Virginia Saldanha is a theologian based in Mumbai and a member of the Sisters in Solidarity and the Indian Christian Women's Movement. She earlier has represented laity, family and women's issues in organizations of Asian and Indian bishops.

Inna Lazareva is a British journalist and analyst based in Cameroon and covering Central, West and East Africa. Her work has been published by The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, TIME magazine, The Guardian, Foreign Policy magazine, Al Jazeera, The New Statesman, Al Monitor, The Institute for War and Peace Reporting, and others. She speaks five languages and has an master's degree in international public policy from University College London. 

by Caroline Mbonu

NCR Contributor

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The New Religious Movement in Africa continues to define and redefine traditional Christian practices through its various methods of prayer and worship. The new movement adheres to beliefs and practices that are not in line with orthodoxy within a particular society and time. Among these methods, spirit possession — a belief that extraterrestrials take control of the human body — leads the chart.

Lakshmi Thapa left her home when a young man, a Christian missionary, invited her to Jorhat, a town in Assam, northeastern India. That was in 1953, and Thapa was just 18. During the past 63 years, Lakshmi became a Catholic, changed her name to Rose and went on to serve an indigenous religious congregation for women as its first native superior general.

GSR Today - It's easy to criticize the perceived tendency of the press to chase celebrity while ignoring human tragedy. It's also difficult, in an age of sound bites and short attention spans, to cover things that unfold in slow motion. Regardless, the situation in Nigeria can no longer be ignored.

Sisters inside and with connections to humanitarian work in Haiti talk about how people there are on the brink of death because of lack of food, shelter or access to sanitation or medical care. One, Sr. Fidelis Rubbo, who has been in Pestel since October 14, said, "They are in such a dire situation. We're going to have massive deaths if we don't get in there and get in fast."