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Articles by Thomas Scaria
Catholic nuns support India's youth struggles for educational reform
Catholic nuns are supporting India's young people as they struggle to reform the country's educational system and hold the government accountable. "We stand with the youth in their fight for justice," said Sr. Maria Nirmalini, leader of India's more than 100,000 Catholic nuns, as thousands of young people have demonstrated throughout the country since early June. The 61-year-old Apostolic Carmel nun met the protesters in New Delhi to pledge her people's solidarity with the youth movement.
Nazareth sisters promote holistic healing with nature
A few months ago, Sidharth Jayakrishnan underwent a nature-based treatment at the center managed by the Nazareth Sisters in Kunnoth, a village in Kerala state. He is among more than 10,000 people who have achieved holistic recovery at the Nazareth Nature Cure Centre in the past nearly four decades, said Nazareth Sr. Jincemol Chacko, the chief medical officer.
University of Dayton returns to its roots with campus farm that feeds its Ohio community
For most mornings this summer, Zach Kissell, a rising junior at the University of Dayton, has woken up early to begin his work in the dirt. He has tended garden beds where zucchini, squash and tomatoes grow. He has worked in orchards of fruit trees. He has helped take care of chickens and harvest honey from beehives. As a mechanical engineering student during the academic year "I'm on my computer or on the screen almost all the time of the day," he said.
Today's wisdom of Solomon
Devastated. This was what I felt as a 10-year-old having just found the perfect way to pray, only for it to be taken away in almost the next sentence of Scripture. What Scripture could this be, you ask? Obviously, it's from the First Book of Kings. I mean, what other book could elicit such a response in a child?
We need a biblical view of American history
In America, the traditional approach to history lasted through the Second World War as the country was united to fight fascism. After the war, the country was united against godless Communism. The national myth was broken by the Vietnam War. America could no longer be portrayed as all powerful. Leaders were not all wise. Soldiers were killed and wounded in a war that we lost. Political and military leaders lied to the public. Subsequent wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran followed the same pattern.
Head of India's women religious appointed consultor to consecrated life dicastery
While accepting the Vatican appointment as a recognition to the church in India, some said her absence in the country will be a loss, especially to the women religious. "She has given an able leadership to the consecrated life in India as the head of the Conference of Women Religious and initiated several wellness programs among them," said Claretian Fr. George Kannanthanam, who has worked with Nirmalini for several years in reaching out to people living in poverty.
New Vatican City coins feature Pope Leo XIV's face
Numismatists take note. The Vatican City State Mint has issued a new set of coins to mark Pope Leo XIV's pontificate and the Jubilee Year of St. Francis of Assisi. The inaugural euro coin set of Pope Leo's pontificate features both the face and coat of arms of the 267th successor of Peter.
Hundreds of Catholic sisters confront racism, migration and violence in LCWR Jericho Walk
The circuit addressing forced migration called on leaders to bring fundamental change. "We call upon Congress and the administration to address the root causes of forced migration and to join with the international community and partners in the Americas to fashion a regional response to what is clearly a regional crisis," the sisters prayed.
The gift of interculturality enriches missionary life
This is what intercultural living does: it challenges us. It invites us to open our hearts and minds to receive what another sister, her culture and her life experience can bring into our own lives. Community living already has its own challenges. When we add different cultural expressions, ways of communicating and language barriers, we need patience, humility and a willingness to keep meeting one another.
Catholic nuns in India train for ministries to combat substance abuse
After serving leprosy patients for two decades, Srs. Christiana Fernandes and Lucy Gomes of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate joined the fight against substance abuse in the southwestern Indian state of Karnataka. "We found substance addiction everywhere whether we work with leprosy patients, students or communities, but were unable to do anything until we got trained in this field," said Fernandes, who worked with Gomes to start an addiction recovery program in the coastal town of Karwar.
Editorial: Catholic support for press freedoms must be unwavering
It is becoming clear that one of the primary civic responsibilities of the Trump era is to determine, amid the tsunami of threats to democracy, what to ignore for the moment and where to take a stand against the destructive forces. Among the latter are the recent threats to The New York Times, carried out in hand-delivered subpoenas to reporters and a bizarre all-night "investigative" session in the White House led by FBI Director Kash Patel.
