற்கொள்வார் என்று திருப்பீடச் செய்தித் தொடர்பகம் இவ்வியாழனன்று அறிவித்தது.

நவம்பர் 10ம் தேதி காலை 7 மணிக்கு வத்திக்கானிலிருந்து புறப்படும் திருத்தந்தை, பிராத்தோ எனுமிடத்தில் தொழிலாளர்களைச் சந்தித்து உரையாடுகிறார்.

பின்னர், பிளாரன்ஸ் நகரில் அமைந்துள்ள நகரச் சதுக்கத்தில் இத்தாலியத் தலத்திருஅவை மாநாட்டில் கலந்துகொள்ளும் உறுப்பினர்களைச் சந்திக்கும் திருத்தந்தை, அருகிலுள்ள அன்னை மரியா பசிலிக்காவில் நோயுற்றோரைச் சந்தித்தபின், வறியோர் சிலருடன் மதிய உணவருந்துகிறார்.

மாலை மூன்று மணியளவில் பிளாரன்ஸ் நகரில் உள்ள விளையாட்டு அரங்கத்தில் திருப்பலியாற்றும் திருத்தந்தை, மாலை 6 மணியளவில் உரோம் நகர் வந்தடைகிறார்.

ஆதாரம் : / வத்திக்கான் வானொலி

6. அமைதியின்றி, யாருக்கும் நம்பிக்கை இல்லை - கர்தினால் பிலோனி

அக்.30,2015. அமைதியின்றி, யாருக்கும் நம்பிக்கை இல்லை என்று, திருப்பீட உயர் அதிகாரிகளில் ஒருவரான, கர்தினால் பெர்னாண்டோ பிலோனி அவர்கள் கூறினார்.

நற்செய்தி அறிவிப்புப் பேராயத்தின் தலைவர், கர்தினால் பிலோனி அவர்கள், "ஈராக் திருஅவை: வரலாறு, முன்னேற்றம், திருப்பணி" என்ற தலைப்பில், எழுதியுள்ள நூலை இப்புதனன்று வெளியிட்டபோது இவ்வாறு கூறினார்.

2001ம் ஆண்டு முதல், 2006ம் ஆண்டு முடிய, ஈராக் மற்றும் ஜோர்டன் ஆகிய நாடுகளில், திருப்பீடத்தின் தூதராகப் பணியாற்றிய கர்தினால் பிலோனி அவர்கள், கடந்த 1000 ஆண்டுகளாக அந்நாடுகளில் தழைத்துவந்த கிறிஸ்தவத்தைக் குறித்து தன் நூலில் எழுதியுள்ளார் என்று Fides செய்திக் குறிப்பொன்று கூறுகிறது.

இந்நூலின் அரேபிய மொழிபெயர்ப்பு விரைவில் வெளிவரும் என்று, கல்தேய வழிபாட்டு முறை முதுபெரும் தந்தை, முதலாம் லூயிஸ் ரபேல் சாக்கோ அவர்கள் அறிவித்துள்ளதாக Fides செய்தி மேலும் கூறியுள்ளது.

அண்மையில் வத்திக்கானில் நிறைவுற்ற உலக ஆயர்கள் மாமன்றத்தில் கலந்துகொள்ள வந்திருந்த கர்தினால்கள், ஆயர்கள் பலர் இந்நூல் வெளியீட்டு விழாவில் கலந்துகொண்டனர்.

ஆதாரம் : Fides / வத்திக்கான் வானொலி

7. சுற்றுச்சூழல் பாதுகாப்பு குறித்து கத்தோலிக்கத் தலைவர்களின் விண்ணப்பம்

அக்.30,2015. சுற்றுச்சூழல் பாதுகாப்பு என்பது, சமுதாய நீதி மற்றும் வறுமைக்கு எதிரான போராட்டத்தோடு தொடர்புடையது என்பதால், மனித முன்னேற்றம், வாழ்க்கை முறை ஆகிய எண்ணங்களை மறு பரிசீலனை செய்து, மாற்று இலக்கணம் வகுக்கவேண்டும் என்ற விண்ணப்பத்தை, ஐந்து கண்டங்களைச் சார்ந்த கர்தினால்கள், முதுபெரும் தந்தையர் மற்றும் ஆயர்கள் விடுத்துள்ளனர்.

பாரிஸ் மாநகரில் நவம்பர் 30 முதல் டிசம்பர் 11 முடிய நடைபெறவிருக்கும் “COP21” எனப்படும் சுற்றுச்சூழல் உலக உச்சி மாநாட்டில் கலந்துகொள்ளவிருக்கும் அனைத்து அரசு தலைவர்கள் மற்றும் அதிகாரிகளுக்கு, ஆப்ரிக்கா, அமெரிக்கா, ஆசியா, ஐரோப்பா, ஓசியானியா ஆகிய கண்டங்களைச் சார்ந்த கத்தோலிக்கத் தலைவர்கள் இந்த விண்ணப்பத்தை அனுப்பியுள்ளனர்.

