Free Republic

The head of the UN's climate change panel - Dr Rajendra Pachauri - is accused of making a fortune from his links with 'carbon trading' companies, Christopher Booker and Richard North write. No one in the world exercised more influence on the events leading up to the Copenhagen conference on global warming than Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and mastermind of its latest report in 2007. Although Dr Pachauri is often presented as a scientist (he was even once described by the BBC as “the world’s top climate scientist”), as a former...

Note the date of the article. What is dated in that article continues to present and into the future. The past molds the present.

More Than 200,000 Animals Slaughtered at Nepal Sacrifice Festival November 24, 2009 Nov. 24: A butcher prepares to slaughter a buffalo with his knife during a mass sacrifice ceremony at Gadhimai temple in Bariyapur, Nepal. Hundreds of thousands of Hindus gathered at a temple in southern Nepal on Tuesday for a ceremony involving the slaughter of more than 200,000 animals, a festival that has drawn the ire of animal-welfare protesters. A Nepalese minister said it was the largest sacrificial slaughter of animals in the world. Animal rights groups and activists including the actress Brigitte Bardot have condemned the event, which...

The world's biggest animal sacrifice got under way in Nepal today with the killing of the first of more than 250,000 animals as part of a Hindu festival in the village of Biriyapur, near the Indian border. * * * In the main event, 250 appointed locals with traditional kukri knives began their task of decapitating more than 10,000 buffalo in a dusty enclosure guarded by high walls and armed police. Frightened calves galloped around in vain as the men, wearing red bandanas and armbands, pursued them and chopped off their heads. Banned from entering the animal pen, hundreds of...

UP to a million Hindu devotees have gathered in a village in Nepal to witness the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of animals in a mass sacrifice that has drawn widespread criticism. Worshippers travelled long distances, many coming from India, to attend the two-day Gadhimai festival, which honours the Hindu goddess of power and takes place once every five years in southern Nepal. A huge cry of "Long Live Gadhimai!" went up after the village temple's head priest launched the event with the ritual sacrifice of two wild rats, two pigeons, a rooster, a lamb and a pig. The crowd...

Convictions Few in Anti-Christian Violence in Orissa, India Violence devastated Kandhamal district, Orissa state in August-September 2008. BJP legislator, a key suspect in Kandhamal violence, acquitted again and out on bail. NEW DELHI, November 11 (CDN) — Following six acquittals last week in trials for those accused of the 2008 anti-Christian violence in India’s Orissa state and the release on bail of a key suspect, Christians are losing heart to strive for justice, according to a prosecuting attorney. The acquittal of six suspects last week raises the total to 121, with just 27 convicted in the Orissa violence by Hindu...

Pastor in India Lured into Violent Trap [Photo] Pastor Paasu Ninama Hindu extremists entice preacher into house, beat him unconscious. NEW DELHI, October 21 (CDN) — A group of Hindu extremists in Madhya Pradesh earlier this month beat a pastor unconscious and chewed off part of his ear, pelting him with stones after he fainted from the pain. Paasu Ninama told Compass that the six attackers first lured him into a house in Malphalia village, Jhabua district with an offer of water on Oct. 4. The 35-year-old resident of Pipal Kutta village said he was on his way back from...

The Dow Jones reached a significant milestone yesterday, and news outlets were abuzz with excitement. Olympia Snowe's vote for the Baucus bill was plenty fodder for the 24-hour news cycles. But, for Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists in the United States, an epochal event transpired at the White House afternoon that should not slip notice. Lead me from Untruth to Truth. Lead me from darkness to light. Lead me from death to immortality. (from the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad -- I.iii.28) As the ethereal sounds of a Hindu priest's chanting of this Sanskrit prayer from ancient Hindu scripture filled the East Room,...

India: Relief Camp Bombed On Sept. 27, four believers were injured when a Christian relief camp in Nandarigi village, Orissa state, providing temporary housing for Christians who fled anti-Christian, was bombed by suspected Hindu extremists, according to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts. The Hindu man who reportedly set off the bomb was killed in the attack. Five days before the attack the suspected bomber reportedly threatened Christians at the camp with violence, according to VOM contacts. The man reportedly demanded food and shelter. VOM contacts report he returned the night of the bombing heavily intoxicated and assaulted two Christian...

