Parliament did nothing to curb religion’s misuse in polls: SC

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New Delhi:

The Supreme Court on Thursday said Parliament has done nothing in the last two decades to stop misuse of religion for electoral gains.

The apex court’s seven-judge Constitution Bench asked why it (court) should not step in to make seeking of votes by raking up religion a corrupt electoral practise under the Representation of People Act.

Observing that Parliament did noting since 1996 when a five-judge bench made a reference to a seven-judge bench on the impact of using Hindutva in elections vis-a-vis Section 132 (3) of the Act, Chief Justice T.S. Thakur asked if it (Parliament) was waiting for the apex court to pronounce a verdict as in case of curbing sexual harassment at work places through what are known as Vishaka guidelines.

“Parliament has done nothing in the last 20 years while the reference was pending. Maybe it is waiting for us to pronounce judgment like in the sexual harassment case,” said Chief Justice Takhur, who is heading the bench.

Besides the Chief Justice, Justice Madan B. Lokur, Justice S.A. Bobde, Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, and Justice L. Nageswara Rao are on the Constitution Bench. Read more

Lutherans and Catholics chart path to unity

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Pope Francis receives a gift from children during a visit to Christuskirche, a parish of the German Evangelical Lutheran church, in Rome on Nov. 15, 2015. (CNS/Catholic Press/ Massimiliano Migliorato)

 

Thomas Ryan  |  Oct. 19, 2016

As we approach the year of events leading up to the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation on Oct. 31, 2017, a resurfacing question will be: Do we celebrate? Repent? Commemorate? Perhaps all three?

This is the first time the centenary observance of the Reformation will occur in an ecumenical era. Since the Joint Declaration of the Doctrine of Justification by the Vatican and the Lutheran World Federation in 1999, we’ve reached a new stage. We’ve made more progress in the last 50 years toward healing the wounds of our divisions than we have in the last five centuries.

Top Lutheran theologians participated as observers at the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). The international dialogue between the Vatican Secretariat for Ecumenism and the Lutheran World Federation started in 1967. After five sessions, they came out with the Malta Report in 1972 in which it was clear they decided to take on in the ensuing years a whole range of issues: Scripture and tradition; admission to the Eucharist; justification by faith; church law; ordination.

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CHURCHES’ WEEK OF ACTION FOR FOOD

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NCCI – Commission on Unity and Mission

(incorporating Justice, Peace and Creation)

Churches’ Week of Action on Food
“Climate is Changing: Food and Agriculture must too”
14 – 20 October 2016

WCC - EAA Food for Life Campaign

October 16th is World Food Day. The theme for this year is “Climate Change: Climate is Changing”. It has been chosen to highlight the role of civil societies and faith communities in improving food security and contributing to the eradication of hunger by addressing  climate change with the Gospel Values of Justice, Love and Peace.

The objective of annual World Food Day observances is to raise awareness about the global reality of hunger and to seriously commit people to explore ways of ending hunger. A global survey report states that one person out of every seven people in the world experiences starvation every day. This is not because of either poverty or population explosion or scarcity of food, but because of unjust structures, and unjust systems of production, procurement and distribution of food. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) critically cautions that poverty is quite acute in India and that in the long term starvation would lead to the deaths of five members including two children under the age of six in every family. Therefore it is a very great challenge for all forms of government programmes aiming to ensure food security for the poor and children.

 

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National Council of Churches in India mourns the demise of Prof. Dr. Jegadish Gandhi

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Prof. P Jonathan Jegadish Gandhi

28 September 1941 – 7 October 2016

National Council of Churches in India mourns the demise of Prof. Dr. Jegadish Gandhi, a committed Church Person, Ecumenist, Development Economist and Columnist.  Prof. Gandhi, who was hospitalised at CMC Vellore because of a massive cardiac arrest on 4th October, passed away on 7th Oct 2016.

Prof. Gandhi hailed from a rural place, Kamudhi in Ramnad District in Tamilnadu. He had his education at CSI Swartz School in Ramnad. In fact he and Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the late former President of India, were school contemporaries in Ramnad. Prof. Gandhi pursued his Graduation and Post Graduation from the prestigious Thiyagaraja College of Art and Science, Tepakkulam, Madurai and moved to Vellore to teach at Voorhese College. He joined as a lecturer in the Economics Department, became a Senior Professor and eventually HOD. His expertise was in ‘Developmental Economy’. He authored numerous books and articles on Economics, Development, and social issues, and later on ecology and theology. He even wrote regularly in news papers as a columnist.  Prof. Gandhi served as a member of the Planning Committee of the Government of Tamilnadu and held several honorary positions at State and Central Levels. He was also the President of the Association of Economists. Dr. Gandhi travelled widely as an Indian ‘alternate’ economist. He also organised several national and international conferences in India and in abroad.

The Vellore Institute of Developmental Study was his post retirement initiative; he served as its founder Director till his last breath. He made this institution global by relating, affiliating and accrediting with several international organisations and movements. He received several awards including the lifetime achievement award from Association of Economists.

