Concerned for the future of Christians who today face a “different threat”, but one that is no “less serious” than the Islamic State. Embittered by the Holy See’s silence in the face of the mystifications of Rayan the Chaldean, the leader of a local militia calling itself Christian (but in the pay of Tehran) who openly disputes his legitimacy. But also aware of the support of a community, the Iraqi Christian community, and of the closeness of the Muslim world, for a struggle that embraces the very future of the country and its inhabitants.
This is the state of mind that the Patriarch of Baghdad of the Chaldeans, Card. Louis Raphael Sako, confides in this interview with AsiaNews in which he recounts the last few tumultuous weeks marked by calumnies, personal attacks, threats, court cases and the head-on clash with the President of the Republic. It was precisely because of the court hearings that are part of this campaign that he was unable to leave to take part in the meeting of the Mediterranean bishops in Marseilles, where Pope Francis will arrive Friday for a two day visit.
As will be recalled, in mid-July, the cardinal had temporarily transferred the patriarchal see from the capital to Erbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan, in protest against the head of state’s annulment of the decree – which concerns “only the Chaldean Church, and this is the basic issue,” the patriarch explained – recognising its role and authority.
It was a surprising decision: Abdul Latif Rashid, in fact, has disavowed a centuries-old tradition by striking down the highest local Catholic authority, which is also responsible for managing the Church’s assets and property.
This is where the issue revolves: the control of the properties that are targeted by the self-styled Christian leader ’Rayan the Chaldean’ and the pro-Iranian militias that support him (a variegated galaxy that includes Shiites, Christians, Sunnis…), a threat to peace and coexistence for the nation. In response, the cardinal has not ruled out boycotting the upcoming elections. “In one second, the head of state wanted to erase 14 centuries of history and tradition, but I am not afraid and I have nothing to lose… maybe my life, but I am ready for that too. All this is being done to intimidate the Christians, to make them leave the country, and that is why I encourage them again, and more strongly, to stay and hope!”
“ The Holy See could have taken the floor, could have said that this gentleman’s propaganda is not true, could have tried to calm the people, the many Christians and Muslims in Iraq who are suffering from these new attacks, from these lies that hurt our community first of all.”

The authorities of Uzbekistan are intensifying the campaign to combat excessively explicit manifestations of the Muslim religion in public places and in social life. As Radio Ozodlik illustrates, those who profess Islam are forced to cut their beards, and women are prevented from wearing the khidžab, the local version of the Islamic veil.
There is a video circulating online in which some students from the Bankovskij college in the city of Andižan are forced in rather violent ways to weave their veils behind their heads, and those who refuse to do so are not admitted to the lessons.
Such cases are frequent in Uzbekistan, such as that of the third-year student of the Bukhara Technological Engineering Institute, Fatima Abdullokh, who appealed to the daughter of President Šavkat Mirziyoyev, Saida, with a request to defend the students forced to take off their khidžab.
Similar measures were also taken at the ir ik pedagogical institute, in the Tashkent region, where the management demanded that the Uzbek language and literature student Karomat Mukimova take off her khidžab if she wanted to keep her place in the student hostel.
There were also raids organized on the homes of inhabitants of the provinces of Zangiata and Yangiyol, where men in black masks carried out searches to take all the clothing deemed inappropriate, because it was considered a sign of Islamic radicalism.

Like in 2018, two bishops from mainland China will be present at the Synod of Bishops set to open on 4 October at the Vatican, the Secretariat of the Synod announced at a briefing that saw the release of the latest list of participants.
“The local Church, in agreement with the authorities, put forward two names and the Holy Father included them among the members he appointed,” said Bishop Luis Marín de San Martín, undersecretary of the General Secretariat of the Synod.
The two bishops are 53-year-old Joseph Yang Yongqiang of Zhoucun (Shandong), appointed 10 years ago, and 58-year-old Anthony Yao Shun of Jining (Inner Mongolia).
Yao Shun is one of the first bishops ordained in 2019 after the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China reached a provisional agreement on episcopal appointments. The Vatican had, however, already approved his appointment in 2010.
The two are different from the two Chinese prelates – Bishop Joseph Guo Jincai of Chengde (Hebei) and Bishop John Baptist Yang Xiaoting of Ya’an (Shaanxi) – who participated in the 2018 Synod on young people.
Other prelates from the wider Chinese area will also be present, namely newly appointed Cardinal Stephen Chow, bishop of Hong Kong (who was already on the list), and Bishop Norbert Pu of Kiayi (Taiwan) from the Bishops’ Conference officially recognised by the Vatican (which includes only prelates from Taiwan).

