Shiv Sena MP forces Muslim man to break fast, raises political storm

Shiv Sena MP Anant Geete said that such an incident never took place.

New Delhi:  A Shiv Sena MP, who was seen in a video clip trying to force food into the mouth of a Muslim staffer of Maharashtra Sadan who was observing the Ramadan fast, kicked off a political storm Wednesday, with parliament in uproar.

While the Congress targeted the Narendra Modi government for the act, which they described as a "crime against secularism", the government first refused to comment on the issue as it involved a key ally, but seeing an angry opposition, offered
to probe the matter.

Shiv Sena MP Rajan Vichare, who was in the midst of the controversy, defended his action, saying he had no idea about the man's religion - even though he had his
name badge on.

His party chief Uddhav Thackeray decried attempts to 'communalise' the issue and attempted to play it down by describing it as a "trivial" matter.

Though all BJP leaders and ministers, including union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, refused to comment on the matter, party patriarch L.K. Advani just said "this is
wrong."

But the opposition was unrelenting. Vichare's action had hurt the religious sentiments of the Muslims, MP after MP said.

The Congress, which was on a back foot for the past two days following Press Council of India chief Justice Markandey Katju's allegation of corruption in judicial
appointments during the Manmohan Singh government's tenure, lapped up the opportunity to hit out at the Modi government.

The Congress slammed the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government both inside and outside parliament.

In the Rajya Sabha, opposition members disrupted the proceedings of the house after the question hour, forcing Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien to adjourn the house for 10 minutes.

The issue was later raised again by Ali Anwar Ansari of the Janata Dal-United in the zero hour, who called it an insult to Indian culture and social tolerance.

Responding to the members, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Prakash Javadekar said that government will probe the facts.

"These are unsubstantiated reports. We should not take it to the next level. Let us understand what exactly happened," Javadekar said.

Kurien then instructed the government to "ascertain the facts and come back to the house".

The issue was also raised in the Lok Sabha during the zero hour by Congress MP from Wayanad in Kerala, M.I. Shanavas.

"The MPs who have to be a role model have done this. This house should condemn this," he said.

However, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said no comments should be made on the issue as the facts of the incidents had not been established yet.

"Whatever has to be done, the government will do," he added.

There was however huge pandemonium when Shiv Sena MP and union Heavy Industry Minister Anant Geete said no such incident took place at the Maharashtra Sadan.

But soon television channels started flashing a video clip shot by a local channel, which clearly showed that the first time MP Vichare was trying to force a chapatti into the staffer's mouth.

The staffer was seen pleading with the MPs who were angry over the poor quality of food served at the state guest house.

Vichare and some other Shiv Sena MPs are residing at the New Maharashtra Sadan in central Delhi during their stay in the capital.

When Vichare was forcing the food into the Muslim staffer's mouth, other Shiv Sena MPs watched quietly, the video clipping showed.

In the Lok Sabha too members from almost all parties trooped near Speaker Sumitra Mahajan's podium forcing her to adjourn the house for 15 minutes.

When the house reassembled, BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri was made to apologize for his conduct.

Outside Parliament House, Congress criticised the Shiv Sena MPs behaviour.

Congress leader M. Veerappa Moily said the incident was the "biggest crime against secularism in the country."

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said the incident obstructed an individual's right to practice his religion, which is guaranteed under the constitution.

"This is against the very basic tenets of the constitution of India which provides freedom to every individual to preach or practice his religion," Azad added.

As the incident snowballed into a major controversy, Uddhav Thackeray in Aurangabad said: "We may have a Hindutva agenda, but we shall never play with the religious sentiments of any community."

Party spokesperson Sanjay Raut said that these people who are trying to put a communal colour on the incident "have lost their mental balance".

MP Asaduddin Owaisi said: "I am not surprised with the Shiv Sena MP's behavior.

The question is that even if the employee named Arshad was not a Muslim, he should not have been treated this way".

"This is unbecoming," said the chief of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen.

"The Maharastra resident commissioner should register a complaint against the MPs. After all forcefully breaking the fast of a Muslim is hurting his religious sentiments," Owaisi added.

