On September 3 , as a new consistory began in Rome, Pope Francis created 20 new Cardinals. Six came from Asia — Singapore, Mongolia, Timor-Leste (East Timor), South Korea, and two from India.
New cardinals came from five continents, ensuring that the universality of the Church is really, truly, global. And three new religious members were appointed, from the Congregation of Jesus and Mary (Eudists), the Consolata Missions Institute and the Legionaries of Christ.
Among religious orders re-presented in the College of Cardinals, the largest are the Salesians, who now number ten.
This is all very good news and I applaud the Holy Father for these appointments. I began my human rights work in Timor-Leste, during Indonesia’s brutal and bloody occupation, and worked there throughout and beyond its transition to independence.
I have had the privilege of meeting the current Bishop of Dili, Virgilio do Carma da Silva, and am so pleased he has been made his country’s first cardinal. It is a signal of solidarity and respect for that beautiful, benighted and often forgotten half-island that fought for freedom and human dignity for a quarter of a century with immense sacrifice and has risen from the ashes over the past two decades in an inspiring way.

The denial of building permit to a Protestant church in Cilegon city in Indonesia’s westernmost province of Banten goes against the spirit of religious moderation, Christian leaders say.
The Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI) criticized the refusal of permit for the construction of a church by the Batak Society Christian Church (HK-BP) Maranatha in Geram village.
“This incident harms the 1945 Constitution, which guarantees equality of every citizen to adhere to a certain religion and to worship freely in accordance to their own religions,” Reverend Jeirry Sumampow, a spokesman of PGI, said in a statement on Sept-ember 9.
He said the politics of identity had become worse and was threatening religious tolerance. “It is sad to see that there are still groups of people who hurt their brothers and sisters,” he added.
The opposition to the church came from a group of Muslims calling themselves the Committee of Local Wisdom Savior in Cilegon. They staged a protest on Sept. 7 demanding denial of per-mission based on then Serang district head’s 1975 decree providing for the closure of Christian places of worship in the area.
They later met with Cilegon Mayor Helldy Agustian in his office and pressured him to sign on the dotted line. A video of the incident went viral on social media.

Cardinal William Goh has vowed to promote the model of Singapore’s peace and harmony among religions in Asia and the world during a thanksgiving Mass celebrating his elevation as a cardinal by Pope Francis.
“Singapore is an icon for religious harmony in the world, where religious leaders and government work hand in hand for the good of the society, instead of being at odds with each other,” Cardinal Goh, 64, said during his homily at St. Joseph’s Church at Bukit Timah on Sept. 8.
Goh said that his appointment as a cardinal was “beyond his expectation” and “a very humbling experience.”
He said he wants “to spread such peace and unity to the rest of Asia by fostering dialogue between different religions.”
Top government ministers and officials including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, some 23 leaders of various religions and religious organizations, and more than 3,500 Catholics attended the event. Bishops representing Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei also participated in the pro-gram.
A commemorative booklet — “That They May Live” — was released to mark the occasion. The book outlines four thrusts of Cardinal Goh’s pastoral view for his cardinalate: Faith in Asia, Aid to the Poorest and the Least, Climate Action and a New Way of Inter-religious Dialogue for Human Fraternity, says a press release from Singapore Archdiocese.
The Singapore prelate was among 20 new cardinals of the Catholic Church created by Pope Francis in a consistory at the Vatican on Aug. 27. He is among the six new cardinals from Asia. “He doesn’t take it as a personal honour, he does it as service.” Premier Lee said he was happy to join the event to celebrate Archbishop William Goh becoming a cardinal, a rank second only to the pope in the Church hierarchy.
“I wish Cardinal Goh all the best in his new appointment and am confident he will continue working with fellow religious leaders in our multi-religious landscape, to maintain our unity and harmony, especially as we build a new social compact for the country,” Lee posted on his official Facebook page after the event.

