Some 500 people, mostly members of the country’s religious minorities, will stop eating to protest the failure of the ruling Awami League to protect minority rights, which is driving many out of the country. For Nirmol Rozario, a Catholic, the hunger strike is a way “to defend our existence”.
Some 500 people, mostly members of the country’s religious minorities, will stop eating to protest the failure of the ruling Awami League to protect minority rights, which is driving many out of the country. For Nirmol Rozario, a Catholic, the hunger strike is a way “to defend our existence”.
Extraordinary repair and maintenance work needed. Undefined timeframes, some experts even speak of 50 years for completion. The closure hypothesis a 'political issue'. The denial by the Minister of Tourism that it will be regularly opened as a mosque (and open to tourists).
Extraordinary repair and maintenance work needed. Undefined timeframes, some experts even speak of 50 years for completion. The closure hypothesis a 'political issue'. The denial by the Minister of Tourism that it will be regularly opened as a mosque (and open to tourists).
Chinese diplomats have tried to block a conference held yesterday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Beijing claims it is shutting down internment camps when in fact it is simply moving inmates to regular prisons.
Two Vietnamese activists are on their way to the United States thanks to a deal negotiated before Biden's visit; another couple is already in Germany. A private agreement promises improvements to freedom of worship and NGO activities. Yet 374 activists are at risk of arrest or closely monitored, while 190 are in jail, laments advocacy groups Project 88.
The cardinal relects on the the tumultuous weeks since the withdrawal of the presidential decree under pressure from self-styled leaders (in the pay of Tehran). A "more subtle" threat hangs over the community, but with the same logic as Isis: drive out Christians. The bitterness at the Pope's meeting (at the end of a general audience) with Rayan the Chaldean, who has been proclaimin in Iraq that Sako is no longer the patriarch. Forced to give up his presence at the meeting of the Mediterranean bishops in Marseilles because of the complaints in the courts, part of this campaign against him.
All family members were injured praying at home and were taken to hospital by police. Some 30 people stormed the house and are now on the run. According to the initial investigation, the head of the family was accused of singing and praying too loudly and engaging in religious propaganda.
Rev Joseph Shahbazian was given a 10-year sentence, reduced to two in May. In prison he developed health problems, which might explain his early release. For a Christian activist, this is good news amid a surge of arrests. A year after Mahsa Amini’s death, her father too was detained. The authorities are trying hard to ban her memory.
Fr. Anil Francis, 40, was found hanged from a tree. In a note, the diocese of Sagar - while not speculating on the motive and offering full cooperation in the investigation - said that he had been denounced for a post on social networks against violence in Manipur. He was the director of a Catholic school in an Indian state at the centre of intimidation against Christians by Hindu fundamentalists for months.
A recent survey by the Pew Research Center shows a major regional cleavage. In Indonesia and Malaysia, support for an active role of religion in politics is growing, Singapore favours religious pluralism, including the right to change religion.
Despite the outrage over events in Jaranwala, Pakistan’s blasphemy legislation continues to be abused. A Christian couple is arrested on suspicion that their children might have desecrated the Qur’an. Amidst high tensions, Shaukat and Kiran Masih are jailed. Meanwhile, in Tandlianwala, another city in Faisalabad district, Christians have been forced to flee their homes at night under threat from Islamist extremists.
Ordained in 2020, Fr Yang Xiaoming, a young priest in the diocese of Wenzhou (Zhejiang) was given an administrative sentence for standing his ground on a matter of conscience. As a result, he is not allowed to perform his ministry. In China, the authorities claim the right to decide who is a priest in open violation of religious freedom.
Police questioned people present at the Ishwar Dham, a prayer centre run by Fr Vineet Pereira after radical Hindus filed a complaint. The house is “open to all,” the priest said, especially “the poor and marginalised” without breaking any law. Meanwhile, India's Supreme Court dismissed a petition by Hindu nationalists on conversions.
Card Sako speaks out from his temporary headquarters in Erbil after the falling out with Iraq’s president. The Christian community feels threatened in its “very existence”. A “new horizon” is needed through the synodal path. The cardinal will be in Marseille for Mass with Pope Francis.
Eliezer Sidhu, head of a Presbyterian church, was first forced to recite Quranic verses. After the attack he was rushed to the hospital, from where he explained that those responsible for the attack are the same ones who have been smearing the walls of churches with Islamic writing for weeks. Human rights defenders say this is one of the worst times ever for Christians in Pakistan.
