NAGPUR, India \u2014 Catholic leaders in one of India\u2019s most populous states are demanding the repeal of a new law that criminalizes religious conversion \u2014 the 13th such measure enacted across the country under the ruling Hindu-nationalist government.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe protest this move. We have urged the government to repeal this law. Copies of our [Western Regional Bishops\u2019 Council] statement have been sent to the chief minister and governor of the state,\u201d Archbishop Elias Gonsalves of Nagpur, chairman of the Western Regional Bishops\u2019 Council, told EWTN News on March 23.<\/p>\n
\u201cFar from safeguarding religious freedom, this law, in its present form, effectively undermines the very right it claims to protect, i.e., the freedom to choose and profess one\u2019s religion, as guaranteed under Articles 19, 21, and 25 of the Constitution of India,\u201d the Western Regional Bishops\u2019 Council said in its March 19 statement.<\/p>\n
Expressing \u201cdeep disappointment and strong protest\u201d against the bill, the bishops\u2019 council said sections of the legislation \u201camount to a direct and unjustified interference in the legitimate religious practices of the Catholic Church, particularly its Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults program. It is equally disheartening that the ruling party has passed this bill [on March 16] without adequate consultation with the communities most affected by it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The statement pointed out that sections of the legislation \u201cmandate that any individual intending to convert must submit a notice 60 days in advance to the competent authority. … This provision intrudes deeply into the personal domain of conscience and belief, opening the door to scrutiny, suspicion, and harassment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis section, like most sections in the bill, is manifestly arbitrary and violative of individual\u2019s right to privacy protected by Article 21 [under Fundamental Rights],\u201d the statement cautioned.<\/p>\n
Given the serious concern, the Catholic Bishops\u2019 Conference of India distributed the statement to media across the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are very disappointed that the Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Bill was passed in haste and rammed through the Assembly owing to the brute majority of the BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] government,\u201d said Dolphy D\u2019Souza, spokesperson of the Bombay Catholic Sabha \u2014 a lay forum of the Archdiocese of Bombay.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of our demands was to give opportunity to discuss the provisions of the bill, some of which are draconian, which has the propensity to be misused against minorities, women, and interfaith marriages, as is evident from states where this law has been implemented,\u201d D\u2019Souza said in a March 21 statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis law will be a tool used to harass minorities, women, and interfaith marriages and those who want to convert out of their personal choice voluntarily. While the bill is titled Freedom of Religion Act, it curtails this fundamental right,\u201d D\u2019Souza told EWTN News.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis bill also criminalizes all charitable works including imparting education under the vague terms of \u2018allurement.\u2019 It will give unbridled power to [Hindu] vigilante groups and \u2018suo motu\u2019 powers to police to harass and intimidate citizens, encouraging violence and attacks,\u201d he cautioned.<\/p>\n
A week before the legislation was passed, a coalition of 35 civil rights, social action, Muslim, and Christian groups had condemned the bill as a \u201cthreat to constitutional freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cArticle 25 guarantees the freedom to profess, practice, and propagate religion, which includes the right to adopt and change one\u2019s faith,\u201d the groups asserted.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe political agenda behind this legislation is to polarize and divide communities on religious lines,\u201d said Irfan Engineer, who heads the Center for Study of Society and Secularism, one of the groups that signed the statement.<\/p>\n
Hindu nationalists, Engineer said, are using the propaganda of \u201clove jihad\u201d \u2014 marriage for the purpose of conversion \u2014 to defend the legislation. He pointed out, however, that \u201cthe committee appointed by the state government studied 152 interreligious marriages and found no conversion motive.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NAGPUR, India \u2014 Catholic leaders in one of India\u2019s most populous states are demanding the repeal of a new law that criminalizes religious conversion \u2014 the 13th such measure enacted across the country under the ruling Hindu-nationalist government. \u201cWe protest this move. We have urged the government to repeal this law. Copies of our [Western […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":42574,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"bron":[41],"class_list":["post-42573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nieuws","bron-cna"],"acf":[],"featured_image_urls":{"medium":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/42573-catholic-bishops-demand-repeal-of-india-states-anti-conversion-bill-300x200.jpg","large":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/42573-catholic-bishops-demand-repeal-of-india-states-anti-conversion-bill-1024x683.jpg","thumbnail":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/42573-catholic-bishops-demand-repeal-of-india-states-anti-conversion-bill-150x150.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/42573-catholic-bishops-demand-repeal-of-india-states-anti-conversion-bill-768x512.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/42573-catholic-bishops-demand-repeal-of-india-states-anti-conversion-bill-1536x1024.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/42573-catholic-bishops-demand-repeal-of-india-states-anti-conversion-bill-2048x1366.jpg","Inhoud breed":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/42573-catholic-bishops-demand-repeal-of-india-states-anti-conversion-bill-860x573.jpg","echo_preview_image":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/42573-catholic-bishops-demand-repeal-of-india-states-anti-conversion-bill-219x146.jpg"},"appp_media":null,"yoast_head":"\n