IANS

Divorce, alcoholism worrying Kerala

Closing of bars didn’t lead to reduction in the consumption of liquor.

Thiruvananthapuram: 

A member of Kerala legislative assembly says increasing rates of alcoholism and divorces are grave issues faced by the state.

K Muraleedharan MLA said closing some of bars recently did not lead to reduction in the consumption of liquor. “The only difference" is that those who want it now by it directly from the outlet of Kerala State Beverages Corporation.

Muraleedharan said this while inaugurating the state-level workshop organized by the State Women’s Commission on ‘Pre-marital Counselling, Training, Content and Guidelines’ in Trivandrum on Tuesday.

He said neither the wife nor the husband should take the role as the head of the family but both should be equally responsible to respect each other’s views, The Indian Express reported.

“There should be willingness to make compromises. The strength of the family is essential for success in career also,” he said.

A panel of experts discussed the issue of changing the content of pre-marital counselling to make it relevant for the present time.

Source: New Indian Express

Goa BJP makes minorities feel insecure: MLA

Sardesai also blamed the BJP for remaining silent when a central leader wrongly accused the Church of being against HIV infected children.

File photo

Porvorim: 

An independent member of Goa legislative member says state BJP government's language has changed since the BJP came to power at the Centre and minorities in Goa are feeling insecure as more are applying for Portuguese passport.

Fatorda independent MLA Vijai Sardesai said on Tuesday that among things that worry minorities is the soft stance of the state towards Ram Sene chief Pramod Mutalik's planned entry into Goa, The Times of India reported.

During a discussion in the legislative assembly, Sardesai said accused BJP of moving in directions that make minorities feel insecure.

A sign of more people feeling insecure in the state should be seen more applying for Portuguese passports. He said he has learnt that daily about 47 Goans are applying for Portuguese passports.

He also accused BJP of "double talk." While the party proclaims it is against moral policing, the BJP mahila wing rails against pub culture in Goa.

"They say this is Portuguese culture, by which, they blame the minorities. This language has started only after the BJP came to power at the Centre. This double talk will ruin tourism. This double talk will result in a self-goal," Sardesai said.

Sardesai also accused the BJP government of invoking the special marriage act just to facilitate the marriage of one girl but in the process, diluting the very definition of Goan-ness. Sardesai said that this had diluted the unique uniform civil code of Goa and wondered why the government was hankering after special status for the state.

He also wanted to know why BJP was silent when its central leader Subramaniam Swamy wrongly accused the Church of being against HIV infected children.

Chief minister Manohar Parrikar, however, interrupted Sardesai saying he could rake up all these issues when he spoke on the demands but that he could not do so when he was speaking on the budget.

Source: Times of India

Saint James the Greater Apostle, Patron of Spain († 44)

Saint James the Greater

Apostle, Patron of Spain
(† 44)

Saint James the Greater
O.D.M. pinxit

Among the twelve Apostles, three were chosen to be the close companions of our Blessed Lord, and of these James was one. He, with Peter and John, was admitted to the house of Jairus when his dead child was raised to life (Luke8:40 ff.); only these three were taken up to the high mountain of Thabor and beheld the face of Jesus shining as the sun, and His garments white as snow (Mark 9:2-7). These three alone witnessed the fearful agony in Gethsemane. (Luke 22:39-45)

What was it that won James a place among the favorite three? Faith, burning, impetuous and outspoken, the straightforwardness of the true Israelite, were visible in him; but these qualities needed purifying before the Son of Thunder could proclaim the Gospel of peace. It was James who suggested fire from heaven to consume the inhospitable Samaritans, and who sought a place of honor beside Christ in His kingdom. Yet Our Lord, in rebuking his presumption, prophesied his faithfulness unto death. (Mark 10:38-40) He went to Spain after the death of Our Lord, and remained there for nine years, according to tradition. The famous Basilica of Saint James of Compostello, one of the most frequented pilgrimage sites of Europe, the site also of countless miracles, commemorates the memory of the nation's beloved Apostle.