India: Pastor Attacked On Oct. 4, Pastor Prakash was attacked by 25 Bajrang Dal extremists while he was ministering in Kaiwara village, Bangalore Rural District, according to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts. The extremists assaulted the pastor and accused him of cheating people. After the attack, the pastor was questioned and held on complaints of “illegal activity.” Fortunately, other believers provided evidence that the pastor had not broken any laws but had visited their homes for prayer. At last report he was still in custody. Pastor Prakash has been in ministry for more than 10 years and pastors a...

Rapper to take a break after storming the stage at the VMA'sKanye West is taking a break by heading to a Hindu retreat. The rapper who recently received a lot of bad press after he stormed the stage at the VMA‘s, is apparently about to spend a month at a Hindu ashram in Pondicherry, India. "He feels terrible about hurting Taylor Swift," an insider told Star Magazine. "[He] sees it as another sign that his life is going in the wrong direction since his mother died." They added. West whose mother died in 2007 after complications during surgery, has recently...

In the current conflict in Afghanistan, India does not have a single soldier operating under NATO command. India is not part of the coalition the United States and its allies have put together to aid the Afghan government’s efforts to defeat the Taliban. In fact, India has turned down proposals within India and in the U.S. that it should participate in peacekeeping efforts in Iraq or Afghanistan. And yet, suicide bombers have struck the Indian Embassy in Kabul once again. In 2008, nearly 58 people died, including three Indians. On Friday, the toll was smaller, though the device used was...

India: Church Damaged in Attack On Sept. 9, St. Francis De Sales Church in Bangalore, India was attacked by more than 15 Hindu extremists, according to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts. Extremists armed with weapons broke into the church, damaged window panes and statues inside the church. A house behind the church was damaged. The church has about 3,000 members who attend services performed in different languages such as Tamil, Malayalam and English. Following the attack, the church priests, Father Aloysius and Father Selvaraj filed a complaint with the police. The Voice of the Martyrs supports and assists persecuted...

The Calgary Zoo said it has no plans to remove a dancing elephant statue after a complaint from a Christian group that it's an inappropriate religious icon. A private donor gave the statue, modeled after the Hindu god Ganesh, to the zoo in 2006 to stand in front of the Asian elephant exhibit. As CBC News first reported, Concerned Christians Canada sent a letter raising its concerns that the statue was "selective religious partiality" to the zoo on Thursday. "A lot of people are saying we're being intolerant. I don't consider asking that the zoo look at this from a...

A right-wing Hindu group has claimed responsibility for the attack on a Church in Bangalore city on 10 September that had destroyed 10 windows, breaking the statues of Jesus and Mary. The officials of St. Francis De Sales Church, a Catholic church in Hebbagodi, the outskirt of Karnataka state capital said they received a letter allegedly from the Sri Ram Sena (Lord Ram's Army).

» 09/22/2009 17:44INDIACatholic priest donates kidney to save Hindu manby Nirmala CarvalhoIn Kerala, Father Chiramel offers one of his kidneys to an unknown recipient. The priest said he was inspired by the ‘Year for Priest’. “For me donating an organ is a unique and privileged opportunity to share in Christ’s suffering.” New Delhi (AsiaNews) – Fr Davis Chiramel, a 49-year-old Catholic priest from Kerala, donated one of his kidneys to a complete stranger. The clergyman is parish priest at St Francis Xavier Church in Vadanapally (Kerala). Earlier this year he decided to help a Hindu father of two, a...

Christians Arrested for Operating Boys’ Hostel in India (Photo caption) Hindu nationalist extremists are a small but active fraction of India’s population. Police accompanied by Hindu extremists charge pastor, evangelist with “promoting enmity.” MUMBAI, India, September 2 (CDN) — Karnataka police accompanied by 10 Hindu extremists on Friday (Aug. 28) arrested a Christian operator of a boys’ hostel after the extremists accused him and another Christian of offering food, shelter, education and future job prospects as an “allurement” to convert to Christianity. Hanuma Naik is also pastor of Indian Gypsy Works Fellowship (IGWF). After his release on bail the next...