சுற்றிச்சூழல் பாதுக்காப்பையும், வறியோரின் வாழ்வு மேம்பாட்டையும் இணைத்து, கர்தினால்களும், ஆயர்களும் விடுத்துள்ள இந்த விண்ணப்பத்தில் 10 கருத்துக்களை முன்வைத்துள்ளனர்.

காலநிலை மாற்றத்தை தொழில்நுட்ப கண்ணோட்டத்துடன் மட்டும் காணாமல், அதை, ஒரு சமுதாய சவாலாகவும், நன்னெறி கண்ணோட்டத்துடனும் அணுகுமாறு, மதத்தலைவர்கள் விண்ணப்பித்துள்ளனர் என்று Fides செய்திக்குறிப்பொன்று கூறுகிறது.

காலநிலை மாற்றத்தால் அதிகம் பாதிக்கப்படும் வறியோர், மற்றும் பழங்குடியினர் ஆகியோரின் கருத்துக்களுக்குச் செவிமடுத்து, உலக உச்சி மாநாட்டின் முடிவுகள் எடுக்கப்படவேண்டும் என்று கர்தினால்களும், ஆயர்களும் தங்கள் விண்ணப்பத்தில் கூறியுள்ளனர்.

ஆதாரம் : Fides / வத்திக்கான் வானொலி

8. மரியாதையே தொடர்புகளை வளர்க்கும் வழி - வசாயி பேராயர்

அக்.30,2015. அடுத்தவருக்கு உரிய மரியாதையை வழங்குவது ஒன்றே, ஆசிய நாடுகளில் தொடர்புகளை வளர்க்கும் வழி என்று, இந்தியாவின் வசாயி உயர் மறைமாவட்டத்தின் பேராயர், பீலிக்ஸ் அந்தொனி மச்சாடோ அவர்கள் கூறினார்.

"கிறிஸ்தவமல்லாச் சமயங்களோடு திருஅவைக்குள்ள உறவு" என்ற கருத்தை மையப்படுத்தி, Nostra Aetate என்ற பெயருடன், இரண்டாம் வத்திக்கான் சங்கம் வெளியிட்ட ஏட்டின் 50ம் ஆண்டு நிறைவையொட்டி, பேராயர் மச்சாடோ அவர்கள் ஆசிய செய்திக்கு அளித்த பேட்டியில் இவ்வாறு கூறினார்.  

மனிதர்கள் மீதும், மனித உயிர்களின் புனிதத்துவம் மீதும் நம்பிக்கையில்லாமல், இயேசுவின் நற்செய்தியை இவ்வுலகில் பறைசாற்ற முடியாது என்று, ஆசிய ஆயர்கள் பேரவையின், பல்சமய உரையாடல் பணிக்குழுவின் தலைவர், பேராயர் மச்சாடோ அவர்கள் கூறினார்.

1965ம் ஆண்டு அக்டோபர் 28ம் தேதி Nostra Aetate சங்க ஏடு வெளியிடப்பட்டதன் 50ம் ஆண்டு நிறைவைக் கொண்டாடும் வகையில், அக்டோபர் 28, இப்புதனன்று, திருத்தந்தை பிரான்சிஸ் அவர்கள் வழங்கிய பொது மறைக்கல்வி உரையின்போது, பல்சமய பிரதிநிதிகள் கலந்துகொண்டனர்.

ஆதாரம் : AsiaNews / வத்திக்கான் வானொலி

 

Preaching across the demilitarized zone

Christians broadcast news into North Korea, but is anybody listening?

A couple walk past huge Korean letters reading "for reconstruction of North Korea" in this March 2011 photo in Seoul. Christian radio stations have joined the ideological war waged over North Korean airwaves. (Photo by Jung Yeon-Je/AFP)

Seoul:  When North Korea celebrated 70 years since the founding of the ruling party on Oct. 10, leader Kim Jong-un's message was one of unity and strength. After a parade of missiles and goose-stepping troops, the young dictator said North Korea had become an "impenetrable fortress" ready for war with the United States in a speech replayed on state television and radio.

That evening, a Christian radio station broadcast one of the few messages contrary to that narrative. Based in Seoul, Free North Korea Radio talked about Hwang Jang-yop, a founder of the Korean Workers' Party. It went on to explain how Hwang defected to South Korea in 1997 and converted to Christianity.

"He came to recognize a greater power than the Kim regime," read the broadcaster, according to a transcript seen by ucanews.com. "He came to know God, the creator of all things."

Christian radio stations based in South Korea have overcome a host of obstacles to broadcast their religious message across the demilitarized zone. Whether many North Koreans tune in remains less clear.


Propaganda war

An ideological war has been waged over North Korea's airwaves since the peninsula divided at the end of the Korean War in 1953. A handful of state broadcasters pump out a steady diet of propaganda built around the Kim clan. In response, defectors have teamed up with stations in South Korea to broadcast information censored by the regime, including religious messages.

