A prominent Bangladeshi Catholic musician has written a book containing Bible stories that rhyme to help Christian children read and understand the Bible better. Card Patrick D’Rozario of Dhaka launched the book called Chhonde Pobitro Bibeler Golpo (Selected Stories from the Holy Bible in Rhyme) written by Bartholomew Prottyush Shaha on Nov. 19 in Dhaka.

The 56-page Bengali language book is a collection of 25 stories from the Bible in verse form.

“Children like rhymes and they can easily memorize them. My intention is to offer children an opportunity to learn and grow an interest in the Bible at an early age. I hope this book will be use-ful for children in schools and at home,” Shaha, told.

The income from the book would go to Pratibeshi Prakashani, the publisher and publication wing of Catholic Bishops’ Christian Commu-nication centre, he said.

Over the years, he has composed over 100 religious songs and 45 have found place in Geetaboli (Songs), a popular Bengali Mass hymnal widely used in church liturgy.

In the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Vientiane a large banner is hard to miss.

The “17 Martyrs of Laos” banner hangs from the ceiling of Vientiane’s only Catholic Church and commemorates a group of Catholics, including several priests, who died between 1954 and 1970 in a crackdown on the religious by the communist government.

Each year, on Dec. 16, Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun, 73, makes sure that the martyrs are not forgotten. “We remember them with a ceremony, because they were witness to the faith,” Ling said inside the cathedral.

Ling, who grew up in a poor family without a father and was raised with the Khmu ethnic minority in Laos’ mountainous Xiengkhouang province, can also be described as a “witness to the faith.” Ling, who became the first cardinal of Laos on June 28, was sent to prison in 1984. Not for committing a crime, but because of his work as a priest travelling around the country.

He spent three years behind bars. But the cardinal sees the jail time as a spiritual experience during which his faith was tested. “There were some difficulties when I was locked up, health diffi-culties for example,” he says. “But it didn’t trouble me a lot. It didn’t disturb me in my personal life. Because we can take it as a test; where is your faith?” The appointment of Cardinal Ling, who studied theology and philosophy in Canada, came as a surprise to many. Including the man himself, who was in the small southern Laotian city of Pakse – where he serves as a bishop – when he heard the news.

“I was walking around when somebody called me, and said: ‘grandfather, you are selected as a cardinal.’ I said ‘no, this is not a time to joke,’ because I didn’t believe it,” he says laughing. “Then it was confirmed, and I had to go to Rome.”

There are an estimated 45,000 Catholics in Laos, according to a 2007 US government report on international religious freedom. But Cardinal Ling believes the true number is closer to 50-60,000, as the Lao Catholic population has grown slowly but steadily. Some live in the main cities along the Mekong river. Others live in remote areas, often with no church nearby.

In the entire country, there are only four bishops and 20 priests. But the low number doesn’t bother Cardinal Ling too much. “For me it’s not the number of priests that count, but the quality. We have to do our best to make them qualified as a priest. And even with nothing we can still do something.”

A British-born priest who has served in Indonesia for more than 40 years has called on the Vatican to end its tradition of keeping disciplinary cases involving the clergy confidential and demanded changes to the way bishops are appointed.

In an opinion piece published in Hidup, a weekly magazine published by the Jakarta Archdiocese, Divine Word Father John Mansford Prior, a missiology lecturer at the Catholic School of Philosophy in Maumere on the Catholic majority island of Flores said the handling of moral cases involving clergy must be “completely transparent, just like in the state system.”

“If the Holy See compels a bishop to withdraw, the results of the trial [of a bishop] must be officially announced,” he argued.

Father Prior, who also works at the Candraditya Centre for the Study of Religion and Culture in Maumere is a former consultor of the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conference (FABC). His article, published in the Oct. 29 edition of Hidup, specifically addressed the resignation of Bishop Hubertus Leteng of Ruteng.

Pope Francis approved Bishop Leteng’s resignation on Oct. 11 after an investigation into allegations of misappropriating more than US$100,000 of church funds and an illicit relationship with a woman. In its official announcement, the Vatican did not give a reason for Bishop Leteng’s resignation.

Father Prior told ucanews.com on Nov. 1, that in addition of transparency, the church should also encourage due process.

“If there were credible accusations, the clergy, whether it’s a priest or bishop being accused, should be immediately discharged, certainly with innocent prejudice,” he said.

The church is not credible in handling such cases, he argued because “priest investigates priest, bishop investigates bishop and it is done in private.” “Who can really believe in the results of such a process?”

Thousands of Filipino Catholics are expected to join a religious procession to call for “national healing” that will be held in a major thoroughfare in Manila on Nov. 5. A statement from the Bishops Conference of the Philippines said the event will be a “prayerful gathering for the healing of the nation.”

The country’s bishops declared Nov. 5 as “Lord Heal Our Land Sunday” that is highlighted by the procession on Epifanio delos Santos Avenue, site of the 1986 “people power” revolution. An image of the Our Lady of Fatima, which was brought by devotees during the revolt that toppled the 20-year rule of Ferdinand Marcos, will be carried in next week’s procession.

Abp Socrates Villegas, president of the bishops’ conference, said the activity is not meant to encourage attempts to destabilize the government.

“We ask the Lord for healing of our land, healing of our people so we can move forward in peace, in prosperity, for all,” said the Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan. “Healing does not mean turning a blind eye but being conscious to what is happening in our societies and owning to our mistakes,” added the prelate. He said the “signs of the times” is calling Filipinos back to God’s fold because “we turned our back to God.”

