The Institute of Formation Fondacio Asia (IFFAsia) has gathered stakeholders for a dialogue aimed at nurturing partnerships and collaboration “to shape a stronger future” for youth formation in the region. “Today we come together, not as individuals, but as a community deeply committed to the formation of young people in Asia, walking alongside them as they navigate life, faith, and purpose,” said IFFAsia Director Florence Alexius during the opening program.
Some 57 representatives from various Church institutions and civil society groups across 10 Asian countries are participating in the dialogue, which runs from February 9 to 11 in Tagaytay City, Philippines. Ms. Alexius said the dialogue hopes to explore ways “to be a Synodal Church to the young people in their ordinary part of life” and how institutions and organizations “be helpful in enabling and engaging the present generation for the local Church and communities in Asia.”
“This was our guiding objective when designing this program. We truly hope that everyone here sees themselves as collaborators in this journey,” she added. The dialogue process is guided by the principles of Syno-dality–the Christian way of ‘walking toge-ther’–which emphasizes listening, discern-ment, and participation.
IFFAsia is a discipleship and mission school for young adults and laypeople in Asia. Founded by laity from Malaysia and the Philippines within the Catholic lay association Fondacio, it addresses the need for formation programs equipping young laypersons for social and pastoral work.
Daily Archives: February 15, 2025
Myanmar cathedral bombed days after its establishment: ‘We will rebuild’
A newly-designated Catholic cathedral in Myanmar was bomb-ed by the military regime last week amid an ongoing conflict in the region. The Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Mindat was severely damaged by airstrikes by the Myanmar military regime in Chin, Myanmar’s only Christian-majority state.
Though the damage took place on Feb. 6, news of the bombing has only recently come to light. The church’s roof and stained-glass windows were destroyed, rendering the church unusable, according to Fides, the informa-tion service of the Pontifical Mission Societies. No injuries were reported and the area had recently been evacuated.
Less than two weeks before the bombing, on Jan. 25, Pope Francis designated the church a cathedral for the newly-formed Diocese of Mindat. In the days leading up to the attack, local Catholics were planning upcoming liturgical celebrations, including the consecration of the newly-appointed bishop, Father Augus-tine Thang Zawm Hung, Fides reported.
The newly-formed Diocese of Mindat has a total population of almost 360,000, with more than 14,000 Catholics and 23 parishes, according to the Holy See. A local priest, identified as Father Paulinus, told Fides that the faithful are determined to rebuild. “We are very sad that our church has been hit by the bombs. It is a wound in our heart. But we will not let ourselves be defeated. We will rebuild it,” the local priest said. “We are certain that the Lord will ‘bombard’ us with his grace and blessing: This will bring peace and prosperity to our people.”
Second attack on a priest worries Singapore’s Catholics
Yet another attack against a priest in Singapore. The second episode in a few months after the one last November, which is beginning to ring more than a few alarm bells in an area where there are strict controls and, at least until now, no serious episodes of violence against Catholics have been recorded. This time it was Fr Cary Chan of the Archdiocese of Singapore who was attacked by a man inside the Church of the Holy Spirit on Upper Thomson Road on 10th February 2025. The assailant, a 22-year-old young man from the city-state of Chinese origin and with special needs, punched the priest in the head, causing minor injuries to his face.
Interviewed by the local media, Fr Chan gave his testimony about the attack: ‘He gave me a hard blow to the head. I feel a bit shaken; I did not expect such a strong blow from him’. Taken by surprise, the priest had no way to defend himself. According to Fr Chan, the attacker is a regular churchgoer and is partially blind, which is why he may not have recognised the priest. Meanwhile, the police say in a note that they have arrested a 22-year-old man involved in the attack on the Upper Thomson Road church. The police emphasise that the young man will be sent to the Institute of Mental Health for further and more thorough assessment.
Korea’s first cardinal for sainthood hailed for self-sacrifice, love
Late South Korean Cardinal Stephan Kim Sou-hwan, a candidate for sainthood, has been praised as a model of self-sacrifice and love, and for his lasting influence on Christians and people of other faiths during a special symposium on his life and contributions. “As we convene for this symposium, we are called to reflect upon the life and virtues of Cardinal Kim, striving to emulate his extra-ordinary example,” said Auxiliary Bishop Job Yobi Koo of Seoul Archdiocese on Feb. 7. Yobi made his remarks at “The Symposium on the Beatification Process of Servant of God Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan: A Celebration of Life, Virtue, and Legacy” held in the capital Seoul. He reflected on Kim’s life devoted to the service of others and his philosophy which was “one of selfless dedication,” Seoul archdiocese said in a statement. Yobi also serves as chair of the committee spearheading Cardinal Kim’s (1922-2009) beatification. He is currently venerated as a “Servant of God.” The Seoul archdiocesan Committee for Promotion of Beatification and Canonization and the Research Foundation for Korean Church History organized the symposium which was attended by laity and priests from various locations.