The Bangladesh government has agreed to establish a commission to protect the interests of its religious minorities – Buddhists, Christians and Hindus – two days after the country’s largest forum of religious minorities launched a hunger strike.
Officials announced the government’s decision to establish a minority commission by October, on Sept. 23, two days after the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council (BHBCUC) began the indefinite hunger strike in Dhaka.
The council representatives ended the strike soon after the announcement came from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s political adviser Kabir Bin Anwar and co-chairman of the ruling Awami League party’s election committee.
The council has been planning a series of protests across the nation through September pressing for government systems and policies to protect the rights and interests of religious minorities in the country, ahead of the January general election.
The government agreed to establish a commission after seven council leaders, including two women, who were on hunger strike were hospitalized.
Rana Dasgupta, council general secretary told UCA News that the government decision was taken during a “special parliament session” and “we trust the word given to us will not be broken.”
The ruling AL, in its 2018 election manifesto promised to return the land the government confiscated from religious minorities such as Hindus and Christians in the 1960s when Bangladesh was part of Pakistan (as East Pakistan).

South Korean government is moving ahead to launch commercial operation of the Samcheok coal power plant in Gangwon-do province in October defying opposition from civil society groups and Catholic Church.
Since October 2021, Catholic groups have been staging protests every month at Maengbang Beach close to the construction site.
The plant is expected to generate 2,044 megawatts of power. The government says the plant uses “green technology” with a focus on reduced emissions.
Catholic climate action groups joined hands with environmental groups to form an alliance, the Committee for Struggle Against Samcheok Coal Fired Power Plant.
The group has drawn local residents and people from other provinces who say the nature of Samcheok including the famed Maengbang beach would be in ruins when the power plant starts operating.
Media reports say parts of the beautiful beach turned black recently following the construction of a seaport to transport coal to the power plant.
“The crying sea over the praying people may soon turn into the tears of the people of Samcheok,” a protester said.
Environmental groups alleged South Korea’s heavy dependency on coal for power generation has become “a disaster” for mankind.

In a meeting with Mongolian Buddhists, Shamans, Shintoists, and other religious representatives, Pope Francis said Sunday that interreligious dialogue is “not antithetical to proclamation” but helps religious traditions to understand one another.
“With humility and in the spirit of service … the Church offers the treasure she has received to every person and culture, in a spirit of openness and in respectful consideration of what the other religious traditions have to offer,” Pope Francis said in a speech in Ulaanbaatar’s Hun Theater on Sept. 3.
“Religious traditions, for all their distinctiveness and diversity, have impressive potential for the benefit of society as a whole,” he added.
Pope Francis met with 12 religious leaders and representatives in the performing arts center on the Bogd Khan Uu mountain overlooking Mongolia’s capital city. The theater is built in the circular shape of a traditional Mongolian nomadic yurt dwelling called a “ger.” The rector of the only Orthodox church in Mongolia, Father Antony Gusev, represented the Russian Orthodox Church at the meeting.
In his speech, Pope Francis twice cited the “Dhammapada,” the most widely-read Buddhist text that is a collection of sayings of the Buddha.

Some 2,500 people filled the Steppe Arena stadium in Ulaanbaatar two hours before Pope Francis arrived for the afternoon Mass on Sept. 3, his final full day of the four-day visit to Mongolia.
When the 86-year-old arrived, the atmosphere was already abuzz with excitement and enthusiasm with a significant presence of young people. In several pockets inside the stadium, various dances were taking place, each carrying a unique Mongolian cultural essence.
Although the tiny Catholic Church here has only some 1,400 members, Mongolia houses an estimated 40,000 Christians. Hundreds of Catholics also came from South, Korea, Singapore, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
As the crowd filled the external ring of the stadium, an unexpected scene greeted people – popcorn vendors, much like those found at any entertainment spot. The juxtaposition of the sacred and profane painted a picture of the unity in diversity that defines the Catholic experience in Mongolia.
Amid the buzz, Mungunbolor Gantumur, a 30-year-old graduate of Don Bosco School in Ulaanbaatar, says she plans to have a unique business.
“Now my dream is to write quotes from the Bible and sell them,” said Gantumur, who has embarked on a journey as an artist specializing in Mongolian traditional calligraphy.
Mungunbolor is not Catholic but said she is “learning to become Catholic,” guided by the encouragement of her uncle, who suggested she explore Don Bosco School.

