Chinese Christians in the eastern province of Zhejiang are proposing that crosses taken down from churches during a government cross removal campaign be re-erected as way of celebrating the departure of an official responsible for their removal. The proposal — made by some Protestants in the area — was sent out via social media not long after it was known that Xia Baolong, Communist Party secretary of Zhejiang, was being reassigned to Beijing. The proposition to re-erect the church crosses was a way to “bid farewell” to Xia who local Christians hold responsible for the removal of 1,700 plus church crosses in Zhejiang since late 2013.
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Gender-based abortions threaten Nepalese society
Since Nepal legalized abortion in 2002 there has been an epidemic of gender-based abortions. At least 50,000 abortions a year are performed after parents find out their unborn child is a girl. Gender identifi-cation of fetuses is illegal but many clinics do not follow the 11th amendment to the country’s civil code that details how abortions can be performed.
In Section 28C, the code prohibits the termination of a pregnancy for the sole purpose of sex-selection with a maximum punishment of two years in prison.
However, the law is flouted so much that there was a marked decrease in the female birth rate. A study in 2013 by British researcher Melanie Dawn Frost and her team found there were 742 girls per 1,000 boys in 2007-2010, down from 1,021 girls per 1,000 boys in 1998-2000.
Many married couples prefer male children is because tradi-tionally, girls leave the family when they are married to serve their in-laws. They are also an economic burden due to the dowry system. Few people question the misogyny that underlies these cultural beliefs.
The desire for boys is higher in urban areas. The Nepal demographic health survey in 2011 found that the number of gender-based abortions in towns was twice as high as in rural areas.
The practice may be higher in educated and wealthy families given that the proportion of pregnancies ending in abortion rises proportionally with household wealth. It ranges from three percent in the poorest households to 18 percent in the wealthiest.
The Nepal medical council once suspended a reputable gynecologist for three months on the charge of sex-selective abortion in Patan city in 2015. Half of induced abortions are estimated to be unsafe. It’s a worldwide problem. According to the World Health Organization, about 22 million unsafe abortions are performed every year resulting in the deaths of 47,000 women and maiming an additional 5 million internationally.
Indonesian bishop criticizes mega Jesus statue project
A Catholic bishop in Indonesia’s Papua province has criticized a plan by local authorities in Jayapura to build “the world’s tallest statue of Jesus,” calling the move a waste of much-needed money. Djuli Mambaya, head of Papua’s public work agency, told reporters last week that construction would cost 300 billion rupia (US$23 million) and begin sometime next year. Planners say the statue at 73 meters high would dwarf the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which is 38 meters high.
Three ‘stubborn’ Chinese priests held, as bishop goes free
Three underground priests from Mindong Diocese in eastern China were briefly detained the same day Bishop Vincent Guo Xijin was freed on May 6 after one month’s detention. Fathers Zhu Ruci, Xu Wenmin and Peng Zhenshen, vicar general, chancellor and procurator of the diocese respectively, were summoned to a so-called learning class to study religious regulations the same day Bishop Guo returned to Luojiang village, the head-quarters of the diocese. The three priests were supposed to undergo a class lasting just over a week.
“The brainwashing class was meant to run for 10 days but the three priests returned after three days because officials found them too stubborn,” a church source told ucanews.com.
Officials had earlier informed the diocese that the underground bishop – who is not recognized by the Chinese government and who was released the same day the three priests were detained – had to attend a similar class for 20 days. They took him away before the start of Holy Week, the source said.
SOUTH KOREAN CATHOLICS HOPE CATHOLIC PRESIDENT-ELECT CAN UNIFY NATION
Catholics in South Korea have high expectations for unity, equality and an end to corruption under the country’s newly elected president, Moon Jae-in.
In a congratulatory message to Moon that also noted the national rift that led to the special election, the head of the Korean bishops’ conference, Archbishop Hyginus Kim Hee-joong of Gwangju, said the country needed “a credible leader who keeps principles and steps toward true peace and justice beyond today’s conflicts and confrontations.”
“May the new president be a great leader who can make democracy take root in this country and bring peace and prosperity to the Korean people,” Archbishop Kim said in his statement.
Moon, a Catholic and member of South Korea’s Democratic Party, won the election on 9 May with 41% of the vote among a slate of 13 candidates. Moon, 64, was buoyed by the growing dissatisfaction of ordinary citizens whose anger over corruption was years in the making under Park. From late 2016 to early 2017, tens of thousands of South Koreans filled the streets of Seoul every week calling for Park’s removal.