Indonesian Protestants celebrating the start of the Reformation 500 years ago have embraced Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation on the Proclamation of the Gospel in Today’s World, calling it a document that can significantly help mend ties among Christians in a country blighted by growing religious intolerance.

The Protestant Reformation began on Oct. 31, 1517, when Martin Luther, a German pastor sent his Ninety-Five Theses on the power and Efficacy of Indulgences to the Archbishop of Mainz in which he criticized the Catholic Church and the papacy.

During celebrations in Jakarta on Oct. 31 to mark the event Indonesian Protestant leaders said the pope’s message in his 2013 Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium or The Joy of the Gospel, in which he a called for churches to avoid blaming each other, held special meaning in Indonesia as fears grow over rising intolerance in the country.

“The invitation by Pope Francis in the document is very relevant, asking churches to distant ourselves from blaming and slandering attitudes,” Rev. Herniette T. Lebang, chairwo-man of Communion of Churches in Indonesia, said at the Oct. 31 gathering.

In Pakistan, Christian prisoners are denied the consolation of faith offered by chaplains denounces The World Watch Monitor, granted permission to visit detainees in prisons across the country. The Rev. Maurice Shahbaz, director of the Prison Mission Society of Pakistan, says he has been trying to get consent for visits to prisoners by missionaries, evangelicals, and pastors for more than a year. This would allow Christians, already discriminated against by cell companions because of their faith, to have at least the consolation of faith.

Tariq Mehmood Khan Babar, deputy general inspector, says the ban on imam visits to detainees dates back to early 2015, in conjunction with the approval of the National Action Plan. This is the terrorism prevention plan launched by Islamabad following the Taliban massacre at the Peshawar military school in December 2014, which resulted in the deaths of 132 children.

The threat of violent extremism remains in the predominantly Catholic Philippines even after the end of a five-month siege by terrorists in a southern city, said Catholic and Muslim officials.

Fr. Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the Philippines bishops’ Public Affairs Committee, told Catholic News Service that, according to some analysts and the president, “terrorist cells are already everywhere. It’s not only concentrated in Marawi, but there is a presence also in other parts of Mindanao.”

The historically peaceful Marawi on Mindanao Island in the South was the site of a sustained siege by Islamic State loyalists, who wanted to claim it as an IS caliphate. More than 1,100 people — mostly IS fighters — died in the battle where the fighters, fortified with munitions and provisions, withstood a military offensive backed by intelligence and special training from the United States, Australia and other countries.

The military killed two local leaders who headed the fight, prompting the president to declare the siege over.

Days later, Mindanao’s Cardinal Orlando Quevedo of Cotabato told reporters “the threat of terrorism is still there” and that extremist ideology and plans for a caliphate continue.

Manila-based terrorism analyst Rommel Banlaoi told CNS the fall of the IS-held capital of Raqqa, Syria, Oct. 17 meant the terror group would end moves to set up a worldwide caliphate in Iraq and Syria and decentralize. We value your input. Please help us improve NCRonline.org by taking this quick survey.

Banlaoi, executive director of the Philippine Institute for Peace Violence and Terrorism Research, said the caliphate would instead be in the “hearts and minds” of its fighters. He predicted IS would become more of a “franchise operation,” using the internet to urge followers to carry out terrorism acts against “the infidels and crusaders” in their home countries.

“ISIS is planning to set up a strong foothold in Asia,” he said. “And in Asia, the epicenter of their plan is the southern Philippines.”

The Philippine House of Representatives has not renewed the license of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines to operate dozens of radio stations across the country.

The bishops lodged an application to renew the license in January, because their previous one was due to expire Aug. 7, reported silencing-of-54-radio-stations. The application, which sought the extension of the license, or franchise, for another 25 years, remains stuck at the committee level of the Lower House of Congress.

Philippine law requires radio and television networks to have a franchise, which is granted through legislation by Congress, to be able to operate, reported ucanews.com. The franchise granted to the bishops’ conference was last renewed in 1992.

At least 54 radio stations under the country’s Catholic Media Network would be affected by the failure of the renewal of the franchise this year. Despite the non-renewal of its franchise, several Catholic radio stations continue to operate. The network’s stations reach 11 regions and 35 provinces of the country. It is the largest broadcaster in the Philippines in terms of the total number of stations and transmitting power per station.

Radio Veritas, a radio station operated by the Manila Archdiocese, has a separate franchise that was renewed during the previous administration.

Father Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the public affairs committee of the bishops’ conference, said he is not discounting politics as the reason for the failure of the franchise renewal, especially because Catholic Church leaders have been vocal in criticizing President Rodrigo Duterte. “It’s sad that politics could get in the way of our democratic processes,” said the priest, adding that “it may be one reason why Congress didn’t renew the franchise.”

Secillano, however, said the real losers were the people who relied on the service.

“It’s the voice of the people and our search for truth that’s being undermined by Congress,” he said.

The Catholic Justice and Peace Commission of Hong Kong has held a Mass to pray for missing underground Bp. James Su Zhimin, who was seized by Chinese authorities 20 years ago.

The Mass was also dedicated to other clerics detained by Chinese authorities. Or Yan Yan, a project officer for the commission, told ucanews.com that Bishop Su, from Hebei Province and now aged 85, is still in the hands of authorities. Or noted that many people think the Catholic Church in China is developing well because they see it has beautiful buildings. However, she said underlying problems remained, not least the detention of clerics such as Father Liu Honggeng of Baoding, Coadjutor Bishop Cui Tai of Xuanhua and Bishop Shao Zhumin of Wenzhou. All three were current cases, said Or.

She noted rumours that Bishop Su is in a nursing home for the aged, but even if true, this was not the same as being free as it would still be a form of house arrest.