The Indonesian government announced a change in the use of terms referring to Jesus Christ in official documents responding to longstanding demands of Christians not to use Islamic terms.
In an announcement on Sept. 12, the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture, Muhadjir Effendy, said that the government had decided to officially replace the term Isa Almasih with Yesus Kristus, the official term that Indonesian Christians use for Jesus Christ.
In official documents, such as in the list of national religious holidays, the government will use the term Yesus Kristus, he said.Bottom of Form
“The change in nomenclature was based on a proposal from the Ministry of Religion Affairs,” Effendy said during a conference.
He said the change of the nomenclature would be approved by a presidential regulation.
Saiful Rahmat Dasuki, Deputy Minister of Religion Affairs, said that the change was initiated by a proposal from Christians.
“This is a suggestion from Protestants and Catholics that the name of the nomenclature be changed to what they believe in,” he said.
In the official calendar, the government determines three national holidays related to Christianity, namely Christmas, Good Friday and the Ascension.
These Christian feasts have been associated with the term Almasih and are expressed as the birth of Isa Almasih, the Death of Isa Almasih and the Ascension of Isa Almasih.

Christian groups in Nepal have appealed for peace and religious harmony in the Hindu-majority country, following a spate of attacks against their people in the past two weeks.
The growing “incidents of attacks and abuse, particularly targeting Christian minorities, is worrisome,” said Father Silas Bogati, vicar general of the Vicariate Apostolic of Nepal, which covers the entire nation on the foothills of the Himalayas.
At least seven churches were attacked in Nepal in the last two weeks, Christian leaders say.
The latest attacks happened on Sept. 5 in Nepal’s Lumbini province when two churches were vandalized in the southern Nawalparasi district of Lumbini, along the border with India’s Uttar Pradesh state, leaders said.
“We have been raising our voices for religious harmony. Nobody should harm the feelings or sentiments of others’ religion,” Bogati told on Sept. 7.
The harassment and attack against Christians began after a video went viral on social media on Aug. 15, claiming the visuals showed members of an indigenous community eating beef in a village near Dharan town in eastern Nepal.
The cow slaughter and beef eating have hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus, who consider the cow a revered animal, said Mohan Shrestha, spokesperson of Hindu right-wing party Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP or National Peoples’ Party).
“Some people from outside are inciting ethnic violence and disturbing the existing religious and social harmony in their attempt to push the country towards ethnic violence,” he said.
Hundreds of ethnic people in Nepal have become Christians in the recent past. Several Christian missionaries, including from South Korea, are active among ethnic groups, that local Hindus resist.

It’s just one of those news items that the Japanese rarely pay attention to. But it’s much more alarming than it sounds.
JR Tokai – the Central Japan Railway Company – is planning to increase the number of vending machines on platforms of stations where the “Shinkansen” or bullet train stops so that customers can purchase beverages and ice cream that are in high demand for in-car wagon sales.
Population decline, and not only in Japan, presents a multifaceted challenge with far-reaching consequences, some less obvious than others. How many would guess that a shrinking population can trigger a series of interconnected economic repercussions that lead to the erosion of comforts, luxuries, and even basic services?
You might think Japanese people barely noticed this news. No. Instead, an under-current of sentiment emerged across the Japanese online landscape, a collective grief for products quietly cherished.
Presently, the Tokaido Shinkansen bestows its passengers with the convenience of on-board refreshments, tantalizing snacks, and drinks accessible within the confines of its wagons, on all ‘Nozomi’ and ‘Hikari’ trains. Yet, the chronicle is set to shift as JR Tokai unveils its decision to withdraw this service by the end of October this very year.
“Population decline poses several dangers to economic stability”
Travellers already miss their favourite ice cream that will no longer be served by the impeccable staff, a woman properly dressed in the JR uniform.
This iconic ice cream creation was introduced around 1991, its inception an endeavour of a food manufacturer nestled in Tenpaku Ward, Nagoya City.
As per JR Tokai passengers, this frozen treat is an extemporary “luxury” that is affordable and could always be counted on, as, just like on airlines, it is served to you before every stop. But this basic service has been deemed too costly, so much so that vending machines will soon replace it.
Population decline poses several dangers to economic stability. One of the most immediate and pronounced effects is the reduction in consumer spending.
When the number of consumers diminishes demand for goods and services also contracts, thereby leading to decreased revenue for businesses. This, in turn, can result in cutbacks, downsizing, and closures in industries that heavily depend on sustained consumer interest.
So we should not really be surprised by the news about ice cream and coffee on the bullet trains. And there could be more similar “fatalities” to come.
“The decline in passengers due to a shrinking population will render services like onboard coffee sales economically unviable”
The loss of population-driven consumer demand can undermine industries that provide comforts and luxuries, often leading to a shift towards more utilitarian and cost-effective options.