Indian congregation attracts vocations among Indigenous communities Original
Kongari, who currently studies theology at the Papal Seminary in Pune, western India, said their congregation has tried to integrate tribal customs and values into the evangelization process since its inception. She said their founder was concerned about the Adivasis losing their Indigenous identity during colonization, as had happened with many communities elsewhere. "Our founder wanted an exclusive congregation that was by the tribals, for the tribals and with the tribals," Kongari explained.
Signs of our times: Catholic sisters walk with migrants
On May 2, eight Catholic sisters met at the Tucson International Airport in Arizona to embark on a weeklong immersion of Catholic Sisters Walking with Migrants, a program I coordinate through the Kino Border Initiative. This international group represented five congregations, and their religious life experience ranged from sisters in initial formation to elected leadership. They ministered in education, ecology, pastoral care, immigration accompaniment and vocational ministries.
Brother David Steindl-Rast turns 100 — and keeps fire of spirituality going
Arguably the most influential Catholic monk since Thomas Merton, Brother David Steindl-Rast has carried Benedictine spirituality into the modern world through interfaith dialogue, conversations between science and religion, and robust teaching on grateful living. This week, he turned 100 years old.
Ministry offers food, supplies and connections to Boston's unhoused
Capuchin Mobile Ministries not only offers spiritual care and food to unhoused people in the Boston area, but it also aims to provide something that can be particularly hard to find for those experiencing homelessness: relationships. Three times a week, a van with a mix of a Capuchin Franciscan friar or two, lay chaplains and volunteers, travels to seven sites.
Pilgrims flock to Castel Gandolfo for Pope Leo's first Angelus of the summer
In this way, the pontiff stressed, "we shall return to our usual activities renewed in body and spirit, ready to proclaim the good news of the Gospel and ever more capable of contributing to the growth of the kingdom of God." The pope prayed the Angelus standing at the gate of the Castel Gandolfo residence and used a small, motorized buggy cart to drive standing through the square and greet pilgrims after the Sunday prayer.
Nuns care for children with HIV, reintegrate them into Indian society Original
Nuns at the Infant Jesus Children's Home in Bengaluru, southern India, were at a loss this summer. While most residents of the center for children with HIV/AIDS, managed by the Dinasevanasabha (Servants of the Poor) congregation, went home for vacation, 22 stayed and had nowhere to go. Sister Veronica, the center's superior, said that no one had sponsored the children's vacation trip this year as in the past. "These children joined us as infants and grew up with us as our children.
Podcast: Theologian Ronald Rolheiser talks about a spirituality for our wisdom years
On this week's episode of "The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast," I speak with writer and theologian Oblate Fr. Ronald Rolheiser about his latest book,Insane for the Light: A Spirituality for Our Wisdom Years, the conclusion of his trilogy of modern spiritual classics, following The Holy Longing and Sacred Fire.
America needs better progressive candidates
Poor Graham Platner. In a self-pitying 11-minute video, the now former U.S. Senate candidate for Maine seemed to think he was the victim here, not the woman whom he is alleged to have raped. And, the "establishment" won't let him ignore a credible accusation of sexual assault. He sounded like a teenager who got caught doing something bad. Platner was one of a group of candidates which aims to lead the Democratic Party's version of the Tea Party. They claim the mantle of progressivism.
Monday Starter: French vote on euthanasia law raises concerns for Little Sisters of the Poor
Talitha Kum names new North American representative Anti-human trafficking organization Talitha Kum has a new North American representative. Sisters of Notre Dame Sr. Gina Marie Blunck has been named to the post, following the three-year term of Sr. IsaBelle Couillard of the Sisters of Charity of Montreal, better known as the Grey Sisters. Blunck is on the board of directors for the Alliance to End Human Trafficking and is the executive director of the Conrad N. Hilton Fund for Sisters.