A day ahead of Malaysia's 52nd independence day, authorities were busy Sunday tackling tension over the display of a severed cow head at the head of a procession to protest the relocation of a Hindu shrine. The incident occurred Saturday in Shah Alam, capital of Selangor state, prompting Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to direct Police Inspector General Musa Hasan to investigate the matter. The Selangor government Sunday condemned and expressed regret over the 'provocative, offensive and deliberate use' of the severed head of a cow by a group of people to stage a protest against the proposed relocation of...

Those who argue that all religions are essentially the same reveal the fact that they know little about these very different belief systems. The worldview of Christianity is, for example, radically different from the belief structure of Buddhism (some forms of which may actually claim to resist the very idea of beliefs). These differences in belief systems are apparent in Lisa Miller's recent article for Newsweek. As she explains, "A million-plus Hindus live in the United States, a fraction of the billion who live on Earth. But recent poll data show that conceptually, at least, we are slowly becoming more...

INDIAN yogis and Hindu leaders are in a huff over fears that Julia Roberts' upcoming movie, "Eat, Pray, Love," will bastardize their religion and portray yoga as a crock of New Age mumbo jumbo. SNIP Zed added, "The people of India will be anxious to see how perfectly Roberts does her job of cleaning ashram floors as a part of her devotional duty, trying to recite 182- verse Sanskrit chant, and going through grueling hours of meditation, while being feasted on by mosquitoes."

A Catholic priest has been found murdered in a remote area near Mangalore, southern India. The naked body of Father James Mukalel, 39, was found on a roadside in the morning of July 30. The priest worked in Belthangady diocese, a Syro-Malabar diocese, with its headquarters near Mangalore, in Karnataka state. Father Thomas Kannankal, the diocesan social work director, said the deceased priest was returning to his parish after attending the funeral of one of his former parishioners in Thottathady parish on July 29. Father Mukalel belonged to Tellicherry archdiocese in the neighboring state of Kerala, but opted to work...

Press Trust Of India Washington, July 26, 2009 First Published: 23:30 IST(26/7/2009) Last Updated: 23:33 IST(26/7/2009) Is Obama hiding his birth certificate? As President Barack Obama attempts to cool a heated racial row in the US linked to the arrest of a black Harvard professor, a growing conspiracy claims that he is hiding a Kenyan birth certificate, making him ineligible to serve as president. Conspiracy theorists in the United States and far right wingers, who have begun to call themselves “birthers”, claim that Obama is not entitled to be in the White House simply because he is “foreign born”, the...

The interior of the Cathedral of the Assumption in Kathmandu Rome, Italy, Jul 16, 2009 / 12:37 pm (CNA).- Following the recent bomb attack on the Cathedral of the Assumption, which was attributed to the Hindu group Nepal Defense Army, extremists are now threatening priests and religious in Nepal with death if they do not leave the country “within one month.” The Apostolic Vicar of Nepal, Bishop Anthony Francis Sharma, said the threats were made to the associate vicar, Father Pius Perumana.  L’Osservatore Romano reported that the police have beefed up security at the diocesan chancery in Godavari, where Father...

Situated on the banks of the icy Lidder river, a 900-year old Shiva temple is the only Hindu shrine in Kashmir Valley which has Muslim priests. After the migration of Kashmiri Pandits from a nearby village, two Muslim priests - Mohmmad Abdullah and Ghulam Hassan kept the doors of the Mamalaka temple open and bells continued to toll. "We not only took care of temple but also held 'aartis' everyday," Ghulam Hasan told a correspondent. Besides ensuring the safety of the 3-feet-long black stone "shivaling", Abdullah and Hassan have ensured no devotee goes without prasad even for a single day....

An Indian immigrant says his son was forced to violate Hindu dietary rules by eating a beef taco at a Cincinnati public school. Ashish Gandhi has filed a complaint with the U.S. Justice Department alleging religious discrimination, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported Sunday. Gandhi, who says a school employee force-fed the taco to his son, called it an "intentional act of religious bigotry" by the Academy of World Languages. Gary Winters, a lawyer for the Cincinnati Public Schools, says the 5-year-old boy selected the taco himself. "At most, there was an error made on a single occasion, for which CPS's personnel...