Taiwan has donated a total of US$ 89,600 to various Catholic groups in Europe to support humanitarian aid to refugees who fled Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Former Taiwanese Vice President Chen Chienjen handed over the donation on behalf of the government following a Mass for peace in Ukraine at the Minor Basilica of Santa Sofia, a Ukrainian Church in Rome on September 5, Focus Taiwan reported. Chen, 71, a Catholic and member of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences, donated the funds to three Catholic groups and the Minor Basilica of Santa Sofia. During his address after the Mass, Chen praised Ukrainians for their unyielding resistance against Russia’s aggression. He stated that Taiwan deeply sympathized with the suffering of Ukrainians and would learn from Ukraine’s example to firmly defend themselves in the face of “China’s intimidation and military threats.”

Support for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government in Japan has dropped to its lowest level since his election amid a quest to investigate lawmakers suspected of entertaining “connections” to the Unification Church.
Kishida’s support has fallen to 36% from 52% a month ago, according to a survey. As much as 87% of the survey participants said the Unification Church was either an “extreme problem” or “somewhat a problem” for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
It’s easy to figure out why. The Unification Church’s name has been essentially rendered synonymous with a religious scam following an unrelenting media campaign.
Thousands of Unification Church followers rallied in the South Korean capital Seoul last week protesting the negative Japanese media coverage of their religion. The protesters, mostly Japanese believers who moved to South Korea, say the Japanese media, in its improbable attempt to rationalize Shinzo Abe’s assassination, has unduly targeted their church.
Church members fear that the social persecution, on top of family pressure, will force them to recant their faith.
However, the social pressure could have nothing to do with the actual belief as the church in question is a sort of esoteric cult whose main surreptitious undertaking is to convince their faithful into donating all their savings to the organization.
“The mere suspicion of being in the wrong is already a sentence in East Asian countries”
What is important, particularly in East Asian culture, is the shame family members feel on being seen as relatives of someone who is part of a group whose public image is forever tarnished. That is what matters.
The mere suspicion of being in the wrong is already a sentence in East Asian countries. The substance of the claim doesn’t matter when evaluating reputation.

Two state-sponsored Church bodies in China have elected new leaders during a five-yearly national conference who promised to invigorate the Catholic faithful pastorally in line with the socialist principles of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The three-day 10th National Congress of Catholicism in China ended in Wuhan, the capital of Hebei province in central China, on Aug. 20. Senior officials from the CCP also attended the gathering and delivered speeches.
The meeting attended by some 345 Catholic bishops, clergy, and religious from across China ended with the election of new leaders of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA) and the Bishops’ Conference of the Catholic Church in China (BCCCC), says a report on the BCCCC website.
Archbishop Joseph Li Shan of Beijing was elected chairman of the CCPA and Bishop Joseph Shen Bin of Haimen was voted in as the new BCCCC chairman.
The delegates also unanimously accepted the Work Report of the 9th Standing Committee on Church efforts and activities in the promotion of patriotism, socialism, and sinicization in the Catholic Church as outlined by President Xi Jinping.
The new leaders have issued a statement to commit themselves to engaging priests, religious, and laypeople including elders across the country for pastoral evangelization and further promotion of sinicization for “truth, pragmatism and inspiration” to move ahead toward a “bright future.”
“It is important to adhere to the direction of sinicization of Catholicism in China”