Church leaders welcome acquittal of Indian nun, laywoman in child trafficking case
Church leaders in India have expressed relief after a court acquitted a Missionaries of Charity nun and a laywoman in a child trafficking case. The civil court in Ranchi, capital of the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand, on June 18 found Sr. Concelia Baxla and Anima Indwar not guilty in the 2018 case. "Finally, truth has prevailed," said Apostolic Carmel Sr. Maria Nirmalini, who heads the Conference of Women Religious of India.
Children are learning to protect their rights and each other in Sierra Leone Original
Toward the end of 2012, Sierra Leone was slowly emerging from conflict, but for children, especially girls, the war had never truly ended. Teenage pregnancy was rising sharply. Early child marriage, sexual exploitation, neglect and different forms of abuse had become almost normal. Many children wandered through life without hope, without protection and without a future.
5 congregations serve a Marian shrine, fostering social harmony in eastern India
Nuns from five congregations serve a 16th-century Marian shrine amid Hindu and Muslim villages in eastern India. "The shrine draws more than a million pilgrims annually, [the] majority of them Hindus and Muslims. The greatest rush is during Christmas, Lent and the two-day Marian feast in May," said Sr. Jesline Rose, one of the six Missionary Sisters of Mary Immaculate serving at the Basilica of the Holy Rosary, Bandel, in West Bengal state.
Nuns help combat drug crisis in northeastern India
Sudipta Das was 13 when a friend introduced her to cannabis. She struggled with addiction until she met a Catholic sister three years ago. "I was in a very bad state, mentally and physically, when I came to Orsini home where Sr. Merin Lukose treated me with love and care," said the 23-year-old woman from the northeastern Indian state of Assam.
Nun becomes first woman to lead India's Catholic Health Association Original
A Catholic sister will take up the leadership of India's largest network of Catholic medical professionals, becoming the first woman to lead the Catholic Health Association of India. Sr. Helen Mary Anthony, of the Sisters of St. Anne Bangalore, will take over as director on May 1. The 63-year-old medical doctor with specialization in gynecology has extensive experience in hospital management and medical ministry in India.
Nun who serves as government medical officer in remote village
By Thomas Scaria Mangaluru, March 23, 2026: Sister Jean Rose is the first Catholic nun to be appointed as a medical officer in a government hospital in the southwestern Indian state of Kerala. Catholic nuns with medical degrees usually serve only in the church-owned hospitals or health care institutions. Sister Rose, a member of the Sisters of the Destitute, serves the Community Health Centre at Marayoor, a remote tribal village in the hilly district of Idukki.
Q&A with Sr. Jean Rose, government medical officer in a remote village in India Original
Sr. Jean Rose is the first Catholic nun to be appointed as a medical officer in a government hospital in the southwestern Indian state of Kerala. Catholic nuns with medical degrees usually serve only in the church-owned hospitals or health care institutions. Rose, a member of the Sisters of the Destitute, serves the Community Health Centre at Marayoor, a remote tribal village in the hilly district of Idukki.
Kolkata Salesians conclude centenary with grand finale
By Thomas Scaria Kolkata, Feb 9, 2026: The three-year-long centenary celebrations of Salesian of the Kolkata province has ended in a grand finale stressing renewed efforts to empower the youth. More than 2,000 people, including heads of 12 Salesian provinces in India and Sri Lanka, major superiors of religious congregations that work with the Salesians in the region attended the February 8 finale at Don Bosco Park Circus, Kolkata.
Q&A with Sr. Maria Ajantha on the Sri Lanka cyclone Original
Sr. Maria Ajantha is the superior of the Apostolic Carmel convent at Pussellawa near Nuwar Eliya, a tourist hill station with tea plantations in Sri Lanka. The late November Cyclone Ditwah destroyed the region. Catholic nuns are in the forefront, helping the affected people. The cyclone killed more than 600 people and displaced thousands, mostly in the island nation's hilly regions of Kandi, Badulla and Nuwar Eliya.
Global convention observes steady increase in autism
By Thomas Scaria Bengaluru, Jan 26, 2026: The third global convention on autism ended in Bengaluru, southern India, on January 25 with a call to enhance facilities and services as the number of children with autism has shown steady increase over the years. The organizers of the weeklong convention, hosted by St John’s Medical College, observed that one in 100 people globally have autism, and they require professional help and lot of social empathy.
