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Karnataka ignores bishops, goes ahead with ant-conversion law,

The government in Karnataka has issued an order to check “forced conversions” in the southern Indian state. State Chief Minister Basa-varaj Bommai on September 28 instructed the district deputy commissioners to become vigi-lant about the conversions in their respective jurisdiction and puni-sh those violating the rule. The order came five days after the Catholic bishops […]

Mandya bishop honours Covid volunteers

Bishop Sebastian Adyanthra-th of Mandya has hailed the Covid volunteers for their exceptional service to mankind during the coronavirus pandemic. “Covid posed a serious crisis in Bengaluru and the Catholic laity under the Vincent De Paul Society have played a remarkable role as frontline warriors,” the Syro-Malabar prelate said. Bengaluru is the capital of Karnataka […]

Indian police probe Christian wedding over conversion claims

Police have launched an investigation into the marriage of a Protestant couple after Hindu activists claimed the bride was a Hindu converted to Christianity in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Hindu extremists barged into the marriage reception in Indore town on Sept. 29 evening and disrupted the function. Even though the families of […]

Young Christian woman endures months of violence in Faisalabad

After months of threats and attempted kidnappings, Arushma Ejaz, a young woman from Rabbani Colony, turned to Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP) late last month for help after her complaints to the police proved useless. A man named Ghulam Jelani has been stalking her for a while, going so far as to try to kidnap […]

Asia falls short on religious freedom, say Christian legal experts

Asian nations are failing to effectively interpret and imple-ment freedom of religion and belief for their citizens despite having constitutional provisions and guarantees, Christian legal experts said during a regional consultation. “Although a majority of Asian countries have strong constitutional provisions and guarantees to secure their citi-zens’ freedom of religion and belief, there are severe […]

Plight of Afghan women haunts Pakistani nun

A Pakistan-born Catholic nun who worked in Afghanistan until the Taliban takeover says the plight and lack of freedom of women in the country still trou-ble her. Women are considered inconsequential in Afghanistan, said Sister Shahnaz Bhatti from the Sisters of Charity of St. Jeanne-Antide Thouret, who fled the troubled Central Asian country following the […]

Maria Ressa, a Nobel Peace Prize against Duterte’s ‘war’

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Philippine journalist Maria Ressa, founder of the news website Rappler, and Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov. In announcing the award, the Nobel committee chair, Berit Reiss-Andersen, said: “Free, independent and fact-based journalism serves to protect against abuse of power, lies and war propaganda. “Without freedom of expression and freedom of […]

Good News for Iraq’s Christians: More Autonomy

This week, the Christian enclave of Ankawa in Erbil, the capital city of Iraqi Kurdistan, was designated by the autonomous region’s prime minister as an official district with administrative autonomy. Starting next week, Christians will directly elect their own mayor and be in charge of security, among other matters. Prime Minister Masrour Barzani called Ankawa […]