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A bleak winter for the Church in India

The Church in India has never been under such stress as in the Christmas season of 2020. Starved of finances under a harsh law that regulates inter-national donations and the near absence of worshippers in the Covid-19 curfew, the Church cutting across denominations is pummelled by accusations from political foes and the seething anger of […]

Baghdad declares Christmas a national holiday – Card Sako’s ‘joy and satisfaction’

Iraq’s Chamber of Deputies voted on a bill sanctioning Christmas as a “national holiday with an annual frequency” for all citizens. Welcoming the news as a source of great “joy and satisfaction” and confirmation of the importance of “the Christian presence” for the whole country, Chaldean patriarch, Card Louis Raphael Sako explains: “Parliament voted on […]

How the Chinese Communist Party Robs Children of Their Religious Faith

The U.S. State Department on Dec. 7 designated China a “country of particular concern” for its systematic, egregious, and ongoing violations of the religious freedom of its citizens. The Chinese Communist Party has rightly been under scrutiny for its persecution of religious groups, including the internment of Uighurs in concentration camps in Xinjiang and the organ harvesting of […]

Vietnamese poet jailed for 12 years for subversion

A court in central Vietnam has imposed a harsh prison sentence on an elderly poet and blogger for his posts critical of the communist government. On Dec. 15, the People’s Court of Nghe An Province sentenced 68-year-old Tran Duc Thach to 12 years in prison for charges of “activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s government” […]

On Cages and Evangelization in China

Joshua Wong is a young Chinese human rights activist, recently sentenced to 13 and a half months in prison on the Orwellian charge of “incitement to knowingly take part in an unauthorized assembly”—meaning, in Chinese Newspeak, urging others to protest peacefully the tyranny now throttling Hong Kong. In his first letter from prison, the uncowed […]

Catholics praised for helping Vietnam’s pandemic fight

High-ranking government officials have praised Vietnamese Catholics for their great contributions to the Covid-19 fight and returned some former church properties as Christmas gifts during their festive visits. On Dec. 22, National Assembly chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, accompanied by central and local officials, offered Christmas and New Year flowers and greetings to Archbishop Joseph […]

Using anti COVID vaccine is lawful even if it includes cell lines from aborted foetuses

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issue as press released, approved by the Pope, whereby it “is morally acceptable to receive COVID-19 vaccines that have used cell lines from aborted foetuses in their research and production process.” The statement comes as a response to “several requests for guidance regarding the use of vaccines […]

Francis: Inculturated Zairean rite a ‘promising model’ for Amazon

Pope Francis is praising an inculturated African Mass rite as a model for a proposed Amazonian indigenous rite even though the African Eucharistic liturgy incorporates the pagan custom of “invocation of ancestors.” “The Zairean rite suggests a promising way also for the possible elaboration of an Amazonian rite,” writes Francis in his preface for a new book […]