Far East Broadcasting Company, a station set up by American World War II veterans to evangelize in Asia, began transmitting the Gospel to North Korea in 1953. It was the only regular religious broadcaster into the communist state for more than half a century, until 2006, when two more American-led stations launched — Free North Korea Radio and Voice of the Martyrs Korea.

Operated by Defense Forum Foundation, a U.S. nonprofit organization led by former servicemen and politicians, Free North Korea Radio produces secular news while offering slots to Christian sponsors. Every Easter weekend it broadcasts a Catholic service, and a Catholic Mass is planned next month, Suzanne Scholte, the foundation's president, said by email.

Established by American Pastor Eric Foley and his Korean wife Hyun Sook, Voice of the Martyrs Korea broadcasts every day for 90 minutes, reaching every corner of North Korea. Its message is one of hope tinged with despair.

The station's North and South Korean announcers copy a broadcasting style familiar to people north of the demilitarized zone, offering tips on how to be a Christian leader in a country where religion is banned. Programs aim to help the estimated 300,000 Christians secretly worshipping inside North Korea to understand the persecution they face.

"North Korean Christians suffer more than you or I, yet they often don't understand that suffering," says American Pastor Tim Dillmuth, a spokesman for Voice of the Martyrs Korea.

"A lot of Christians interpret that God is angry with them or they are not leading a good Christian life because of their suffering. So we try to offer them teaching to help them understand."

The regime has tried to block these pirate Christian broadcasters but it's fighting a losing battle.

All radio sets sold legally in North Korea must be tuned to government stations only and are fixed with a tamper-proof seal. However, with the collapse of the state economy in recent years and the influx of goods across the Chinese border, black-market sets are now common.

Some groups in South Korea also fly radios, leaflets and DVDs over the demilitarized zone in air balloons. Surveys suggest there may be as many as 2 million shortwave radios in North Korea today.

Broadcasters like Voice of the Martyrs Korea use shortwave frequencies because these can travel further. But these frequencies are more prone to jamming. The regime typically uses a "jet plane noise" to block radio transmissions from the south, with mixed results.

North Korea reportedly upgraded its radio broadcasting and jamming equipment in 2011 but chronic electricity shortages have undermined efforts in the past. Voice of the Martyrs Korea is able to switch frequencies and relocate antennas, says Dillmuth.

"Probably one of the best testimonies to the effectiveness of our broadcasts is the amount of effort the government uses in blocking our broadcasts," he says.


Audience

Amid all the jamming and the counter broadcasts, one important question remains: are people actually listening?

Voice of the Martyrs Korea includes testimony on its website from an anonymous defector who said she heard Christian broadcasts while inside North Korea. Dillmuth supplied two other witnesses, one of whom said she was in prison and overheard other people in her cell talk about hearing such programs.

Those claiming to have heard these broadcasts inside North Korea remain rare, says Jung Jin-Heon, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity.

Author of the book "Migration and Religion in East Asia: North Korean Migrants' Evangelical Encounters," Jung has interviewed dozens of defectors over the past 20 years and says question marks remain over the effectiveness of such broadcasting.

"I found little impact of both secular and religious propaganda broadcasting to the North, on the people, in reality," he says.

Radio broadcasters that transmit into North Korea remain among the few media organizations in the world with little idea of their audience size. Their mission remains one of faith.

Scholte of the Defense Forum Foundation did not respond to a request for an interview about Free North Korea Radio, but did say by email she felt the station was making an impact.

"I absolutely believe there are underground believers, both Catholic and Protestant, but also that the church is growing in [North Korea] with the flow of information."

Source: UCAN

Farmers decry 'plunder' of land in southern Philippines

Activist groups aim to resist expansion of corporate-run agricultural plantations.

A peasant leader speaks at the launch of a network that aims to resist the expansion of agricultural plantations in Mindanao. (Photo courtesy of Uma)

Manila:  Philippine farmers have decried what they called the "plunder" of farmland through the "unbridled expansion of corporate agricultural plantations" in the southern region of Mindanao.

"There will be no more land in Mindanao even for cemeteries if plantations are allowed to expand," said Ranmil Echanis, secretary-general of the Union of Agricultural Farmworkers.

Farmers, trade union activists, and a group of priests and nuns launched a network on Oct. 28 that aims to "resist the expansion of agricultural plantations" in Mindanao.

In a statement, the group said the expansion of giant agricultural plantations has become too aggressive.

The launch of the Network Resisting Expansion of Agricultural Plantations was held days before Filipinos mark All Souls' Day, a Catholic religious holiday when people troop to cemeteries to visit their departed family members.

Echanis said "casualties and fatalities due to mining plunder, plantation expansion are piling up" so that "there might not be enough land for the victims."

