Asian

Where does Bishop Chow’s China trip lead?

The visit to China by Bishop Stephen Chow of Hong Kong may have been a mistake, but it is also an indicator of Beijing’s continuing war on faith. Bishop Chow, wittingly or unwittingly, may have made himself a pawn in Beijing’s co-option strategy. Time will tell what his reasons are, how much in control of […]

Philippines bestows special status on centuries-old church

A 435-year-old Baroque-style church in the Philippines was declared an “important cultural property” by the government on April 22. Nuestra Señora de los Remedios (Our Lady of the Remedies), more popularly known as “Malate Catholic Church” in the capital Manila, was recognized by the National Museum of the Philippines for its historical and cultural role. […]

Vietnamese Catholic community in Korea marks 20th anniversary

Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taek of Seoul attended the 20th-anniversary celebration of the Vietnamese Catholic Community in South Korea and urged the migrant workers and students to strive for their goals despite difficulties in the foreign land. The community, established by the Migrant Pastoral Committee of Seoul Archdiocese, marked the celebrations at the Pastoral Hall in […]

Kazakh women against proposed tax to marry foreigners

The new Member of Parliament in Kazakhstan, Karakat Abden, has put forward a proposal that has unleashed discontent in her country: that of “imposing a tax on Kazakh girls who marry foreigners”. A group of women’s rights activists immediately started collecting signatures for a petition, leading to Abden’s removal from her parliamentary seat. In her speech […]

Christians slam Pakistan’s ‘faulty’ census

Christian leaders in Pakistan have slammed the ongoing national census saying the questionnaires were erratic and accused the enumerators of not counting many members of minority groups. “Many parish houses [parsonages] have been skipped. Maybe they thought no one stays in churches. Since every parish has at least three priests, at least 40 people will […]

85 killed, over 300 injured in stampede at charity event in Yemen

At least 85 people were killed and 322 injured in a deadly stampede at a charity distribution event in Yemen’s capital Sanaa on Thursday, according to an AFP report. The stampede took place during the distribution of charitable donations by merchants in the final days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the Houthi-controlled Ministry […]

When Buddhist girl grows up in Mongolian parish

Dashtsend Tsetseg Suren was just three years old when she first walked into the church com-pound in Ulaanbaatar holding the little finger of her Buddhist father, who was one of the workers engaged in constructing the parish church. During the Easter Vigil this year, the 14-year-old Suren will receive the baptism in the now-completed St. […]

Cardinal Bo calls for peace, freedom in Myanmar

Cardinal Charles Bo of Yan-gon has appealed for peace and freedom in Myanmar, where tens of thousands of people, including Christians, continue to bear the brunt of an ongoing civil war between the military and ethnic rebel groups. “As a nation and as a people, let us roll down the stones of hatred, human suffering […]

Salesians elect Maltese priest Fabio Attard as Don Bosco’s 11th successor

Pope Francis does not accept Cardinal Koch’s resignation: could continue at least until anniversary of Council of Nicea