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Christians in India accuse government of double-standard as millions attend Hindu festival

Devotees take holy dips in the river Ganges during Shahi snan or a Royal bath at Kumbh mela, in Haridwar in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, Monday, April 12, 2021. As states across India are declaring some version of a lockdown to battle rising Covid cases as part of a nation- wide second-wave, thousands of […]

Bishops set prayer day as pandemic deaths spiral in India

Catholic leaders have urged their people across India to strictly follow Covid-19 restrictions as they dedicated a day of prayer to contain the infection spreading like wildfire. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India president Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai has written to bishops asking them to hold a day of prayer and fast on May 7 seeking divine intervention to save the […]

Sheshan’s shrine is closed but its amusement park is open, like other tourist spots

The Catholic diocese of Shanghai has announced that pilgrimages to the shrine of Our Lady of Sheshan will be cancelled in May due to the Covid-19 pandemic. On the other hand, the amusement park on Sheshan Hill has been open for some time, as have many mass tourist spots in the country. The shrine of […]

Priest’s book documents history of Christianity in Bangladesh

A senior Catholic priest has authored and published a book that documents the history of Christianity in Bangladesh spanning over five centuries with an aim to inspire young Catholics to better understand the advent and growth of Catholicism amid various challenges. Father Albert Thomas Rozario’s Bangla-language book Bangladeshey Christodhormo and Christomondolir Etikotha (Christian Religion and Christianity in […]

Vatican issues message for Ramadan: Christians and Muslims as witnesses of hope

The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue released a message addre-ssed to Muslims today titled ‘Christians and Muslims: Witnesses of Hope’ on the occasion of Ramadan and ahead of the feast of Id al-Fimr, the Festival of Break-ing the Fast, which marks the end of the holy month. Signed by the president of the Pontifical Council, […]

Catholic media tycoon jailed in Hong Kong

Catholic media tycoon and philanthropist Jimmy Lai has been jailed for 14 months in Hong Kong after being found guilty of unauthorized assembly. He was among nine activists in court on April 16 who were earlier found guilty of charges relating to pro-democracy de-monstrations in the Chinese territory in 2019. Lai, 72, has donated millions […]

China, North Korea ‘worst for religious persecution’

Religious persecution in China and North Korea, restrictions on religious freedom in dozens of countries and the continuing threat of violence at the hands of religious fundamentalists belonging to a variety of faiths all have worsened since 2018, said Aid to the Church in Need, a papal foundation and Catholic charity. The problems “have been […]

Bishop Bätzing Opens Path to Protestants Receiving Catholic Communion in Germany

In his latest salvo to challenge Rome’s authority, the president of Germany’s bishops’ conference has said that any German Protestant who wishes to receive Holy Communion in a Catholic Church on Öku-menischen Kirchentag — a day of Christian unity in May — may do so. “Anyone who is Protestant and attends Communion can receive Communion,” Bp […]