Thirty-four years after they fell in love, Abdul Rashid (54) and Chandni (50) got married a week ago. A local maulvi performed the nikaah ceremony at the MM Degree College in Moradabad, 160 km east of Delhi, where Rashid works, on June 15. Rashid, a Muslim, and Chandni, a Hindu, first met in 1975, when their families were neighbours in Moradabad’s Kathghar area. Soon, Rashid, then 20, the eldest of seven children of an artisan in the local brass industry, won the 16-year-old Chandni’s heart. “Their parents were furious when they found out,” recalled another neighbour, Masterjee. “Chandni’s father even...

When President Barack Obama made his long-awaited speech to the Muslim world on June 4, he was excruciatingly careful to demonize those Muslims he termed "violent extremists" and praise other practitioners of Islam. While the distinction is accurate, it is hardly insightful. While declaring Islam itself evil leads to a strategic cul de sac (what is the strategy once we declare one third of humanity our enemy); Obama's chosen path is equally dangerous. It allows the Muslim world to go on blaming their problems on "imperialism," "exploitation," or more innocuously poverty, and ratifies the consistently disastrous policy of letting those...

Hindu scholars have poked fun at GWYNETH PALTROW for using religious terminology to promote her "mundane" weekly Goop blog. U.S. Hindu leader Rajan Zed suggests the movie star should take the trouble to learn more about the ancient religion before using taglines like "nourish the inner aspect" on her website. Zed fears Paltrow is leading impressionable minds astray by suggesting her weekly musings are deep and philosophical - and then just writing about material, "external" matters. He says, "There are not many deep, spiritual and philosophical thoughts in the blog, which are an essential part of nourishing the inner self....

I have seldom read such fictional defence of the barbarians — except in the propaganda sheets of Goebbels and Saddam Hussein — as was so painfully manifest in Mariana Babar’s account of Swat Sikhs. This account first appeared in appeared in The News, Karachi, and was later recycled by an Indian magazine. I will comment on the version that appeared in Karachi, for the sake of presenting a Pakistani intellectual’s obsession with marginalizing the pains of non-Muslim minorities in their land of Islamic justice. The gem of her two-part series is the line told to Mariana by a Swati refugee...

Thousands of Malaysian Hindus are seeking blessings from a group of wild boars believed to possess magical powers, shrugging off concerns about a global outbreak of "swine flu," a local newspaper reported Monday. The Sun reported a Hindu temple in the northwestern Malaysian state of Perak has been drawing a steady stream of thousands of visitors daily, eager to feed and touch dozens of wild boars. The boars, which started to appear near the temple about a year ago, are believed by devotees to possess magical powers and can bring good luck. Among the busloads of devotees and visitors from...

This week’s kickoff of India’s multi-stage election was marred by violence carried out by Maoist rebels, but for many of the country’s Christians, Hindu extremists are of greater concern. The communist insurgents killed at least 16 people, including security and polling officials, in three northeastern states – Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Bihar – on Thursday, one of five election days spread over the next month. Around 140 million people out of a total electorate of some 714 million were eligible to vote on the first day of what is described as the world’s biggest democratic electoral process. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s...

The Hindu baby's conversion into Islam without her mother's consent is brewing into a potentially explosive situation in Ipoh. In a press conference, M Indira Gandhi revealed that her husband used to beat her and tried to force her to convert to Islam, but the mother of three refused. One day, she said, her husband came into the house, beat her up and then took away their baby daughter. Tamil Nesan first reported the story on 4 March. The story was buried on page 6 and headlined Husband beat and tortured me. Wife Indira Gandhi lodges police report. The story...

Over a thousand Christians were reconverted to Hinduism at a ceremonial function in Mumbai, India. According to a trusted source, about 1,130 Christians recently adopted Hinduism during a function at Kalyan in the district of Thane. The conversion was solemnized by Jagadguru Narendra Maharaj, a Hindu saint spearheading a religious campaign vying to reconvert Hindus as well as Dalits and tribal people into Hinduism. The ceremony was held in the presence of a thousand devotees who chanted hymns and indulged in ritualistic practices. Jagadguru told reporters after the event that Christian missionaries are involving in massive conversions and most of...

