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Mumbai, October, 2014: I was greatly shocked and deeply saddened when the judges decided to uphold the capital punishment to ..hapless Christian woman, Asia Bibi. In my view it is against all norms of both humans and international laws , dignity and all laws.

Anycase everybody should be able to follow his/her religion there should be religious freedom and this in my view is a  grave violation of the freedom to practice one’s own religion but one may not be able to see the connection. I totally condemn this sentence because in my view it is against all human dignity against all laws not only international laws but all laws , human rights. It is a violation of human rights.

It is my deep conviction that these laws are hopelessly against the human spirit and it is betrays a medieval and obsolete  mindset it is an abuse of power and authority to award such sentences and any case such laws are always open to misinterpretation and abuse on various grounds.

Pakistan being a Muslim  majority nation, where Christians and those of other religions are a tiny miniscule minorities, t is all the more incumbent on them to be vary of  such accusations of blasphemy. The  Pakistan government there should be very careful in applying such laws and the International community should hold the  government of Pakistan  accountable. The Pakistan government cannot disown responsibility of this death sentence  and should overturn immediately the death sentence of innocent Christian woman Asia Bibi

I would expect international authorities and bodies to make the Pakistan government withdraw this punishment as well as these draconian Blasphemy laws, which  betrays a mindset that are against present day affirmation of human rights.

Providentially the universal church will observe mission Sunday on 19th which is intended to promote Jesus and his values . Jesus mission was to impart to fullness of life in all liberties to all humanity,  therefore such an sentence  of capital punishment , on the dubious  grounds of the application of blasphemy law is contrary to the vision and mission of Jesus Christ.

- asianews

Sabarimala, October , 2014: The Sabarimala shrine, whose new pilgrimage season starts Nov 17, will produce a record 14 million cans of ‘prasad’.

Situated on the Western Ghats at an altitude of 914 metres above sea level, the Sabarimala temple in Pathanamthitta district lies around 100 km from here. It is accessible only on foot from Pamba.

Even though the temple is now open on the first few days every month of the Malayalam calendar, the peak pilgrimage season begins on the first day of the Malayalam month in November. This year, this falls Nov 17.

Temple executive officer V.S. Jayakumar said the production of prasadam, called aravana, will commence Oct 27.

“This season we expect to produce a record 14 million (250 ml) cans of aravana. When the temple opens for this festival season, we will have with us close to three million cans of aravana ready,” Jayakumar told IANS.

The main ingredients of the aravana are rice, ghee, jaggery and spices.

Pilgrims can book the prasad in advance online or at all branches of Dhanalaksmi Bank or through coupons from temples run by the Travancore Devaswom Board.

“This is to avoid the rush once they come to Sabarimala, where they can collect their prasadam,” Jayakumar said.

He said the production of appam, (another prasadam) will begin only Nov 12 because it has a shelf life of just two weeks.

“This time we plan to make a record 7.5 million appams. We will have two kits. One will include two packets of appam and one can of aravana besides a packet each of sandalwood paste and vibhuthi for Rs.160. For Rs.270 one gets an additional can of aravana and two additional packets of appam,” added Jayakumar.

- ians

Pope calls for abolishment of capital punishment, life imprisonment

Vatican City, October, 2014: Pope Francis called for the abolition of the death penalty as well as life imprisonment, and denounced what he called a “penal populism” that promises to solve society’s problems by punishing crime instead of pursuing social justice.

“It is impossible to imagine that states today cannot make use of another means than capital punishment to defend peoples’ lives from an unjust aggressor,” the pope said Thursday in a meeting with representatives of the International Association of Penal Law.

“All Christians and people of good will are thus called today to struggle not only for abolition of the death penalty, whether it be legal or illegal and in all its forms, but also to improve prison conditions, out of respect for the human dignity of persons deprived of their liberty. And this, I connect with life imprisonment,” he said. “Life imprisonment is a hidden death penalty.”

The pope noted that the Vatican recently eliminated life imprisonment from its own penal code.

Francis also rebuked unspecified governments involved in kidnapping people for “illegal transportation to detention centers in which torture is practiced”.

- cns