Asian

Pakistan drops controversial minority rights bill

The Pakistan government has dropped a bill meant to protect the interests of its religious minorities on Aug. 9 amid civil society organizations calling for a stronger law to protect basic human rights. The National Assembly, Pakistan’s lower house, passed the draft law — the National Commission for Minorities Bill, 2023 — on Aug. 7. […]

A rare visit to an ‘underground’ church in China

As we know China has both official state-sanctioned churches (Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association) and unofficial underground churches that maintain their allegiance to the Vatican. Even though it is hard to estimate the total number of Catholics in China, figures always tend to range between 10 to 12 million. To address the historical division between them, […]

Pro-Beijing bishops seek ‘sinicization of Catholic seminaries’

Leaders of China’s state-run church say seminary formation, including textbooks used in seminaries, should be aligned with the government’s sinicization policy. Their concerns were expressed at the latest meeting of the Working Group on the progress of the compilation of “unified teaching materials” in Catholic seminaries in Pingliang city in Gansu province in eastern China. […]

Seoul after Manila: WYD returns to Asia in 2027

Thirty-two years after Manila, World Youth Day (WYD) will return to Asia. Seoul will in fact host the event in 2027, while Rome (Italy) will organise the jubilee of young people in August 2025. Pope Francis made the announcement this morning in Lisbon at the end of the final Mass of the great gathering that […]

Like the UAE, Saudi Arabia might cancel Friday holiday

Will Saudi Arabia make Friday a working day? A proposal to that effect has sparked heated debates and elicited strong opinions. It is also proof that things are changing in Islam’s birthplace, home to its two holiest cities, Makkah and Madinah. The Okaz newspaper recently published an op-ed titled “Friday is a working day”, breaking […]

Estela Padilla: ‘My Experience with Filipino Basic Ecclesial Communities at the Synod’

According to Estela Padilla, one of the ten non-bishop members from Asia for the forth-coming Synod of Bishops this October, it will be an occasion for the church’s authentic renewal. She has been a consultant to the Basic Ecclesial Communities (BEC) of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and the Executive Secretary of […]

Lay people await participation in Pakistan Church

Mushtaq Asad was among the first five Pakistani lay people sent for a two-year study program in Rome in the early 1980s to ensure lay participation. That was two decades after the Second Vatican Council (1962–65), which stressed the role of lay people in the Church’s mission. Only two of those five returned home. And […]

Pakistan Claims 400,000 Social Media Accounts Spread Blasphemy

We know Pakistan punishes blasphemy with the death penalty, but how many blasphemers are there in Pakistan? From July 13, we have an answer, thanks to a report by the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony. It claims that 400,000 social media accounts spread “extremely blasphemous material against the most revered figures, including Allah Almighty […]

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Pope: Red Cross’ humanitarian work shows that fraternity is possible

New Vatican document lists ‘grave violations’ of human dignity