Vatican to project Chinese artist’s portraits of inmates on prison exterior
A Chinese artist’s paintings of inmates living inside one of Rome’s most well-known prisons will be projected on the prison building’s exterior and displayed in a new exhibit space near the Vatican as part of 2025 Jubilee initiatives.
The 64-year-old Yan Pei-Ming is a contemporary artist who has been living in France since 1981. He is known for his “epic-sized” portraits of figures such as Chairman Mao, St. Pope John Paul II, Bruce Lee, and Barack Obama. Pei-Ming’s latest portrait series, 27 prisoners living inside Regina Coeli Prison, will be displayed on the side of the prison building. The works, created at the request of the Vatican’s education and culture dicastery, will be the inaugural exhibit of a new art space on Via della Conciliazione, the main street leading to St. Peter’s Basilica.
The Vatican will highlight the work of contemporary artists during the 2025 Jubilee Year and beyond with the new exhibit space, called “Conciliazione 5,” to be inaugurated Feb. 15, during the Jubilee of Artists and the World of Culture. The Vatican has planned a slew of events for the Feb. 15-18 Jubilee of Artists, including the opening of the contemporary art space, Sunday Mass with Pope Francis, and the first-ever visit by a pope to the film studios of Cinecittà. The Vatican expects more than 10,000 people from across the wider art and cultural environments – hailing from over 100 countries and five continents – to participate in events over the four days.
Visiting bishops give hope to India’s most persecuted district
An Indian archbishop who led a group of bishops on a Feb. 5 visit to eastern Odisha’s Kandhamal district — the epicenter of anti-Christian violence nearly 20 years ago — has said the land will become a pilgrimage centre for Catholics. “I am sure, one day, this land of martyrs in Kandhamal will become a pilgrimage site for Catholics,” Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore and newly elected vice president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) told UCA News on Feb. 6. He said the 23 bishops accompanying him interacted with many survivors of the 2008 violence that tore through churches and Christian villages in the district. “The survivors are safe now after being rehabilitated by a Catholic Church initiative with the support of the government, but their lives are not without fear,” Machado noted. More than 100 people were killed and hundreds wounded during the attacks that began on Aug. 24, 2008, and lasted more than four months, rendering more than 56,000 people homeless. The violence followed the Aug. 23 murder of Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati, a Hindu nationalist leader in Odisha. Local left-wing Maoist rebels claimed responsibility, but local Hindu groups blamed the murder on Christians instead. The four months of violence left a trail of destruction as over 300 churches and 6,000 homes were razed. Many Christians were forced to flee into nearby forests, where some succumbed to hunger and even snakebites. “Although there is no visible violence [now] against Christians in this region, people can sense hatred and suspicion from dominant Hindu groups,” Father Manoj Kumar Nayak, a survivor of the violence from Tiangia village, told on Feb. 7. Now the parish priest of Our Lady of Miraculous Medal Church in Mondasoru village, which has 300 Catholic families, Nayak said the victim families have been rehabilitated in small houses. But “one cannot miss the lingering fear of the Hindu nationalists,” he added. Nayak said Catholics were reassured by the visit of the Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli on Jan. 31 to Kandhamal district to show solidarity with them. He said the 23 bishops, led by Archbishop Machado, visited Our Lady of Charity Church in Raikia and Nandagiri, where 82 families have rebuilt their lives after being forcibly removed from their original village of Beticola.
Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão re-elected CCBI President; Abp. Peter Machado elected Vice President, Abp. Vincent Aind as Secretary General
Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão has been re-elected as the Presi-dent of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI), while Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore has been elected as the Vice President and Archbishop Vincent Aind of Ranchi as Secretary General. The elections took place during the 36th Plenary Assembly of the CCBI at XIM University, Bhubaneswar. Cardi-nal Filipe Neri Ferrão (72) was first elected the President at the 31st Plenary Assembly held in Chennai in 2019. He was re-elected for a second term in 2023 at the 34th Plenary Assembly in Bangalore. In addition to his leadership in India, he also serves as the President of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC), an office he assumed in January 2025. He is also the member of the Dicastery for Evangelisation and the Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops.
