Pope Francis elevates Indian nun Mariam Thresia to sainthood
Vatican City: Indian nun Mariam Thresia and four others were declared Saints by Pope Francis at a grand ceremony at the Vatican City on Sunday.
Mariam Thresia, who founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family in Thrissur in May 1914, was raised to the highest position within the centuries-old institution during the ceremony at the St Peter's Square.
The nun from Kerala was canonised along with English Cardinal John Henry Newman, Swiss laywoman Marguerite Bays, Brazilian Sister Dulce Lopes and Italian Sister Giuseppina Vannini.
The ceremony included a Latin hymn and a recommendation by a representative of the Congregation for the Saints. Huge portraits of the five new Saints were hung from Saint Peter's Basilica during the ceremony, which was attended by tens of thousands of devotees.
Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan led the Indian delegation at the ceremony.
With Sunday's canonisation, the centuries-old Syro-Malabar Church in Kerala now has four Saints, the first being Sister Alphonsa, who was declared a saint in 2008. Others are Father Kuriakose Elias Chavara, popularly known as Chavara Achen, and Sister Euphrasia, popularly known as Evuprasiamma, who were declared Saint by the Pope in 2014.
Mariam Thresia was called during the first half of her life simply Thresia, the name given to her at baptism on May 3, 1876. Since 1904, she wanted to be called Mariam Thresia as she believed that she was asked to add "Mariam" to her name by the Blessed Virgin Mary in a vision.
And it was as Mariam Thresia that she was professed in 1914, the foundress and first member of the Congregation of the Holy Family.
The Church has declared her as one of the rare holy persons who moved constantly and consciously among the inhabitants of this world as well as with visitors from the world above and below.
"In imitation of Jesus, she helped the poor, nursed the sick, visited and comforted the lonely people of her parish. She was also blessed with the stigmata but kept it secret to avoid attention.
"She received several mystical gifts like prophecy, healing, an aura of light, sweet odour and frequently had ecstasies and levitations.
"Her entire existence was tormented by demons and she offered her sufferings for the remission of the sins of the world," the Vatican News said.
Sister Thresia died on June 8, 1926 at the age of 50 and was declared Blessed by Pope Saint John Paul II on April 9, 2000. Pope Francis on February 12 authorised a decree recognising a miracle through her intercession, which cleared her for sainthood, and on July 1, the Pope decided on October 13, as the canonization day.
In his 'Mann ki Baat' radio programme on September 29, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had referred to Sister Mariam Thresia and said it is a matter of pride for every Indian that, on the coming October 13, Pope Francis will declare her a saint.
"Sister Thresia, in her short lifespan of 50 years, worked for the good of humanity becoming a noble example for the entire world. Whatever task Sister Mariam Thresia undertook and accomplished, she did so with utmost dedication and devotion," Modi had said.
She rendered service in the fields of education and social service and has built many schools, hostels and orphanages, Modi had said.
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We are completely immune, says SC; flags half-baked running commentary on pending cases
New Delhi (PTI): Observing that half-baked truth and ill-informed running commentary on sub-judice cases affect public perception, the Supreme Court on Friday asserted that it is "completely immune" from reporting of cases for the sake of publicity or narrative building.
The observations were made by a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi during the hearing of a case concerning the repatriation of certain individuals deported to Bangladesh, when Solicitor General Tushar Mehta took strong exception to a news article published in an English daily on the issue.
"There is a concurrent and simultaneous narrative-building exercise going on. I am sure it does not affect your lordships. There are certain tabloids which are normally known and used for narrative building exercises. Unfortunately, today, to my amazement and shock, I read a front page story in a reputable and dependable newspaper like..., it must have escaped the editorial attention," the law officer said.
During the proceedings, the court was informed that Sunali Khatun, a pregnant woman, and her eight-year old son have come back to India and currently, she is getting medical attention at her father's residence in Birbhum in West Bengal.
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The bench fixed January 6 to hear the Centre's appeal against a Calcutta High Court judgement that directed the repatriation of certain individuals deported to Bangladesh on the alleged ground that the due process was not followed.
During the proceedings, the solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, raised the issue of the news report.
Terming the reportage as "tabloid-like", the top law officer said, "I do not want to escalate ... but attempts are made to build a particular kind of narrative" in a bid to influence the outcome.
The law officer said he was sure that the bench is not influenced by any such reports, but it does cast doubt about the intention to build a particular kind of narrative.
"My faith was shaken," Mehta said.
"We are completely immune from publicity and pseudo-publicity stunts. Narratives should not affect the lives of individuals," Justice Bagchi said, adding that the judges hardly get time to see newspapers.
Referring to the names of leading English newspapers, the top law officers said they cannot be reduced to "the level of these tabloids, where you plant stories. It is for the newspaper to decide".
Advising the law officer to "just ignore them", the CJI, however, said, "Ideally, ill-informed running commentary on sub-judice matters should not be made."
"The problem is half-baked distorted facts and ill-informed facts are being reported," he said.
"Reporting that a matter is coming up (for hearing) is fine. But if you thrust your opinion, then that is an issue. The issue is with half-baked truth and ill-informed opinion which affects public perception," the CJI added.
The CJI assured the law officer saying, "we do not accept pleadings which are outside."
"Once the judgment is passed, any constructive criticism is always most welcome," the CJI added.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the West Bengal government, referred to the media's role in recent times in countries like the UK and the US, and said immigration issues are part of a "global discourse" and comments and public discourses are held on social media and other platforms.
"People write opinions in the US and England on immigration. As long as you don't attribute motive, it is not sacrilege," Sibal said.
At the outset, senior advocate Sanjay Hegde brought to the court's attention the plight of another deportee, Sweety Bibi, who remains stuck with her husband and two children.
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Hegde offered to provide documents proving their Indian citizenship. He urged the solicitor general to take up the other case on humanitarian grounds, saying, "that side of the border is very difficult for Indians."
The law officer assured Hegde that he will look into the issue and the verification may take sometime.
The court said once documents are verified, modalities for their return could be considered in a time-bound manner.
The case involves families who had been working as daily wagers in Delhi's Rohini area for two decades.
They were detained by police on June 18 on suspicion of being illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and deported on June 27.
The Calcutta High Court, in its impugned order, had observed that the deportation violated the Union Home Ministry’s own protocols, which require an inquiry by the state government before deportation.
The high court had noted that the "overenthusiasm" in deporting the detainees disturbed the "judicial climate".
Sibal reiterated this point during the hearing and said, "The Union does no inquiry for 30 days before deporting them."