In the year 44 Saint James, who was at that time in Jerusalem, was brought before King Herod Agrippa. The Apostle had been preaching fearlessly there, curing the sick and the blind, and delivering possessed persons. Two magicians were sent by the authorities to stop his doings by their charms, but both were converted. His enemies were not defeated by that, however, and paid two Roman captains to incite a sedition during the Apostle's preaching, then seize him as its author. A certain Josias, a scribe among the Pharisees, put a cord around his neck and took him before the third Herod, grandson of the first, murderer of the Innocents, and nephew of the second, who had the Baptist decapitated. This new sycophant of the Roman Emperors, desiring to conciliate the Jews and make them forget his non-Jewish origins, decided to do so by persecuting the Christians. Without delay he condemned Saint James to die by the sword. The Apostle's fearless confession of Jesus crucified so moved the scribe Josias, that he too confessed Christ and begged pardon of the Saint. He was taken with the Apostle to the place of execution, where Saint James and his convert died together.

The Apostle won the three crowns of heroism: he is a Doctor par excellenceof the Faith, he was the first Apostle to be martyred, and according to Saint Epiphanus and other historians, he always conserved his virginity. He is the patron of Spain. A Spanish author by the name of Tamayo reports fifteen different apparitions of Saint James to the kings and princes of Spain, followed each time by some specific assistance for the benefit of the land.

Under China's Xi Jinping, freedom is more remote than ever

Crackdowns going farther, penalties growing harsher.

Beijing:  Activists, lawyers, journalists, bloggers, professors -- China's new leaders have taken aim at civil society in what analysts call an effort to muffle dissent that is proving powerfully effective.

The ruling Communist Party has long maintained tight control, nipping in the bud any public outcries or organised efforts that might snowball into "social unrest" that challenges its hegemony.

But experts see a renewed drive under Xi Jinping, who took over as party chief in late 2012 and as state president in early 2013, and has since consolidated power and advanced an ambitious agenda including restructuring the economy.

In the latest example, seven activists were charged in Henan province last week with the vague offence of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" after they held a ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, rights groups said.

"It's a general intolerance for dissent, a general intolerance for civil society's development. The whole approach is to concentrate power to promote economic reforms, to emphasise stability," said Joseph Cheng, a China politics expert at City University of Hong Kong.

One tactic was "to generate deterrence through heavy penalties," he said.

"I have to admit these messages tend to be effective."

About a dozen rights activists and lawyers have been jailed on convictions ranging from the less serious -- such as disrupting public order -- to the grave "inciting subversion of state power", for which 2010 Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Many more wait in detention.

Chinese journalists, already barred from publishing stories on sensitive topics, were last month "prohibited from engaging in critical reporting unless they have received the approval of the work unit" by the state media body.

Social networks have become popular alternative information sources to state-controlled news outlets. But users felt the chilling effects last September after the Supreme Court warned of three years' prison for anyone spreading "slanderous" information that was forwarded more than 500 times or viewed on more than 5,000 occasions.

Reinforcing that threat, around that time influential Chinese bloggers were paraded on state television pledging to avoid posts that might have a "negative" social influence.

Academics in May last year reportedly received a notice to avoid teaching seven taboo subjects -- including universal values, press freedom, civil society and judicial independence.

Since taking power, Xi has pledged to tackle some of China's most urgent problems -- reforming economic growth which gives the party legitimacy but has slowed in recent years, and confronting rampant government corruption that infuriates the public.

"The general message is that the leadership feels it has to concentrate power in order to implement economic reforms in order to maintain stability. And therefore there has been a crackdown," said Cheng.

The authorities plan to enact reform on their own terms, as they signalled by jailing nearly a dozen activists who also campaigned against corruption by publicly urging officials to disclose their assets.

They belonged to the loose-knit New Citizens Movement, which was seen as a moderate group that did not seek to topple the party but mainly held small protests and group discussions on issues including education and migrant rights.