Senior staff at Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital have ordered that crucifixes, Bibles and other Christian symbols be removed from the hospital chapel in order to avoid offending Muslims, Hindus and other non-Christian groups. The chapel building also contains a separate Muslim prayer room. Mosman Mayor Dom Lopez, a devout Catholic, said he was "outraged" to discover the rule when he was recently undergoing treatment at the hospital for bowel cancer. "When I was first told it I didn't believe it," Cr Lopez said. "When I was recovering, the Catholic priest came to see me and said, 'It is...

Last October The Portugal News reported on the Interfaith Congress held at Fátima, one of Catholicism’s most sacred sites, where representatives of the world’s leading religions allegedly explored the possibility of opening the shrine to a whole variety of faiths. While the newspaper received many letters and emails congratulating it for reporting on the congress, it was also criticised by some groups who claimed that Fátima would remain exclusively Catholic. Now, however, we can report that the first steps in developing Fátima as a multi-faith centre could have been taken. On May 5th, SIC and SIC Notícias carried a report...

BHUBANESWAR, India — An armed Hindu mob landed at the doorstep of evangelists Samuel and Daniel Nayak on Aug. 25, with an ultimatum: Denounce the faith or die. “Do you want Christ or your life?” the mob leaders demanded of the Nayaks and five other members of the Nayak family. Unfazed, the brothers replied, “Christ is everything for us.” Enraged, the Hindu fundamentalists hit two children in the house with iron rods, breaking their skulls. After pouring gasoline on the adults, the fanatics gave them “one more chance.” They stood firm and raised their hands in prayer. Within seconds, five...

In a case of alleged self-sacrifice out of superstitious devotion, two people jumped onto a ritualistic fire lighted in connection with Maha Sivaratri festival at a remote village in Andhra Pradesh's Adilabad district. Devidas (23) and Sitaram (30) had been observing 'Siva Deeksha,' a religious vow for a period of 40 days, and they jumped onto the fire during 'jagran' (a ritual of remaining awake during the night of Sivaratri) at Shivnoor village in Jainoor mandal of the district late on Monday night, police officials told PTI over phone. The two were farmers by profession and were ardent devotees of...

Believed to be among the oldest brick shrines in India, Lucknow University’s department of ancient Indian history and archaeology has unearthed a 2,000-year-old Shiva temple as part of its excavation project recently in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district. ‘‘It’s actually a complex comprising five temples,’’ Prof D P Tewari of the Lucknow University said. ‘‘While four temples belong to the Kushana period (1st-3rd century AD or 2,000 years ago), it appears that the primary temple was constructed during the Sunga period (2nd century BC to 1st century AD or 2,200 years ago).’’ The temple site is a mound in Sanchankot in...

Does your Pepsi lack pep? Is your Coke not the real thing? India's Hindu nationalist movement apparently has the answer: a new soft drink made from cow urine. The bovine brew is in the final stages of development by the Cow Protection Department of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), India's biggest and oldest Hindu nationalist group, according to the man who makes it.

Winnipeg, Manitoba — The Hindu Society of Manitoba honoured all Canadian soldiers killed or wounded in Afghanistan at a memorial prayer service held January 11. “I continue to be amazed and impressed where I find comfort and from whom,� said Wendy Hayward, mother of fallen soldier Corporal James Hayward Arnal. Ms. Hayward attended the gathering to see her son’s wishes fulfilled. “I recently received a letter that my son had written to a grade 11 student about two months before he was killed. The student had asked him what he had wished for his birthday,� said Ms. Hayward. “‘My birthday...

Fifteen young managers with a top Indian retail company met in their office basement recently to sip coffee and listen to a talk about their specialty: brand building. The speaker, renowned mythology expert Devdutt Pattanaik, is also the company's "chief belief officer." Cupping his chin in his hand, Pattanaik launched into a story: "Once upon a time, there was a conference of the gods to discuss the affairs of human beings." The ancient Hindu tales that Pattanaik, 38, tells his corporate audiences are full of fallible kings, stoically suffering queens, demons enticing the gods into lawless jungles, gods with rivers...

Starting with "Om", the mystical syllable containing the universe, which in Hinduism is used to introduce and conclude religious work, Zed read from * Rig-Veda*, the oldest scripture of the world still in common use, dated from around 1,500 BCE. He also delivered from *Brahadaranyakopnisad, Taittiriya Upanisad, *and *Bhagavad-Gita* (Song of the Lord)-all ancient Hindu scriptures. Rajan Zed ended the prayer with last mantra of *Rig-Veda, *"samani va akutih",* *before concluding with "Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti", which he then translated as "Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all". Attendees repeated "Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti" following him. Rajan Zed (right) reading the...