Prof. Gandhi was committed to his Christian calling to promote Justice, Love and Peace. He contributed a significant contribution to the local CSI congregation as well as to Vellore diocese. As an ecumenist, he actively participated in the work of Ecumenical Christian Centre and Association of Christian Institutions of Social Concern in Asia (ACISCA), of which he was serving as General Secretary. In April 2016, he represented the ACISCA at the XXVIII Quadrennial Assembly of the NCCI. He served as a resource person at, and cosponsor of several NCCI’s programmes and also contributed articles to the NCC Review.

The funeral is scheduled for 9th Oct 2016 (Monday) in Vellore. Through this homage the Council offers its consolation to and prayers for Mrs. Sugirtham Gandhi, their three daughters and families. His family could be contacted at +91 9894051256.

Rev. Dr. Roger Gaikwad,

General Secretary,

On behalf of the National Council of Churches in India

Applications for scholarship 2016 – 2017 invited from Ministry of Minority Affairs

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National Council of Churches in India encourages  member churches and institutions to avail the opportunities offered by Ministry of Minority Affairs.The details about the scholarships and the links of the related websites are given below:
It is mandatory for all students to apply online on:
Documents to be attached:

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PRESS RELEASE: NCCI EXPRESSES GRAVE APPREHENSION OVER THE DRAFT OF THE NEW EDUCATIONAL POLICY.

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PRESS RELEASE

The Executive Committee of the National Council of Churches in India, meeting in Chennai on August 13, 2016, has expressed grave concern over the new education policy drafted by the Government of India.
The major points of concern are the following:
1. The preamble of the draft eulogizes the ancient patriarchal gurukul system, and praises the contributions of male hindu scholars of the past and of hindu leaders in modern India. Such a review smacks of ‘hindu reading’ of educational history and gives rise to the apprehension of introducing a deliberately purported hinduized educational system. Furthermore, the draft makes mention of male hindu scholars only thereby giving the impression of a male-dominated hinduized educational system.

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NCCI EXPRESSES SERIOUS RESERVATIONS ABOUT THE INTENTION OF THE GOVERNMENT TO INTRODUCE THE LOKPAL ACT 2013.

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The National Council of Churches in India, in its Executive Committee meeting in Chennai on August 13, 2016, has expressed serious reservations about the intention of the Government to introduce the Lokpal Act of 2013.
The Act designates directors of organisations receiving annually either Rs. One Crore or more from Government grants, or Rs. Ten Lakhs or more from foreign funding, as ‘Public Servants’. It therefore requires the directors to declare their assets and file annual returns giving particulars not only of themselves, but also of their spouses and dependent children.
The NCCI has the following serious concerns about this Act:

NCCI EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER THE TROUBLED SITUATION IN KASHMIR.

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The National Council of Churches in India, in its Executive Committee meeting in Chennai on August 13, 2016, has expressed deep concern over the disturbed situation in Kashmir.

It urges the central and state governments to facilitate peace in the region on the principles of justice and inclusivity. The NCCI also urges the Government to reconsider the continuance of the imposition of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Kashmir and North-East India.  Read more

NCCI CONDEMNS CONTINUING ATROCITIES ON CHRISTIAN MISSION WORKERS.

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PRESS RELEASE

The National Council of Churches in India, in its Executive Committee meeting in Chennai on August 13, 2016, condemned incidents of physical attacks on Christian Mission workers in different parts of the country.

The NCCI is concerned about wanton actions taken by right wing fundamentalist forces on dedicated workers seeking to serve the society through their ministries of education, health care and life-transformation. So also the worship services conducted by them in houses of Christian families have been disrupted on the false allegation that they are converting people to the Christian faith. Such workers have been subject to much humiliation including being imprisoned on false charges.

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NCCI’s new website

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NCCI’s new website ncci1914.com was inaugurated by NCCI President, Honourable Bishop Dr. P. C. Singh on August 11, 2016 in the course of the General Body meeting in Chennai. Bishop Dr. P. C. Singh appreciated NCCI’s Commission on Communications and Relations for the upgrade, and wished the website to be a channel for more effective accomplishment of ecumenical objectives as communicating communities seeking to synergize efforts in service of the Church and Society.

NCCI’s new website is aimed at incorporating newer strategies and website components towards optimizing available technology to the various ways people currently use it, and its new domain name brings into focus the historic standing and commitment of the Council. The website will serve as a repository for reference and relevant data as well as a portal for news from NCCI, its member bodies and ecumenical concerns in general. With a responsive web design and integrated cross-platform content sharing (eg. in addition to email, facebook, twitter and other online social media, news posts viewed on mobile devices can now be shared on whatsapp as well), NCCI has responded practically to changing trends of accessing and sharing data across multiple platforms, including smart phones. The NCCI news app for AndroidTM devices that complements the news components of the website, continues to be freely available on Google PlayTM

 

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