Xi "knows there are reforms that should be made to maintain the party's power but at the same time he doesn't want these reforms to be hijacked or seen as being the result of advocacy of civil society", said Human Rights Watch China researcher Maya Wang.

Among the string of arrests, that of Pu Zhiqiang -- a celebrated rights lawyer who represented dissident artist Ai Weiwei -- underscored that the party would act against anyone, she said.

Pu was detained in May and charged the following month with creating disturbances and illegally obtaining personal information.

The authorities' aggressive approach has prompted activists to back off and social media users to watch what they say, said Wang.

"I think people are generally lying low in multiple areas," she said.

Clamping down on journalists and bloggers has the multiplier effect of sweeping criticism from general public discussion, analysts said.

"This is what Xi Jinping sees as the war, fighting in the ideological and discursive affairs of the country, like what people think, how people discuss the past and the future, how people discuss the role and legitimacy of the party," said Zhengxu Wang, a China politics professor at the University of Nottingham.

The party has worked for years to control the conversation, building up a vast network of state-run media alongside a huge censorship system that filters online content, even a constantly updated list of search terms and any oblique references to them.

But Xi has pushed the party to act more forcefully, said Wang.

"It cannot control what people think, but it does try to manage how things are being discussed," he said.

"Part of that is of course to remove, to eliminate those very dangerous wrong messages.

"And that's what you are seeing today."

Source: AFP

Vatican's new finance head announces sweeping changes

Pell aims to take Vatican finances 'off the gossip pages'.

Vatican City:  After a sweeping overhaul of the Vatican’s financial operations on Wednesday, one thing seems clear: If Australian Cardinal George Pell fails in getting the Vatican, as he puts it, “off the gossip pages” due to chronic financial scandals, it won’t be because the 73-year-old prelate lacks the power to do the job.

One way or another, changes announced Wednesday bring most of the Vatican’s important financial centers under Pell’s influence, including purchasing and human resources as well as administration of the Vatican’s several billion dollars of investments. They also place Pell confidantes in key positions.

Among the moves unveiled on Wednesday:

• A downsizing of the troubled Vatican Bank, formally known as the “Institute for the Works of Religion”. Administering investments from its estimated $8 billion in holdings will be taken over by a new Vatican Asset Management office, reporting to Pell.

• The “ordinary section” of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), responsible for personal and procurement, will be transferred to Pell’s Secretariat for the Economy.

• Appointment of French businessman Jean-Baptiste de Franssu as the bank’s new president. From 1990 to 2011 de Franssu was an executive with Invesco Europe, an investing firm with $35 billion in assets under management.

• Appointment of one new member to a body of cardinals governing the bank, and of several lay people to a board of directors responsible for routine oversight.

• Creation of two commissions to study the sustainability of a pension fund for the Vatican’s roughly 5,000 employees, and a reorganization of media activity expected to result in a downsizing and greater emphasis on social media.

In an exclusive interview with the Globe on Wednesday, Pell insisted that the reform called for by Francis is “moving in the right direction,” but also conceded he’s run into resistance, perhaps especially among an Italian old guard that feels its power slipping away.

“There’s sadness and a bit of antagonism in some quarters, that’s for sure,” Pell said.
As an example of that blowback, Pell shot down recent reports in the Italian press implying that de Franssu, the new bank president, along with two other members of a new Council for the Economy, form a lobby attempting to take control of the Vatican’s money.

Calling the charges “Alice in Wonderland stuff,” he said the three men have his “full support.”

In general, Pell said, his aim is to make the Vatican “boringly successful” as a “model of good financial practices.”

The following are excerpts from the Globe’s interview with Pell.

Globe: In a big-picture sense, what are you trying to do?

Pell: The idea is to introduce modern accounting standards, to strengthen transparency, to increase self-sufficiency and coordination, and eventually to generate more income with lower costs.

Basically, the ambition is to be boringly successful, to get off the gossip pages. The aim is to become a model of good practice in financial administration. Along the way, we’re not going to generate any less revenue for the works of the Church. We’ve also got to be careful that we preserve the Vatican’s patrimony, so we don’t put anything at risk with short-term moves.

