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Catholic family seeks justice for lynching victim in Jharkhand

A Catholic family in Jharkhand is awaiting justice for a tribal man, who was lynched by cow vigilantes in the eastern Indian state nearly two years ago, a lay leader says. The death of Ramesh Minj “did not enter the discourse of persecution of Christians,” bemoans John Dayal, general secretary of the All India Christian […]

Church welcomes Indian state’s tougher penalties for cow-vigilante killings

A Catholic archbishop has applauded an Indian state government’s plans for new punishments against vigilante-style violence, carried out to protect cows that are considered sacred by orthodox Hindus. So-called cow protection groups have conducted a wave of lynchings across India in recent years mainly against religious minorities. The mainly Hindu nationalist mobs attack Muslims and […]

Amid tensions in China, Vatican tells clergy to follow their conscience

The Vatican has told bishops and priests in China that they must follow their own consciences in deciding whether to register with the government, and it urged Catholics in the country not to judge them for the choices they make. The problem, the Vatican said, is that registration almost always requires the bishop or priest […]

Meeting with Mother Teresa leads to Bhutan’s Jesuit

When deliberating over whether or not to become a priest, Kinley Tshering – an extremely rare Catholic convert in his native Bhutan – asked God for a sign. The sign came on an ensuing airplane flight when he discovered he was sitting next to Mother Teresa (now St Teresa of Calcutta). He soon joined the […]

Sri Lankan appointed secretary of Vatican’s dialogue body

Pope Francis has appointed a Sri Lankan as the secretary of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID). Monsignor Indunil Janakaratne Kodithuwakku Kankanamalage, currently the under-secretary of the council, is a priest of the Diocese of Badulla, Sri Lanka. Monsignor Indunil was born in 1966 of a Buddhist mother who converted on marrying a […]

Thai police seize 51 Pakistani Christian asylum seekers

Thai authorities in Bangkok have arrested 51 Pakistani Christian asylum seekers in an incident that has reignited fears among the city’s Christian refugees of another immigration crack-down on illegal immigrants. According to eyewitnesses, immigration authorities arriving in two police vans pulled up outside a low-rent apartment building in Bearing Soi 7 in eastern Bangkok where […]

Case filed against diocese for “illegal quarrying”

Some lay people have approached the Kerala High Court against “illegal quarrying” on the land of two parishes under Thamarassery diocese. The Catholic Laymen’s Association also wants the court to act against the state government for its failure to check the diocese’s bishop and vicars of Little Flower Church, Pushpagiri, and St George Church, Chundathumpoyil, […]

Chinese Christians warned not to speak about persecution

As the Chinese government continues to suppress religious freedom, Christianity is facing the forcible removal of crosses and demolition of churches across the vast nation. However, threatened by the authorities and fearing retaliation, some Catholic Church members dare not disclose what is happening to the outside world, causing a blackout of all news on the […]