The story unfolded in the village of Dhok Syedan coming close to what happened in mid-August in Jaranwala, where 26 churches and over 200 houses were destroyed, when a convert to Islam tried to extort a Christian family. Strong "latent fears" and a widespread feeling of vulnerability prevail among Christians.
China’s leader visited the region over the weekend extolling its "hard-won social stability”. He called on local officials to “more deeply promote the Sinicisation of Islam”. Meanwhile, people continue to be arrested for their faith or reading the Qurʾān. A delegation from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) praised China’s policies during a visit to the region. Tomorrow the pope will fly over it on his way to Mongolia.
The 33-year-old member of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate, a congregation linked to PIME, is set to leave shortly for the mission in Italy. In the farewell Mass, Fr Giacominelli highlighted the joy of working in education, which many Italian Sisters experienced in his parish of Bonpara. Her testimony is an example for other girls and young women who want to follow the same path.
After a long illness, the prelate emeritus of Dohuk in Kurdistan passed away yesterday in hospital. His physique was marked by an assassination attempt to which he had fallen victim in 2003, but that had not shaken his vocation for encounter and confrontation. A Muslim family affectionately called him "my uncle bishop." From international school to Isis refugee, a life spent serving the Kurdish community.
The vicar of the Latin patriarchate for Israel looks back on his first 16 months as bishop and delves into the tension around the Carmelite monastery. Peace and confessional balance endangered by a sect linked to Hasidism. The escalation degenerated into physical clashes between the parties, the police arrested a Christian leaving the provocateurs unpunished. The visit of President Herzog.
Bishops, priests, nuns and over a hundred faithful participated in a seminar entitled "Journeying Together. Unity foundational value of the Church. Layman calls deepening knowledge of Fabc's mission a "new and enriching experience." Archbishop of Dhaka: family where unity is most evident.
The "Sri Lanka Brief" report testifies to the escalation of attacks against the minority 40 years since Black July 1983. It counts at least 14 incidents between July 9 and Aug. 22 this year. The construction of new Buddhist temples to erase the legacy of Hindu culture in the northeast of the island. Vale police complaints.
The attack with swords, sticks and batons took place on Sunday 20 August, during the prayer service. Protagonists of the raid are over 40 people, belonging to radical Hinduvta movements. Sacred objects and a copy of the Bible desecrated. At the time of the complaint, another 300 people linked to radical factions have carried out a new assault.
Academic delves into the crisis between the cardinal and the president of the Republic following the withdrawal of the patriarchal decree. The cardinal claims the struggle for "freedom and independence." The roots of the current crisis in the phase of the fight against Isis, when armed militias (including Christian ones) develop. Criticism of baseless "politicization" defends homeland and citizens.
The fear after the attacks on churches and homes of Christians for an unlikely accusation of blasphemy. Bishop Rehmat's message from the United States where he was visiting: "Let us pray to God for peace and ask the government of Pakistan for justice". The vicar general Fr. Tanvir: "The arrests and the ban on gatherings come late, the police could have prevented the violence. The blasphemy law should be changed immediately". The president of the Bishops' Conference visited the victims.
In the district of Faisalabad, 21 places of worship and the homes of Christians were devastated by a mob fueled by Islamic extremists. Hundreds of people were forced to flee. The Christian accused of writing outrageous phrases against the Koran is actually an illiterate, The president of the Pakistani bishops Mgr Arsad: "Our people are not safe. A transparent investigation into this violence to re-establish the primacy of law and justice'.
The Cardinal addresses President Rashid's decision to cancel the recognition of the role of patriarch. He speaks of a "moral assassination" and defines the transfer from Baghdad to Erbil as an "extreme protest". Journalist from Mosul confirms the use of houses and churches by ISIS as detention centres.
Act of vandalism against the parish of St Gonsalo Garcia. While the police carried out the investigation, people gathered outside the gates to pray. Archbishop Felix Machado: 'I urge everyone to maintain harmony in the neighbourhood and apregate for peace in Indian society.
Iranian authorities began to arrest more than two months ago converts from Islam, but also some Iranian-Armenians. At least 10 are still in jail, while those released have had to pay hefty fines worth thousands of dollars or undergo Islamic re-education. The crackdown comes a few weeks before the first anniversary of the death in custody of the young Kurdish woman.
