Catholic Nuns in India Gather to Discuss LGBTQ+ Ministry

Across India, a network of Catholic nuns is working to protect the marginalized and vulnerable LGBTQ+ community, including putting an  end to human trafficking. In late 2025,  the Talitha Kum India Network, met to discuss the year’s progress, and plot a future course for their organization in 2026. (“Talitha Kum” is an Aramaic phrase spoken by Jesus (Mark 5:41) when he raises a little girl from the dead.  It means “Rise up.”)

Sisters have a discussion at the Talitha Kum India Network conference.

“The event was a gathering of nuns from all over India, women who share the same ideals and who wish to work for change in the Church according to the signs of the times,” says Sr. Prema Chowallur to the Gionata Project. 

Chowallur is a Sister of the Cross, and is also the founder of the Rainbow Home of the Seven Sisters, a home that supports the hijra/kinnar community, and survivors of human trafficking, in Northeast India. Both hijra and kinnar are terms used in India for transgender people, or “anyone who does not fall under the binary,” explains Sr. Prema. According to the Rainbow Home’s Facebook page, the staff “provide shelter and skill training” to their residents.

In addition to Chowullar, those present at the networking event were Fr. Jesu Karunanidhi, a former member of the Vatrican’s Dicastery for Education and culture in Rome; Sr. Jyoto Pinto, the founding director of the Talitha Kum India Network; and Sr. Shanti Priya, who was the keynote speaker. The members of the network have divided India into 21 zones, each with its own regional coordinator. Each of these coordinators described the work they are doing, and read a report of their most recent activities.

Chowullar also hosted a 90-minute session in which she described her work in 2025, but also discussed the nuances of LGBTQ+ advocacy in India. Culturally, hijra in India are considered to be “God’s people.” 

“I clarified these aspects and explained the terms we use in India, both religiously and culturally,” explains Chowullar. “It is important for people outside India to know how these persons are treated in our different ecosystems.”

After her session, Chowullar all of the sisters present came to embrace her. She observed::

“Many felt free to work for this community because they became freed of the  homophobia which gripped them. Some were liberated from their judgemental attitude towards sexual minorities. For them, it was a moment of liberation from their oriental, traditional and ancient thoughts.”

Chowullar says that the message she most wants to impart is to “do everything with passion and compassion, especially for the most neglected, voiceless and marginalized. Choose the path that is less travelled: there you will find the people who are not even on the periphery but outside the periphery, walking alone. The lost sheep of humanity.”

Bondings 2.0 previously reported on the Sister Prema’s ministry in a 2021 post entitled: “Catholic Nun’s Accompaniment of Transgender Community Began with a Bus Ride”

—Lynnzee Dick, New Ways Ministry, January 9, 2025