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Christian concerns grow as Pakistan pushes digital census

Christian concerns grow as Pakistan pushes digital census The disappointment on Daniel Massey’s face was an indicator of the lukewarm response from Pakistan’s minority Christians to the government’s first-ever digital population and housing census rolled out on March 1, with promises to be transparent and inclusive. The massive undertaking aims to gather demographic data on […]

Bible stories lead Cambodian artist to Catholic faith

After reading the Bible and observing Church activities for more than 20 years, Sarom de-cided to start his catechumenate Little did Francios Sarum Koy know that becoming an art teacher for children and youths at a Catholic church 20 years ago would lead him to join the body of Christ on Easter Sunday this year. […]

Pope addresses Humanistic Buddhists on interreligious encounter, education

Pope Francis addressed a delegation of the United Associ-ation of Humanistic Buddhism from Taiwan during their visit to the Vatican on an interreligious “educational pilgrimage.” Pope Francis on March 16 stressed the importance of a culture of encounter, especially in a time marked by “a continued acceleration of changes affecting humanity and the planet.” The […]

Marriage hits record low amid S. Korea’s population decline

Less than 200,000 marriages were registered in South Korea in 2022, the lowest since 1970 when the country began recording demographic data, says the government. The country recorded 191,690 marriages in 2022, down by 0.4 percent from 192,507 marriages in 2021, the Korea Herald reported on March 16 referring to data from the Korea Statistical […]

French bishop suspends priest due to marry Holy Spirit ‘incarnation’

The French diocese of Fréjus-Toulon, currently under Vatican scrutiny for welcoming controversial religious groups, has suspended a priest and shut down his lay Catholic association after he revealed plans to marry a woman he said was “the incarnation” of the Holy Spirit. Fr Antoine Coelho, a former Legionaries of Christ priest in his 40s who founded the “Holy […]

Novels, dreams, and prophets: A conversation with Michael O’Brien

“It’s my hope,” says the author of By the Rivers of Babylon, “that this story will enflesh, so to speak, the real struggles of biblical characters, and show how they resisted the dark undertow of despair, prevailing in hope at a time when there seemed to be no hope.” Born in 1948, Michael O’Brien had a […]

WCC joins appeals for better protecting holy sites in Jerusalem

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has decried attacks on holy sites in Jerusalem and is calling for their protection. In a statement issued in the wake of the March 19 attack against the Church of Gethsemane in East Jerusalem, the WCC Secretary General, Rev. Prof. Dr. Jerry Pillay, made the appeal, joining in that […]

Exiles describe Nicaragua regime’s ‘unholy war against the Catholic Church’ at congressional hearing

Recently released political prisoners and human rights activists testified before members of Congress Wednesday about the ongoing persecution in Nicaragua, which one witness called an “unholy war against the Catholic Church.” In recent years, the Nicaraguan government under Daniel Ortega has detained, imprisoned, and likely tortured numerous Catholic leaders, targeting at least one bishop and several […]