"It is a fight for their very survival," said a statement signed by the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines, an organization of priests and nuns working in hinterland communities, the Peasant Movement of the Philippines, the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights, and the Asia Monitor Resource Center.

Ariel Casilao, the network's spokesman, said the expansion of plantations has given birth to "investment defense forces" — paramilitary groups that have been accused of human rights violations in rural communities in Mindanao.

Some 500,000 hectares, about 12 percent of Mindanao's agricultural land, have already been covered with plantation crops for the export market.

The government targets for plantation expansion include 256,360 hectares for sugarcane; 150,000 hectares for cacao by 2020; 116,000 hectares for rubber; 87,903 hectares for coffee plantations; and about 1 million hectares of oil palm plantations by 2030.

Source: UCAN

Indonesian chemical castration plan comes under fire

Punishment ignores possibility of repentance, church officials say.

Jakarta:  The Catholic Church and rights groups in Indonesia have condemned plans by the government to chemically castrate pedophiles, saying the punishment is inhumane and violates human rights.

President Joko Widodo in October voiced his support for adopting chemical castration as a punishment, following a string of child sex abuse cases in recent months.

Chemical castration involves suppressing a man's sex drive by reducing testosterone levels using anti-androgen drugs. The punishment is used in several countries, including South Korea, Russia and in several states in the United States.

"Introducing chemical castration is inhumane," Notre Dame Sister Maria Resa from the Secretariat of Gender and Women Empowerment of the Indonesian bishops' conference told ucanews.com on Oct. 28.

"A punishment applied to pedophiles should not be chemical castration. It should be a penalty that leads them to repentance," she said.

"In prisons, they can be led to repentance through spiritual guidance. If they have a strong will and positive mind, they can definitely change," she added.

The nun said there would probably be less child sex abuse cases if parents protected their children better.

"How do parents keep an eye on their children? This is important. Parents should not let their children play alone," Sister Resa said.

Father Paulus Christian Siswantoko, secretary of the bishops' Commission for Justice, Peace and Pastoral for Migrant-Itinerant People, said chemical castration is a clear violation of human rights.

"The government's task is to punish child molesters. But the punishment should not be one that takes away people's rights. Chemical castration does just that," he told ucanews.com.

"The president is trying to dignify law enforcement. So the question is: Where's the dignity if someone is proven guilty and is treated like that?" Father Siswantoko said.


Revenge

Muhammad Choirul Anam from the Jakarta-based Human Rights Working Group warned the government it could be breaking international law if it introduces chemical castration.

He noted that the Indonesian government ratified a United Nations convention against torture in 1998. The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment "prohibits every permanent punishment in any form," he said in a statement on Oct. 28.

Punishment should not be based on getting revenge on perpetrators, he added.

"Chemical castration as a punishment comes from the emotion of wanting revenge," he said.

He said he would support efforts by the government to eradicate sexual violence against children and hand down a harsher punishment to perpetrators.

"But punishment must not carried out arbitrarily," he said.

According to the National Commission for Child Protection, almost 22 million children suffered some form of violence between 2010 and 2014, with 62 percent of these cases involving sexual abuse.

Figures like this show that chemical castration as a punishment for pedophiles is needed, the head of Indonesia's child protection commission says.

In many cases, victims of child abuse become abusers themselves when they become adults, said Erlinda the commission's secretary-general who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

"Perpetrators target children. Children who were victims often become predators. This is what we call an emergency. We don't want children to become predators. This is very concerning," she told ucanews.com.

"Should we let it happen? When children are abused they feel strong trauma. This is what rights activists need to understand," she said.

"Chemical castration is appropriate. If there's another harsher punishment, then fine. The important thing is that there is a harsher punishment for this crime."

Source: UCAN

Chinese Christians wary amid lull in cross removals

Authorities meet to discuss 'illegal constructions'.

A temporary church in Wenzhou Diocese, consecrated on Oct. 27, features a cross that conforms to new provincial regulations mandating the size and placement of crosses. (ucanews.com photo)

Hong Kong:  Christians in China's Zhejiang province, where authorities have carried out a devastating cross-removal campaign, say they will remain vigilant amid signs that elements of the hard-line strategy could spread to other jurisdictions.

Although Christian leaders in the province say the cross-removal campaign has subsided since September, authorities across China have recently met to discuss the issue of "illegal" construction.

About 150 officials from housing and law enforcement departments across China attended a Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development conference in Zhejiang's Yiwu city on Oct. 17.

Minister Chen Zhenggao told the conference to fight "a battle against illegal constructions" by learning from the experiences in Zhejiang, according to the Zhejiang Daily.

News of the meeting has alarmed Chinese Christians. More than 1,500 church crosses have been removed in Zhejiang since a campaign targeting illegal structures began in March 2013.

The campaign, dubbed "three rectifications and one demolition," was launched to "rectify" old residential areas, old factory areas and villages within cities, as well as to "demolish" all illegal structures.