You’re confident you can pull it off?

We’re certainly moving in the correct direction.

The power of your Secretariat for the Economy has been enhanced. Is it fair to say that if reform fails, it won’t be because you don’t have the tools for the job?

First I’d like to make a clarification. The whole system is devised to include checks and balances and a division of powers. For instance, I have to answer to the Council for the Economy, rather than it being just an advisory board for me. There are senior, competent, international lay people on these boards, who are much more likely to insist on proper procedures and an appropriate level of independence. We’re not endeavoring to centralize the system.

Having said that, we do now have the authority to implement these systems. We’ll continue doing it as long as Pope Francis is with us, and right now he’s looking extremely healthy.

What are the next steps?

We need to set up APSA [Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, which currently administers the Vatican’s real estate and investment portfolio] as the Treasury of the Holy See. We need to get the Vatican Asset Management office up and running. We have to appoint an independent auditor, which is a very important consideration, which we’ll try to do before the end of the year.

Beyond those things, we need to get leaders into the new positions that have been created, and we have to persuade the many good people in the Vatican to cooperate.

How is the cooperation so far?

It’s not going too badly at all. Most of the people in the Vatican are thoroughly good, and they realize that in many ways the old world couldn’t go on. We’ve promised to consult with them and to share information with them, and most are responding well.

I spoke this morning with the staff of the ordinary section of APSA, and they seemed genuinely pleased to see me. It was a contrast with the first time I met them, shortly after I was appointed in February, when they were very cautious indeed.

What about blowback from an Italian old guard?

There’s sadness and a bit of antagonism in some quarters, that’s for sure.

How do you deal with it?

By listening to their complaints and explaining what we’re trying to do. We also need to make sure there’s a significant percentage of Italians in the new leadership, because we’re very dependent on their cooperation. In general, we’re trying to spread accurate information and to dialogue as much as possible. Actually, I suspect the extent to which we’re putting information is something of a novelty.

Source: Boston Globe

Pope Francis in three-hour meeting with top TV evangelists

Encounter with 'prosperity gospel' advocates causes some surprise.

Vatican City:  What does it take to produce the first-ever papal high-five? A meeting with American televangelists, apparently.

The gesture came during a three-hour meeting of Pope Francis and Texas televangelists Kenneth Copeland and James Robison, just weeks after the pontiff met with televangelist Joel Osteen and other religious leaders. At the June 24 meeting, Robison said he was so moved by Pope Francis’ message of the gospel that he asked the translator to ask Francis for a high-five. The pope obliged, raised his arm and the two men smacked hands.

The televangelists are among some wealthier U.S. evangelicals who have recently met with Francis, who has called for a focus on the poor and a simple lifestyle for clergy. In March, the pope met with members of the Green family, the Oklahoma billionaires whose company, Hobby Lobby, won their challenge to President Obama’s contraception coverage mandate at the Supreme Court last week.

Copeland and Osteen have been criticized by some as teaching “health and wealth” prosperity theology, the belief that faith can increase one’s wealth. But from his humble shoes to his simple Fiat, Francis has set a decidedly un-extravagant example.

“The prosperity gospel seems to be fundamentally opposed to the message that Francis has been spreading. But he has shown that he’s willing to meet with just about anyone,” said Michael Peppard, a professor of theology at Fordham University.

“Joel Osteen seems to have a charismatic authority among a large amount of people. Maybe Francis is channeling Jesus: If you disagree with someone, meet with them.”

Last year, Francis fired the German “Bishop of Bling,” Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, for spending $43 million on a fancy residential complex. Copeland, meanwhile, was one of several televangelists targeted by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, in 2007 for their lavish lifestyles.

Copeland declined to provide full information about his finances, and the investigation wrapped up in 2011 with no penalties for the pastors who did not cooperate and no definitive instances of wrongdoing found.

Copeland was unavailable for comment about his meeting with the pope, but in an address to his congregation, he played a recording from earlier this year where Francis spoke on a smartphone camera and called on Christians to set aside their differences.

Source: Religion News Service