A secular court in India has ruled that Catholics can bring a lawsuit against their diocese for failing to provide for Mass in their native language.
The plaintiffs argue that the Diocese of Chikkamagaluru should be required to provide at least one Sunday Mass celebrated in Konkani, a language used in the western coastal region.
The court ruled that the question involves a matter of fundamental civil rights, and rejected the argument of the diocese that the rules for liturgical celebrations should be governed by canonical rather than civil law.