The Catholic Church in Asia stands at the crossroads of history amid poverty, climate change, political conflicts, disagreements and economic collapse, said a leading Asian church leader.
Cardinal Charles Bo of Myanmar, president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences, made the comments during his address at the opening of the federation’s golden jubilee celebrations August 22. The jubilee programs will conclude Oct. 30, with a two-week FABC gathering in Bangkok.
“We gather amidst suffocating clouds of conflict and displacements, the collapse of the economy, frightening climate change, pandemic and starvation of millions. Secularism is on the ascendency in the traditionally Christian world,” said Bo.
Authoritarian leadership is also becoming the norm in too many countries, he added.
“Democracy faces stiff challenges. Fundamentalism and religious violence threaten global peace. We are called upon to examine ourselves as to what could be the role of Asian churches in these challenging moments,” the cardinal said.
“Asia is a virtual mosaic of cultures; the church reflected that diversity,” Bo said.
He said Asian Christianity is in the process of shedding its alien baggage and becoming truly indigenous to the region.
“The incorporation of the cultural and the religious is what theologians refer to as inculturation,” he said.
Cardinal said much had been achieved in the past 50 years, and he thanked the theologians and others who provided the intellectual identity to the FABC.

Catholics in Bangladesh have thanked the outgoing apostolic nuncio, Archbishop George Kocherry, for empowering the local Church and strengthening Church-state ties during his nearly ten years in the country.
“Today, all Catholic bishops express our heartfelt gratitude to you for your presence, accompaniment, and dedicated service. You are an experienced diplomat and pastor who built a very strong relationship between the government and the Church. Through your presence, the Catholic Church became more visible in Bangladesh,” said Oblate Archbishop Bejoy N. D’Cruze of Dhaka, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh (CBCB)
Archbishop D’Cruze made the remark during a thanksgiving ceremony for Archbishop Kocherry arranged by the bishops at the CBCB centre in the capital Dhaka on Aug. 22.
Some 180 guests, including two arch-bishops, five bishops, vicar-generals, major superiors, and heads of Church-run organizations attended the event.
Archbishop D’Cruze also hailed the 77-year-old diplomat, who is scheduled to retire at the end of August, for his seminal efforts in realizing Pope Francis’s visit to Bangladesh in 2017 and guiding Catholic charity Caritas in supporting Rohingya refugees.
“During your time, the Church and Caritas Bangladesh came to the forefront. Especially, during the visit of Pope Francis and your loving care to the Rohingya, it is an extraordinary effort you have shown, a great sense of solidarity to Rohingya refugees,” the prelate added.
“He knew well how to maintain good relations with the government and people.”

The United Nations Refugee Agency reports that 123,000 people—mostly Rohingya Muslims—have fled into Bangladesh since August 25, escaping a new round of violence in Burma’s western Rakhine state. The refugees have walked for days, after a series of Rohingya insurgent attacks on Burmese police were met with a strong government response and the burning of thousands of homes. The Rohingya are a stateless Muslim minority living in parts of a hostile and overwhelmingly Buddhist Burma. U.N. officials say their relief camps are reaching full capacity as thousands of refugees continue to cross into Bangladesh.

The trial for the 90-year-old cardinal and four others detained under China’s national security law will take place Sept. 19-23
At a pre-trial hearing in Hong Kong, a judge set a five-day trial for Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun and four other defendants who face charges of failing to properly register a now-defunct fund to help anti-government protesters.
According to an Aug. 9 report by the Hong Kong Free Press news agency, Magi-strate Ada Yim announced that the trial will take place Sept. 19-23 after asking prosecutors and the defendants’ lawyers if five days would be sufficient for the court to hear the case. Both sides agreed.
The 90-year-old cardinal was detained May 11 under China’s national security law. However, he and the four others were charged with failing to properly register the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, set up to offer financial assistance to those involved in anti-government protests in 2019. It was disbanded last year after coming under scrutiny by authorities.
Lawyers for both sides will argue whether the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund fell under Hong Kong’s Societies Ordinance, which regulates registered and exempted associations.
The Hong Kong Free Press reported that prosecutors and defines lawyers also will argue whether the defendants held any positions of authority within the relief fund.
The national security law made participating in or supporting the pro-democracy movement crimes of subversion and collusion with foreign organizations and allowed for those remanded to be extradited to mainland China. Punishment ranges between a minimum of three years and a maximum of life imprisonment.
All five defendants pleaded not guilty. If convicted of the improper registration, each defendant could incur a fine of about $1,300.