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China, nearly 50,000 baptisms in the Catholic Church in 2018

At least 48,365 baptisms were celebrated in churches and Catholic communities in the People’s Republic of China in the year 2018. This is the number reported in the official publication of the Faith Institute for Cultural Studies, based in Shijiazhuang, the capital of the Chinese province of Hebei. The figures bring together data from 104 […]

China recommits to sinicisation of religion

“There will be no official or unofficial church when the church is united,” he said. Asked if it meant the so-called underground church would be forced to dis-appear, he said: “Don’t you want the church to be united? A church schism is not the fundamental aspiration of Catholics.” Bishop Zhan said those Catholics who refused […]

Caste-away: Dalits seek escape through conversion in Nepal

The Christian community in Nepal has not been spared the wrath of society’s caste-based inequality, even though bottom-rung Dalits are increasingly turning to Christianity as a means to escape their fate. Religious conversions are illegal in Nepal but the numbers suggest many consider it a risk worth taking as the “untouchables” are among the most […]

Young Bangladeshi Catholics told to turn off phones

In a Lenten message to young Catholics in Bangladesh, Cardinal Patrick D’Rozario of Dhaka called on them to get closer to Jesus Christ and to refrain from using their mobile phones on every Friday leading to Easter Sunday. “My dear young people, during this Lent I appeal to you for a unique sacrifice. I request […]

No Church Act in Kerala, Chief Minister assures bishops

For the second time in a week, Kerala’s ruling CPI-M said that the government has no plans to implement the Church Act, with now Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan making the assurance to a group of bishops from various Christian denominations who met him. The proposed Act aims to put in place a Devasom-like structure of […]

Lent is gift of Joy, says visiting Jesuit Superior General

Jesuit Superior General Father Arturo Sosa, who is on a visit to India, stressed the urgency of reconciliation with God, humanity and nature during his Ash Wednesday Mass in Pune. “We need urgently to reconcile ourselves with God, fellow human beings and with nature,” Father Sosa said on March 6 while celebrating the Eucharist on […]

Two hundred families in Karachi flee after three young Christian women are accused of blasphemy out of revenge

Charges of desecrating the pages of the Qurân saw three young Christian women, including two minors, placed under arrest. It was later discovered that none of the charges were true, but by then the news had spread across their Karachi neighbourhood, provoking a violent reaction by local Islamic radicals who forced some 200 Christian families […]

Jhabua nuns’ gangrape: absconding accused arrested after 21 years

Twenty one years after four nuns were raped by 26 persons in the Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh, a 45-year-old absconding accused in the case has been nabbed, police said on March 5. Kalu Limji was arrested from Aamba village in the district the previous day, a police official said. In September 1998, the accused, […]