Christian leaders in Wenzhou city, often known as the "Jerusalem of the East" because of its large Christian population, believe the state's cross-removal campaign has subsided. However, a Catholic source, who asked to remain anonymous, said: "We will stay vigilant."

A Protestant preacher, who identified himself as Luke, said he believed the scale and impact of church and cross demolitions in other provinces would not be as serious, since churches are particularly densely packed in Zhejiang.

The province has 2 million Protestants and 210,000 Catholics, according to estimates from the respective communities.


Warning signs

Though cross removals or church demolitions on the scale of what took place in Zhejiang may be unlikely, sporadic cases have already been reported.

On Oct. 9, about 100 Protestants protested in front of a government building in Xiaogan city, Hubei province, denouncing the demolition of their church. Local officials had claimed the church was built without relevant permits, while the demonstrators claimed that officials tore down the building because it was not built using their preferred developers, according to Radio Free Asia.

In Fujian province, government officials threatened to demolish an unregistered church in Mindong Diocese, where 80 percent of the 80,000 Catholics belong to the "underground" community.

"The authorities had notified the parish that they will demolish the church on Oct. 21 but nothing happened then. Now they said they would send a priest from the Catholic Patriotic Association to take over," said a church source. The Catholic Patriotic Association is a government-sanctioned body designed to control the Catholic Church in China.

Ying Fuk-tsang, director of the Divinity School at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said the extent to which authorities in other jurisdictions target places of worship will be linked to the perceived growth of a religious community.

"Zhejiang's religions have been developing too quickly in the eyes of authorities. So they try to justify their action through removing illegal construction," Ying said in an interview.

"I believe they will use the same excuse in other provinces where religion develops fast, but a large-scale cross-removal campaign is unlikely."

Meanwhile, new regulations on religious constructions in Zhejiang took effect on July 10, despite severe criticism from Christians.

A rule states that crosses must be painted in colors to blend in with church facades, and designed with specific height-to-width ratios.

Using these guidelines, local church officials in Wenzhou affixed a cross onto the facade of a new temporary venue, instead of erecting it on top of the structure. The new venue was consecrated on Oct. 27 as a substitute for St. Paul's Catholic Cathedral, which is under renovation.

Source: UCAN

Philippine priests defy bishops, run for public office

All risk being defrocked for flouting ban on standing in elections.

Father Jeemar Lucero Vera Cruz, left, removes his cassock after announcing his decision to run for public office during a Mass. He filed his certificate of candidacy for vice mayor of Iligan City on Oct. 15. (Photo by Richel Umel)

Iligan City:  At least three Catholic priests will defy a warning from Filipino bishops for members of the clergy not to run for public office in national elections next year.

All face being defrocked if they stand in the elections, but they say they can better serve the people by becoming politicians.

Father Jeemar Lucero Vera Cruz, vicar general of Iligan Diocese, is seeking to become vice mayor of the city in northern Mindanao.

"I will be leaving my role as a priest, temporarily, in response to God's calling to help the constituents of Iligan City," the priest said on Oct. 27.

He said there is a need to transform the city after the arrest of the city's mayor, who is facing charges of conspiring in the attempted murder of a congressman.

Vera Cruz has come under fire from critics who accuse the priest of using the pulpit for his political ambition, a charge the priest denies.

"I do not use the church or the pulpit for my political aspirations," he said.

"This is about justice, and standing up for and hearing the cry of the poor," Vera Cruz told ucanews.com.

He said he is running for office to help families still suffering after falling victim to the devastation brought by Typhoon Washi, which struck the southern Philippines in 2011.

Almost four years after the tragedy, the housing needs of hundreds of families are still unmet despite millions of pesos of funding pouring into the city, the priest said.

"The poor have lost so much. We must help them rebuild their lives," Vera Cruz said. This "requires a measure of justice, charity and fairness," he added.

In Catarman Diocese in the central Philippines, Father Walter Cerbito has announced his candidacy for governor of Northern Samar province.

"Now is the time for Northern Samar to rise, for someone to stand up for real change," said Cerbito.

Retired priest Jack Sasu, from the same diocese, also filed his candidacy to become a councilor in the provincial capital, Catarman.

All risk being defrocked after the country’s bishops warned members of the clergy not to run for elective posts.

"Priests should serve the church. There is a way of serving the people as a priest," said Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales, retired archbishop of Manila.

Bishop Honesto Ongtioco of Cubao said the rule prohibiting priests becoming politicians is clear.

"There is a clear rule that they are not to enter politics because the church is nonpartisan in its mission," the prelate said.

Source: UCAN

Eminent scientist Bhargava to return Padma Bhushan in protest

Bhargava said religious beliefs are personal choices and should not interfere in politics.

Kolkata:  Eminent Indian scientist P.M. Bhargava on Thursday said he will return his Padma Bhushan award in protest against the "growing intolerance in the country".