Mural of saintly pope kissing devilish Trump appears in Rome
A life-size mural depicting Pope Francis with a saintly halo kissing U.S. President Donald Trump sprouting devil’s horns appeared on a wall near the Vatican on May 11 , less than two weeks before they are due to meet. The mural, which was painted on paper and pasted on to the wall during the night, was the latest work by street artists depicting the pope to appear in Rome in recent months.
This one shows Francis, wearing a simple crucifix around his neck, embracing Trump, who wears a gold watch and sports a pistol in a holster. The pope’s halo is the same bright yellow colour as Trump’s hair. The two are locked in a mouth-to-mouth kiss.
The caption written on the sash of the pope’s cassock reads “The Good Forgives the Evil.” It is signed “TVBoy,” who is believed to be Italian street artist Salvatore Benintende.
Vatican hosts cosmology conference to dispel faith-science conflict
Scientists from around the world are meeting at the Vatican Observatory in Castel Gandolfo for a conference that seeks to bring together science and religion in the continuing search for truth in understanding the mysteries of the universe.
The scientific conference titled, “Black Holes, Gravitation-al Waves and Space-Time Singularities,” is an opportunity to show that “the church supports good science,” said Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno, director of the Vatican Observatory.
“We are hoping that this meeting will also be an encounter of people with very different opinions but very close friendships that come from having the same common desire to understand the truth of the universe and how we can understand that truth,” he said. The 2016 discovery of the existence of gravitational waves, predicted nearly 100 years ago by Albert Einstein in his general theory of relativity, was to be one of the topics of discussion. The discovery could open a new chapter in understanding celestial events and black hole regions in the universe, something that previously could only be hypothesised.
The conference will also celebrate the scientific legacy of Msgr. George Lemaitre, one of the fathers of the theory that the expanding universe could be traced to an origin point, also known as the “Big Bang theory.” The conference will also celebrate the scientific legacy of Msgr George Lemaitre, one of the fathers of the ‘Big Bang theory’
Syrian Refugees Not Welcome in Eastern Europe
Though the flow of Syrian refugees into Europe has slowed since 2015, hundreds of thousands of Syrians were still seeking asylum there last year. If many in Eastern Europe had their way, however, the number would be zero. In nine out of 15 Eastern European countries and areas surveyed in 2016, at least half the population believed their country should not accept any Syrian refugees. Many of the countries with the strongest opposition to allowing Syrian refugees are located along the Balkan route that once channelled asylum seekers from Greece to Germany.
European leaders effectively closed the route last March and signed a deal with Turkey to send migrants back if they did not apply for asylum or if their claim was rejected. All of Gallup’s surveys in Eastern Europe took place after the agreement with Turkey.
Anti-refugee sentiment is highest in EU member states such as Hungary, which has erected border fences to keep migrants out and, just last month, passed new controversial laws that would confine asylum seekers to camps constructed from shipping containers. Seven in 10 Hungarians in 2016 said their country should not accept any Syrian refugees. Sentiment was similarly high (66%) in non-EU member state Macedonia, which was on the front lines of the migrant wave in 2015 and sealed its border with Greece to keep them out.
The surprising connection between Our Lady of Fatima and Islam
As we approach the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima, one aspect that often goes unnoticed is the subtle connection with Islam – Aleteia new service reports. The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to the three shepherd children near the city of Fatima, Portugal, a place named after both a Muslim princess and the daughter of Mohammed. Some stories say that after her capture, Fatima fell in love with Goncalo and the two were soon after betrothed. Before their marriage Fatima was baptized into the Catholic faith and took the name Oureana. The Portuguese cities of Fatima and Ourem are said to be named after this Muslim princess.
Franklin Graham calls persecution of Christians ‘genocide’
Franklin Graham, son of the famed evangelical preacher Billy Graham, urged fellow Christians to struggle against a “Christian genocide” that he says has killed in greater numbers than most believers can fathom. Graham, who has been criticized by some evangelicals for calling Islam “evil” and for portraying Presi-dent Trump as aligned with the Christian church, spoke at a conference aimed at highlighting an issue many feel is ignored by politicians and the media.
“I am sure the number of Christians who are in prison or martyred each year would stagger our mind if we really knew what the total number really was. And it would send us to our knees in sorrow and in prayer.”
It’s not clear on what Graham’s numbers are based.
The nonprofit Christian organization Open Doors — which tracks Christian persecu-tion globally, and the increasing number of Middle Eastern Chri-stians who seek safety outside their homelands — estimates that every year around 4,000 Chri-stians are killed because of their faith worldwide.