“Rebels” take over troubled archdiocese’s pastoral council
By Thomas Scaria Kochi, Jan 26, 2026: The leaders of a dissident group who fought for the “people-facing Mass” has won most seats in the newly constituted pastoral council of the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly. The council with Shaiju Antony as the secretary and Jaini Samraj as the joint secretary will control the pastoral council decisions for the next three years.
Nuns’ books retell stories of hope and grace in Indian prisons
By Thomas Scaria Ernakulam, Jan 25, 2026: The large iron gates of the central prison in Bengaluru, southern India, opened for an 85-year-old Catholic nun. The guard saluted her and said, “Your people have been waiting for you.” “More than they, I am longing to see them,” said Sister Adele Korah, who has visited the prison often since June 2004 after joining Prison Ministry India as a volunteer.
Church center for HIV/AIDS rehabilitation receives state award
By Thomas Scaria Bengaluru, Jan 24, 2026: The Karnataka Network for People Living with HIV/AIDS has conferred the Jeevotsava (Festival of Life) Award to the Claretian-run Support Care Centre for its two decades of dedicated services to the treatment and rehabilitation of destitute persons.
Nuns' books retell stories of hope and grace in Indian prisons
The large iron gates of the central prison in Bengaluru, southern India, opened for an 85-year-old Catholic nun. The guard saluted her and said, "Your people have been waiting for you." "More than they, I am longing to see them," said Sr. Adele Korah, who has visited the prison often since June 2004 after joining Prison Ministry India as a volunteer. A month before that, in October, the member of the Sisters of Charity of Sts.
Liturgical dispute: Mass offered in Ernakulam cathedral after 1,100 days
By Thomas Scaria Mangaluru, Dec 4, 2025: Mass was offered in St Mary’s Basilica Cathedral in Ernakulam that was closed for religious service for more than 1,100 days. The daily Mass resumed from December 1 following instructions from the episcopal vicar of the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese, Archbishop Joseph Pamplany, and a “no objection” from the Kerala Court.
Indian church sets up mental health ministry to support priests and nuns
The Catholic Church in India has set up an exclusive mental health ministry amid increasing reports of suicide and depression among priests and nuns in the country. "Unfortunately, the church's healing ministry was centered on physical health until recently.
Nun's pioneering sustainable development model draws government, social workers
Sr. Melania D'Souza was intrigued when several people with symptoms of jaundice and diarrhea arrived at the hospital where she worked. It led the Missionary Sisters of the Queen of the Apostles nun to pay a visit to Nejar, the village the patients were from, near the temple town of Udupi in the southwestern Indian state of Karnataka. That was 40 years ago. Since then, Nejar has transformed from a squalid village to a role model for village development and women empowerment.
Karnataka Church mourns Jesuit educationist’s sudden death
By Thomas Scaria Mangaluru, Nov 20, 2025: Jesuit Father Swebert D’Silva, a prominent educationist and renowned visionary in the southern state of Karnataka, died November 20, following a massive cardiac arrest. He was 68. He died at 1:15 pm at St Philomena Hospital in Bengaluru, Karnataka capital. His sudden death has deeply saddened colleagues, students, alumni, and well-wishers across Karnataka.
Church-state collaboration brings leprosy-cured Indians dignity, support
By Thomas Scaria Bengaluru, Nov 7, 2025: Manjunath Muniappa was just 8 years old when a Catholic nun spotted him on the street during a leprosy detection survey in Bengaluru, capital of Karnataka state in southwestern India. Sister Mary Mascarenhas, a member of the St. Joseph’s of Tarbes congregation, brought Muniappa to the leprosy treatment center of the Bangalore Archdiocese, where Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate cured him after two years of treatment.
First Indian Claretian installed as Belthangady bishop
By Thomas Scaria Belthangady, Nov 6, 2025: Claretian Father James Patteril, a son of the soil, was consecrated the second bishop of the Belthangady, one of the three Syro-Malabar dioceses in the southern India’s Karnataka state. The Episcopal consecration and the installation ceremony of the first Indian Claretian was held on November 6 at St. Lawrence Cathedral in Belthangady, some 60 km northeast of Mangaluru.