Bhargava, who was the founder-director of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), said religious beliefs are personal choices and should not interfere in politics.

"The fear as we see in democracy today... the spread of Hindutva... I believe that (religion) really is a personal matter. It should stay as a personal matter. It should not make incursions into politics as it is doing now," he told IANS.

The 87-year-old said he also finds statements by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat that women should restrict themselves to doing household chores, as "detestable".

Bhargava said he will meet the home secretary and give back the award. He also encouraged the youth brigade in the scientific community to come forward and protest.

Incidentally, the veteran researcher is one of the scientists who started the online petition on Tuesday, signed by atleast 100 senior scientists, addressed to President Pranab Mukhrejee against growing intolerance.

IANS

SC concerned over Muslim women facing arbitrary divorce

The court noted that the matter needed consideration by the apex court as the issue related not merely to a policy matter but to the fundamental rights of women.

New Delhi:  The Supreme Court has expressed concern over Muslim women facing arbitrary divorces and second marriages of their husbands even as their first marriages were subsisting.

Expressing concern on the issue of "gender discrimination... which concerns the rights of Muslim women", the apex court bench of Justice Anil R. Dave and Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said the issue of rights of Muslim women against arbitrary divorce surfaced number of times but was not addressed.

The court said in its judgment pronounced on October 16 that there was no safeguard "against arbitrary divorce and second marriage by her husband during currency of the first marriage, resulting in denial of dignity and security to her".

The apex court said this while noting the submissions made by lawyers on the question whether the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 would have retrospective effect.

Directing for a separate public interest litigation to address the issue, the bench issued notice to the Attorney General and National Legal Services Authority, returnable on November 23.

Issuing the notice and directing for the registration of the PIL, the court said, "Although the issue was raised before this court in the case of 'Ahmedabad Women Action Group vs Union of India', this court did not go into the merits of the discrimination with the observation that the issue involved state policy to be dealt with by the legislature."

The court judgment noted that it was observed that the challenge to Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, was pending before the Constitution Bench and there was no reason to multiply proceedings on such an issue.

The court noted that the matter needed consideration by the apex court as the issue related not merely to a policy matter but to the fundamental rights of women under Articles 14, 15 and 21 and international conventions and covenants.

IANS

Madurai archdiocese concerned over intolerance

The pluralistic nature of the Indian society has been put under enormous pressure.

Madurai:  Madurai Archdiocese expressed concern over the growing intolerance and hatred in the country stating that it will destroy the pluralistic nature of the country.

Archbishop Antony Pappusamy in a statement expressed fears that hate crimes unleashed across the country will destroy the very roots of democracy in the country.

The pluralistic nature of the Indian society has been put under enormous pressure by the forces trying to bring in hegemony. Hatred is nurtured in planned manner to destroy the identity of indigenous groups and the freedom of expression - the most important right of democracy - is made a mockery, he said.

People differing to the opinion of rulers are projected as enemy of state and are threatened and eliminated. The archbishop cited the cases of Govind Pansare, Narendra Dabholkar and M M Kalburgi who were brutally assassinated for voicing their differences.

The crux of democracy is to nurture pluralism. In the name of cow protection, the campaign against beef eating has attained momentum. Deciding to eat something is individual's personal desire, he said.

Communalistic ideology is against free and scientific society. Understanding the communalism is vital to protect democratic values of the society. Religious minorities are most threatened by the idea of communalism and they are projected as enemies since the religious values followed by them are different from the religion of majority people. There is nothing wrong to differ and it is one's right. Christian community believing this should be ready to face the threat by communalism, he stated and appreciated the writers who registered their protest by returning the awards.
Source: Times of India

Bishop Dabre welcomes move to ban commercial surrogacy

Bishop Thomas Dabre of Poona said he was "totally in favor" of the government move.

An Indian surrogate mother enters a surrogacy clinic in New Delhi in this February 2013 photo. The Indian government is planning to ban commercial surrogacy for foreigners. (Photo by Sajjad Hussain/AFP)

New Delhi:  Bishop Thomas Dabre of Poona said he supported government plans to outlaw commercial surrogacy.

In an affidavit filed with the Supreme Court Oct. 28, the government said it was planning a comprehensive law that would limit the use of surrogacy to married, infertile Indian couples; it would not be available to foreigners, the government said.

Bishop Dabre said he was "totally in favor" of the government move.

"The church does not support surrogacy in any circumstances because it is morally and ethically wrong," said Bishop Dabre, a member of the bishops' Doctrinal Commission.

Commercial surrogacy was introduced to India in 2002, allowing a process in which a woman is paid for carrying the embryo of another couple — created through in vitro fertilization — to childbirth.

"Hiring bodily elements is not morally right according to Catholic teaching because it commercialize the human body," Bishop Dabre said.

He said the church supports childbirth from "the relationship of lawfully married couples through a natural process."

"Surrogacy violates the sanctity of marriage and human life itself because it is unnatural," he said.

