Login      Register  
Subscription

Row over Indian nuns applying for state pensions‍

Ten elderly Catholic nuns applied for a state pension in the Indian State of Kerala leading to accusations that the church is not supporting them adequately. The nuns all applied for a monthly pension of 1,100 rupees (US$16) available to elderly unmarried women in Kerala State. They belong to the C

Russian court bans ‘extremist’ Jehovah’s Witnesses

Russia’s Supreme Court formally banned Jehovah’s Witnesses as an extremist organization and ordered the state to seize its property in Russia, according to Russian news media. The court, after six days of hearings, ordered the closing of the group’s Russia headquarters and its 395 local chapters on April 20. The Interfax news agency quoted Justice Ministry […]

MINORITY REPORT: BEING A COPTIC CHRISTIAN IN AN ‘ISLAMICISED’ COUNTRY LIKE EGYPT

They trace their origins back to the age of the Apostles, yet still the Copts are treated as second-class citizens in their own county. When Islamic State extremists attacked Saint Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Alexandria on Palm Sunday, they struck at the historic heart of Egypt’s Christian community. The Coptic Patriarch, Pope Tawadros II, […]

Pope Francis shuns bullet-proof vehicle for Cairo visit

Pope Francis has chosen not to travel in a bullet-proof vehicle for his first trip to Egypt this week, despite a recent spate of terrorist attacks targeting the country’s Christians. The Pope will fly from Rome to Cairo on April 28 for a two-day visit intended to build on inter-faith dialogue with Muslim leaders and […]

16 nations named ‘egregious’ religious-freedom violators

In its newly released annual report, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is urging the State Department to designate or re-designate 16 nations as “countries of particular concern” (CPCs) because they are nations in which there are “particularly severe violations of religious freedom that are sys-tematic, ongoing and egregious.” The nations include […]

Egyptian bishop: we have no need of Western protection

Following a surge of attacks on Egypt’s Christians, a Coptic Catholic bishop said that there is no need for Western nations to come to their defence. “If there were oppression on the part the State or government, these sorts of remarks might make sense,” said Bishop Antonios Aziz Mina, according to a Fides report. “But […]