Religiosas siguen dirigiendo escuelas católicas nacionalizadas hace 65 años en Sri Lanka
Han pasado casi 65 años desde que las hermanas del Carmelo Apostólico y otras congregaciones religiosas católicas de Sri Lanka cedieron sus instituciones educativas al Gobierno. Sin embargo, su reputación como educadoras sigue intacta.
Sister-led church-state collaboration brings leprosy-cured Indians dignity, support
Manjunath Muniappa was just 8 years old when a Catholic nun spotted him on the street during a leprosy detection survey in Bengaluru, capital of Karnataka state in southwestern India. Sr. Mary Mascarenhas, a member of the St. Joseph's of Tarbes congregation, brought Muniappa to the leprosy treatment center of the Bangalore Archdiocese, where Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate cured him after two years of treatment.
Q&A with Sr. Jannette Pruitt, sewing custom vestments that celebrate Afro heritage
When Sr. Jannette Pruitt was a young child, she dreamed of becoming a nun. Pruitt, 76, recalls that friends she still has from elementary school remember her on the playground saying, "I'm going to be a sister, and everybody's going to call me Sister Jannette." But that young girl's ambitious plan took years to materialize. It was the 1950s in the deep South.
Sister-led church-state collaboration brings leprosy-cured Indians dignity, support
Manjunath Muniappa was just 8 years old when a Catholic nun spotted him on the street during a leprosy detection survey in Bengaluru, capital of Karnataka state in southwestern India. Sr. Mary Mascarenhas, a member of the St. Joseph's of Tarbes congregation, brought Muniappa to the leprosy treatment center of the Bangalore Archdiocese, where Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate cured him after two years of treatment.
ENTREVISTA | Masthan Sahib, un musulmán con 43 años de servicio junto a religiosas católicas
Masthan Sahib lleva cuatro décadas trabajando con religiosas en un centro de rehabilitación de leprosos de Bengaluru, capital del estado de Karnataka, en el sur de la India. El centro, Sumanahalli, depende de la arquidiócesis de Bangalore, recibe ayuda del Gobierno estatal y está gestionado por religiosas y sacerdotes de distintas congregaciones.
Malankara’s Bethany nuns give hope to disabled, abandoned women
By Thomas Scaria Mangaluru, Sept. 17, 2025: A woman with an intellectual disability, known only as Sangeetha, was abused by a group of lorry drivers and abandoned at Nelyady, a town in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. Some Catholic nuns noticed Sangeetha roaming the town and brought her to their convent. That was 13 years ago.
India's disabled, abandoned women find hope among these Eastern Catholic nuns Original
A woman with an intellectual disability, known only as Sangeetha, was abused by a group of lorry drivers and abandoned at Nelyady, a town in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. Some Catholic nuns noticed Sangeetha roaming the town and brought her to their convent. That was 13 years ago.
The Council of Nicaea forbade kneeling during the Sunday Eucharist
In the United States, Catholics kneel during the Eucharistic prayer while Catholics in the rest of the world stand. Many European churches, especially the older ones, do not even have kneelers. After the Second Vatican Council, the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM #43) mandated standing during the Eucharistic prayer, but the U.S. bishops asked for an exception.
Shock and prayers after conservative activist Charlie Kirk shot and killed
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump, was killed after being shot Sept. 10 during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, the president announced on social media. Public officials and other commentators called for prayer after he was shot in the neck, reportedly by a sniper. Kirk was 31 and a married father with two young children. "The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead," Trump said.
Catholic nuns rejoice as Syro-Malabar Church avoids schism over liturgy
Catholic nuns in India rejoiced after a liturgical conflict that has troubled a Syro-Malabar archdiocese for decades was resolved. "We are really relieved, and we hope peace and happiness will remain permanently in our parish communities, homes and minds," Sr. Sherin Achanparambil said two days after the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese implemented a compromise to celebrate Mass, on the feast of St. Thomas the Apostle July 3.
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