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“Lay Catechists – Their Formation in India.” Edited by Rev C.M. Paul SDB (Nitika, Kolkata: Pages 206, Price Rs. 150.00) This book is an outcome of the Nitika Silver Jubilee seminar on “Lay Catechist Formation in India”, held in Kolkata in November 2002.  It is a compilation of the various presentations by 14 resource persons,…

Christmas is a time when devout Christians use the invocation “Maranatha”. It is the concluding line in the Bible that means “Come Lord Jesus” (Rev 22:20). It is most appropriate for Advent. This phrase is earlier used by St Paul in his benediction to the Corinthians (cf 1 Cor 16:22), where the expression means “Our…

As a northerner foodie I prefer meat to fish. I like it fried crisp, whereas those in the south may prefer a curry. Since my wife is more the southern type, whenever she prepares mackerel (aila in Malyalam or bangra in Konkani), she fries the torso crisp and makes a gelatinous curry with the heads….

(A sequel to “Gandhiji’s Quest for Truth“) It’s done and dusted, Mahatma Gandhi’s sesquicentennial birth anniversary. So we may now conveniently forget him and return to our humdrum lives. After all, no less than the PM has pompously declared rural India to be Open Defecation Free (ODF)! What more can we expect of the Mahatma?…

Miracles are back in the news after the recent canonization of Sr Mariam Theresia of Kerala. Opinions vary. Some question the importance or relevance of miracles in the canonization process. Rationalists question the very existence of miracles. Dr Sulphi Noohu, Secretary of the Indian Medical Association, Kerala, seeks to question the doctor that certified the…

(A sequel to “Is Pope Francis a Heretic?”) Perish the man, or perish the thought? The first part is not entirely improbable, and the second is most desirable. What is the probability of Pope Francis being assassinated? Going by some trends in the church, and the history of the papacy, I would rate it as…

(Concluding part of the trilogy “Is Pope Francis a heretic?” And “Will Pope Francis be Assassinated?”) Pope Francis reportedly has only one functional lung. So is he asthmatic? With his energy levels at 82, that puts younger people to shame, I daresay that he is not. His loss of a lung has not diminished his…

Does this question shock you? It should! Over the last couple of years I have been in regular correspondence with Rev Dr Valson Thampu. After retiring as Principal of the prestigious St Stephen’s College, Delhi, he is now settled in Kerala. But he is terribly unsettled by recent events in what was once described as…

Truth seems to be at a premium today. One of the big two at the recent Houston Rally is known for what he calls “alternative facts”, a euphemism for blatant lies or disinformation. The other Howdy at Houston is often called Feku by his detractors. This again is a derogatory word for one who makes…