exclamation

Important notice: To continue serving our valued readers during the postal disruption, complete unrestricted access to the digital edition is available at no extra cost. This will ensure uninterrupted digital access to your copies. Click here to view the digital edition, or learn more.

Mill Hill Father Jim Borst
Mill Hill Father Jim Borst orissakhabara.blogspot.com

Indian church leaders critical after Islamic court expels Christians

By  Anto Akkara, Catholic News Service
  • January 20, 2012

BANGALORE, India - Church leaders criticized an Islamic court's decision to expel five Christians, including a Catholic priest.

A Shariah court in Jammu and Kashmir state ordered the expulsion of Mill Hill Father Jim Borst, who has worked in the region since 1963, after accusing him of "spreading communal disaffection."

Shariah courts have no legal standing in India.

"We are really concerned over this," Father Babu Joseph, spokesman for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, told Catholic News Service Jan. 20, the day after the ruling. He said personal laws of religious communities "should not be used against other faiths."

Father Borst, a well-known retreat preacher, runs Good Shepherd School in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district. The school was partially burned during the widespread protests against the desecration of the Quran in the United States in 2010.

The school is often closed in Kashmir's harsh winters, and Father Borst was in the southern Indian state of Kerala when the grand mufti of Jammu and Kashmir, Nasir-ul-Islam, read the verdict.

The Indian side of Kashmir -- part of which lies in Pakistan --- has fewer than 5,000 Christians among its population of more than 4 million people.

Tagged under:

Related items

More in this category: « Parishioners reflect on deep faith of missing cruise ship couple Sudanese churches commit to helping youths from war-torn Jonglei state »

Please support The Catholic Register

Unlike many media companies, The Catholic Register has never charged readers for access to the news and information on our website. We want to keep our award-winning journalism as widely available as possible. But we need your help.

For more than 125 years, The Register has been a trusted source of faith-based journalism. By making even a small donation you help ensure our future as an important voice in the Catholic Church. If you support the mission of Catholic journalism, please donate today. Thank you.

DONATE