Reports suggest at least 1,000 Indian women are hired every year by overseas couples.

One surrogacy clinic in Gujarat in 2004 produced more than 500 surrogate babies — two-thirds for foreign couples, while the rest were for people of Indian origin living overseas, Reuters reported in 2013.

Cheap medical care and the abundant availability of poor women make India a favorite place for commercial surrogacy, according to Reuters. Estimates show each surrogacy costs some US$30,000, with the surrogate mother earning an average of $7,500. Many have criticized it as exploiting the poverty of Indian women.

A U.N. study on transnational surrogacy in 2012 said reproductive tourism in India is a $400-$500 million business with some 3,000 fertility clinics across the country.

"We still do not know the financial depth of it," said Jose K. George, who teaches family law at Bangalore's Christ University. "It is a huge business. There are few towns in northwestern India whose economy depends on this business."

He said that before the law is made people should be educated on values, exploitation and the ill effects of commercial surrogacy.

"But in a society that worships wealth and sees money as the ultimate value, ending surrogacy with a law could be difficult," said George.

Source: UCAN

Asia and the synod on the family

Sensational issues aside, global gathering held deeper meaning.

By Jayeel Serrano Cornelio
Manila:  Most of the prominent reports on the 2015 Synod of Bishops on the family were prepared by Western journalists. Many of us in Asia had to rely on these writings to keep ourselves abreast of the discussions as they were happening.

The reports, however, have been generally preoccupied with the most controversial issues. In a way, this is not surprising. The debates among the bishops revolved around institutional approaches toward cohabitation, same-sex marriage, and divorced and civilly remarried Catholics. In various commentaries, tensions were usually presented in terms of the liberal-conservative divide. Indeed, based on the votes cast, it is clear that these split the bishops in significant ways.

The preoccupation with sensational issues is not without warrant and the Catholic Church in Asia has to confront them too, one way or another. This is an important point to make, especially because in some commentaries, the liberal-conservative divide was constructed along geographic lines. European bishops, for example, are the liberal ones working against the moral conservatism of aggressive counterparts from Africa.

Is Asia also conservative when it comes to moral issues? This is a tricky question to answer. To treat Asia as a homogenous entity is a mistake given its diversity of cultures and religious expressions. But some impressions linger, especially with regard to certain values. Filial piety, the relevance of the extended family, and patriarchal household arrangements all seem to point to the lasting influence of family life on individuals.

Some of these values are of course informed by Orientalist stereotypes, usually pitted against the individualism of Western societies. But sometimes, they are also reinforced by state discourses. The “Asian values” of regimes in East Asia invoke the necessity of discipline, hierarchy, and communitarian responsibility for the sake of economic development.

So while they continue to register in the public life of many Asian societies, it helps to underscore that conservative values in relation to family life are not unchanging. Divorce, same-sex relations, and cohabitation are also discernible patterns for many Catholics in the region. And they challenge patriarchal and heteronormative family arrangements.


The lingering question

But the preoccupation with these issues, no matter how important, has glossed over many other areas of concern the document includes. And they are not any less sensational. They have significant consequences for churches in Asian societies. Aging, migration, violence against women, and limited economic opportunities for young people raise important questions not just for society but also for the church and its pastoral work in the region. There is benevolence, therefore, in the repetitive declaration to "accompany" families and "listen to their reality" given the many challenges that they confront today.

The issue, therefore, is not whether bishops or Catholics are liberal or conservative with their theological positions. While I admit that theological clarity matters, the pastoral duty of the church trumps differences in opinion. If the family is the "subject of pastoral action," then its immediate contexts do matter if the church were to remain relevant.

In many Asian societies, the idea of the stable nuclear family has to be reconsidered. Today, a whole new generation of Indonesians, Thais, Bangladeshis and Filipinos are growing up in surrogate arrangements because their parents are working elsewhere. In the advanced economies of Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong, the care of the elderly is left to migrant workers. And violence against women and the queer community continue unhampered. All these have consequences on the family the church so cherishes.

What good remains in the family? And what good can the church offer?

To be sure, these matters are not unique to the experience of Catholics in the region. They are concerns of young people and the elderly, whether Catholic or not. But that is precisely the point. The Synod of Bishops on the family, and whatever future documents that come out of it, need to ask a bigger question: What does it mean to be the Catholic Church in Asia today?

The synod and the buzz around it will soon die down. But this one question will linger for a long time.

And yet wider still is the horizon demanding change. Ultimately, the contribution of this synod is not in rendering visible the liberal-conservative divide in the church. In his speech at the synod's closing, Pope Francis has rightly acknowledged that the synod laid bare "the closed hearts which frequently hide even behind the church's teachings or good intentions, in order to sit in the chair of Moses and judge, sometimes with superiority and superficiality, difficult cases and wounded families."

In this light, the synod was not so much about the family as it was about the church itself. Intriguingly, their own document demands nothing less than acts of great mercy.