A Hindu Man explains: ‘Why I hate Islam’ What happened in Mumbai isn’t new. Muslims have been slaughtering Hindus for ten centuries. In his own words, this Hindu man reveals what the Western media have ignored. “When Islam arrived in India, the Hindus welcomed the Muslims with open arms as brothers. In return Islam destroyed the entire Hindu civilisation. Over ten centuries the dirty Muslim rogues murdered an estimated 100 million people. It has been said by historians and scholars (both eastern and western) that this is the largest genocide the world has ever witnessed. Muslim religious leaders “educated” Muslim...

Don't hate the haters, Islamic militants say, kill them. "Yes, Islam is the religion of peace," said Ahmed Minderi, as he calmly sipped tea and loaded 7.62 rounds into his Kalashnikov assault rifle. "Once you slaughter everyone who stands against you, you're at peace. Could you pass the grenade launcher, please?" Minderi and other adherents of the religion of peace recently turned their tranquil ire on India, a nation of 800 million rabidly non-violent Hindus and other non-Islamic jackals."We are all that stands in the way of this non-violence creeping into our religion of peace," Minderi said. "We must use...

Mumbai: At least 15 people have been injured in gunfights between two groups in at least three places in Mumbai on Thursday night. Details are sketchy but it is believed that two gangs fired at each other at outside CST Railway Terminus, Hotel Oberoi and the popular Café Leopold restaurant in Mumbai. The first shooting took place near the CST police station

NEW DELHI: For the first time in this Hindu-majority nation of 1.1 billion people, the police have announced the arrest of people who are accused of being part of a Hindu terrorist cell. Police officials in western Maharashtra State said they had arrested the nine suspects and charged them with murder and conspiracy in connection with the bombing in September of a Muslim-majority area in Malegaon, a small city. Six people, all Muslims, died in the explosion, which was among a string of terrorist attacks in Indian cities in recent months.

WASHINGTON: Another of President-elect Barack Obama’s appointments has been greeted with disbelief by Pakistani-Americans and liberal members of the Indian community because Sonal Shah, the adviser picked up by Obama for his transition team, is known for her links to communal Hindu organisations. Vishwa Hari Parishad (VHP) and its student wing Bajrang Dal are believed to have been involved in the massacre of over 2,000 Muslims in Gujarat and for the last three months have been carrying out a sustained campaign against Indian Christians in Orissa.

The proverb—Every dog has his day — literally came true on Monday when people in Nepal, the world's last Hindu nation, worshipped their dogs with utmost devotion. Despite the transformation of Nepal into a “secular nation”, people did not forget to worship their dogs on the day of Kukur Tihar, and protect their families from destruction. The festival is also known as Narak Chaturdashi. Big red tikas — a paste of vermilion, curd and rice — were put on dogs' foreheads and were garlanded. “It (Kukur Tihar) is a very important festival in our society, and there cannot be any...

BANGALORE, India (CNS) -- Father Bernard Digal, the Bhubaneswar archdiocesan procurator who survived an attack by Hindu extremists and had been hospitalized for a month, died of dengue fever Oct. 28. "We are saddened by Father Bernard's untimely demise," Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar told Catholic News Service. "He was a dedicated priest at the service of the people," Archbishop Cheenath said of the 46-year-old priest from the Kandhamal district in Orissa state. Father Digal was beaten by Hindu extremists and left to die in the jungle Aug. 26 before he was moved to a local government hospital. On Aug....

CNA).- Addressing the violent attacks against Christians in India was the focus of this year’s message to Hindus for the celebration of Diwali from Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the president of the pontifical council for Inter-religious Dialogue. This year Diwali, or the Festival of Lights, falls on October 28, and for the occasion, Cardinal Tauran has penned a message in English entitled, "Christians and Hindus: Together in Favor of Non-violence." The celebration of Diwali should be an opportunity to consider “how we can live harmoniously in today's society, witnessing to the truth, light and hope,” Cardinal Tauran wrote. Saying that “religions...