Hijab row hits Catholic school in Kerala

Sikkim political secretary denies conversion allegations

The political secretary of the Sikkim Chief Minister on Sept. 30 denied allegations that he was using his position to spread Christianity in the northeastern Indian Himalayan state. “Today, I am shocked and pained to learn about the wild, unfounded and dubious allegations leveled against me by a former minister and present Dentam MLA N.K. […]

Vizhinjam project: Archdiocese to continue protests despite High Court order

The Latin rite archdiocese of Trivandrum says it will continue its agitation against the Vizhinjam seaport, despite a High Court order to remove tents used by the protesters. “It is only an interim order and the Church would file a petition to review it,” Father Eugine Pereira,, the vicar general of the archdiocese told on […]

Indian govt to look into quotas for Dalit Christians, Muslims

A Catholic Church official has welcomed the Indian government’s decision to appoint a commission to examine if Dalits who converted to Christianity or Islam can be accorded Scheduled Caste (SC) status. The federal government in a notification issued on Oct. 6 announced the setting up of a three-member inquiry commission headed by former Chief Justice […]

Removing Satan from Pakistan parishioners’ pockets

The colourful posters advertising the annual Marian pilgrimage are plastered across Tera village in Pakistan, but they come with an unusual prohibition. “Photographing or videotaping on mobile phones is prohibited. We are all obliged to respect the holy venue. The incoming guests for pilgrimage are requested to observe the SOPs [standard operating procedures],” state notices […]

Papuans pay the price of graft in Indonesia

A multimillion-dollar graft scandal involving high-ranking leaders in conflict-torn Papua has drawn a public backlash and further impoverished people traumatized by decades of violence. Indonesia’s anti-graft agency confirmed last month a corruption scandal involving Papua’s top man — Governor Lukas Enembe. He allegedly embezzled around US$36 million of state funds aimed to advance people’s welfare. […]

‘Nobody dares speak out’: Chinese writer forced into exile

Murong Xuecun was one of the brightest stars of China’s literary scene, his novels offering searing critiques of contemporary social issues that few other writers dared to imitate. But after a decade of diminishing freedom of speech under President Xi Jinping, he could not publish in his own country and was eventually forced into exile. […]

Families grieve for Thai nursery dead

Weeping, grief-stricken families gathered on October 7 out-side a Thai nursery where an ex-policeman murdered nearly two dozen children in one of the kingdom’s worst mass killings. Thai King Maha Vajiralong-korn and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha will later visit survivors of the attack that left at least 37 people dead, including the attacker’s wife and […]