Jayeel Serrano Cornelio is a sociologist of religion and the director of the Development Studies Program at the Ateneo de Manila University.

Source: UCAN

Houses are just another casualty of war in restive Kashmir

Indian Army destroys homes in clashes with separatists, endangering civilians.

Women wail as they watch their houses being destroyed during a March 2014 clash in Kashmir. (Photo by Umer Asif)

Srinagar:  Taja Begum stumbles as she walks barefoot over the rubble of what was once her two-story home.

The look of sadness on the face of the 80-year-old widow reflects the feelings of many hundreds of other residents who have lost their homes as a result of clashes between separatists and government forces in Kashmir over the last two decades.

Begum, who lives in North Kashmir's Rajwar district, lost her home in December 2013, when three separatists barged into the house she shared with her two sons.

Soon, a fierce gun battle raged between the intruders and the army, in which all three militants were killed.

There was also another casualty, Begum says — her house, which was destroyed after the army rained down shells and heavy gunfire on the rebels.

Encounters such as this have become routine in Jammu and Kashmir, India's only Muslim-majority state, where various insurgent groups have fought the Indian army since 1988. While some groups want the state to become part of neighboring Pakistan, others want full independence from India.

"All my possessions were in the house," Begum told ucanews.com. "My husband, who died three years earlier, worked from dawn to dusk building this house for us. Everything got destroyed. All that's left is debris, which is the only sign that a house once here."


Flushing out rebels

There are no official records detailing how many homes have been destroyed, but local people say the number runs into the hundreds, since each encounter in populated areas will invariably affect several houses.

That's because the army shows little regard for people's property and will often use heavy weaponry to flush out rebels, they say.

Civilians whose houses were destroyed or damaged say government compensation is meager, while the process of claiming it is complicated and slow.

Imtiyaz Ahmed, from northern Kashmir, saw his home destroyed in a 70-hour clash between separatists and the army in 2010. Ahmed said the rebels were hiding in one of the houses in his neighborhood when the army attacked.

"Mortar shells were fired at the rebels, destroying almost everything," says Ahmed said. Some two dozen houses were left uninhabitable and four soldiers were killed, he said.

Ahmed said his family, and others caught in the crossfire, managed to flee to safety. However, no government assistance was offered for the reconstruction of the damaged homes.

"Since that day, we have struggled to put our lives back on track but it seems difficult. Very difficult," he added.

Ahmed, a farmer who now lives with a relative, said he would need to save for 10 years to rebuild his destroyed house.

Muhammad Shaban Dar has been living in a cow shed with his wife and three children since November 2014, when his home in South Kashmir's Kulgam district was destroyed in a clash.

"During the battle, shells rained down near the house. The blasts were so powerful they ripped off the rooftop and started fires inside," he said.

"There is a only a cow shed left for shelter. We don't know how long it will take me to earn enough money to rebuild our house again," Dar told ucanews.com.

Dar says that after several months, he was given compensation totaling 100,000 rupees or about US$1,500.

"The compensation is so little that I would not be able to reconstruct a single room," Dar said.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the government introduced a scheme in 2010 to compensate people whose property was damaged by the army, with an upper ceiling of 1 million rupees following an assessment by a district level committee.

But victims say the government payouts are nowhere near this amount and are slow in coming.

A government official, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said checks had to be made before any compensation can be issued.

He said the government does not want to pay compensation to people who shelter rebels.

"It takes time to ascertain if the so-called victim is a rebel sympathizer or not," he said.


Alienation

Locals also accuse the government of exposing civilians to deadly danger during clashes with rebels.

Junaid Ahmad Dar, an 11-year-old boy, was killed on Sept. 6 when a live shell exploded in his home in Ladoora, in Baramulla district.

According to his family, Junaid found the shell in the debris of a house and took it home, where it exploded.

Kashmiri author M Ashraf, who has written extensively on the Kashmir conflict, says the security forces seem to look on Kashmir as "enemy territory" and their heavy-handed approach is an attempt to frighten the civilian population into submission so that rebels are denied shelter or food.

"On the one hand, some commanders have a policy of befriending the civilian population through various programs, while others are alienating the population more and more," he said.

Caritas India, the Catholic Church's social services arm, says it is looking to boost assistance to civilians affected by separatist violence now that it has opened an office in the restive state.

"Our work is not based on religion. We look forward to helping people's development and we will surely try to help all those we can, irrespective of their faith," Caritas spokesman Amrit Sangma says.

Some religious groups are already working to help people. Mirwaiz Qazi Yasir, head of charity organization Ummat I Islami, has started a program to rebuild houses destroyed during clashes in Kashmir.

He said his organization has laid the foundations for several houses.

"Our first duty as humans is to help the victims, the suffering, the survivors," he said. "We as a society set high moral conduct yet when it comes to helping other members of society we are hesitant. It's our foremost duty to remember those who have suffered."

Source: UCAN