Archbishop Peter Machado (70) currently serves as the Presi-dent of the Karnataka Regional Bishops’ Council and the Chairman of the CCBI Commission for Laity.
Archbishop Vincent Aind (70) was appointed Bishop of Bagdogra on April 7, 2015 and ordained on June 14, 2015. Archbishop Aind is also the Chairman of the CCBI Commission for Theology and Doctrine. On December 30, 2023, he was appointed Archbishop of Ranchi.
Indian Catholics lend helping hand to Kumbh Mela pilgrims
A Catholic-run hospital and a college in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh have offered free meals to Hindu devotees as mi-llions gather to attend the Kumbh Mela, dubbed the world’s largest religious gathering. Father Vipin D’Souza, director of Nazareth Hospital, said they are glad to lend hands to the pilgrims. The hospital, in collaboration with the Allahabad Diocesan Commission for Interreligious Dialogue, spon-sored free meals outside the hospital premises on Jan. 29 and Feb. 3 as thousands of devotees passed by a road leading to the Kumbh Mela venue, about five kilometres away. “We decided to organize the free meals for the devotees as they have been walk-ing more than 10-15 kilometres to reach the place,” D’Souza told. “Recognizing the needs of the weary pilgrims, we planned to give them tea, snacks, and other food items. We gave free medi-cine to some and treated four Hindu monks in our hospital for free,” he said. He added that between 25,000 to 30,000 pilgrims received various services from the hospital. Kumbh Mela (festival of the Sacred Pitcher) is a major, centuries-old Hindu pilgrimage that involves bathing or taking a dip in a sacred river, such as the Ganges. It occurs once every 12 years. The 45-day-long festival began on Jan. 13 on the confluence of the Ganges-Yamuna-Sarasvati rivers at Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad), the largest city in Uttar Pradesh state. Hindus believe the ritual dip liberates them from sins and offers spiritual atonement.
First Christians jailed for conversion in India get bail
A Christian couple convicted of trying to convert people to Christianity in the first such case in India has been granted bail, after they challenged the conviction in the high court of Uttar Pradesh state. The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court, the northern state’s top court, has granted bail to Pastor Jose Pappachan and his wife, Sheeja Pappachan, said Pastor Joy Mathew, who has been assisting the couple. “The court is yet to release detailed orders, but it is confirmed that they have been granted bail today,” Mathew told. Pappachan and his wife had moved separate applications requesting bail and to set aside the conviction of a special court in Ambedkar Nagar district, which deals with crimes against socially poor castes. In the Indian judicial system, convictions can be challenged in appellate courts, and allowing bail for convicts ordinarily means temporary suspension of sentence. The couple were sentenced on Jan. 22 to five years in jail. They were convicted of violating the state’s law that restricts conversion – the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act 2021.
Indian bishops oppose movie disparaging faith, conversion
Bishops of Christian Churches across India have jointly condemned a film, saying it deroga-torily portrays their religion and faith in the language of an eastern Indian state having a history of anti-Christian violence. The movie Sanatani–Karma hi Dharma, made in the Odia language of Odisha state, was released in cine-mas on Feb. 7, despite calls from Christians and other secular groups to stop it. The movie “misrepresents religious conversion as a criminal activity, undermining the freedom of religion,” said the National United Christian Forum. The forum of Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, and Evangelical bishops also accused the movie of distorting “key aspects of Christian doctrine.” The bishops said the movie, set in the background of tribal villages, can potentially “fuel divisions among tribal communities.” The movie reportedly revolves around Christian conversion and witchcraft in the tribal villages in the state. The name uses the Sanskrit word Sanatani, which refers to those who follow the Hindu religion. It asserts that for such people, Karma hi Dharma, meaning duty is religion. The eastern state has a history of anti-Christian violence. The worst was in 2008 when Hindu groups attacked and burned down hundreds of Christian homes and churches in the tribal-dominated Kandhamal district, killing some 100 people, mostly Christians. Hindu groups, who work to establish a nation of Hindu hegemony, oppose Christian missionary activities and conversion, particularly in the villages where they say missionaries target the socially poor tribal and former lower caste people. The tribal-dominated Kandhamal has a Christian concentration, forming 20 percent of the district’s 750,000 people, with the majority of tribal people following the Hindu religion or their animist traditions.