Asian

Indonesian police arrest 3 for attacking Protestant church

Police have arrested three people in Indonesia’s East Kalimantan province for attacking a Protestant church. The attackers threw stones at the church belonging to the Congregation of Christ Church in the provincial capital Samarinda on July 8, smashing its windows, according to police. The three were arrested soon after the early-morning attack after police examined the […]

Hòa Hung, the thousand faces of charity in one parish

The new wave of Covid-19 in Vietnam is putting a strain on the poor. How-ever, it is also an opportunity for many to discover the vitality of Catholic realities as in the parish of Hòa Hung, in the archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh City, which is not at all discouraged in these difficult times. In 1946, the […]

Vietnam jails dissident writer on anti-state charge

A court in Hanoi has jailed a dissident writer who used to work for a state-run radio station for satirizing government leaders. On July 9, the People’s Court of Hanoi City sentenced Pham Chi Thanh to five-and-a-half years in jail for “making, hoard-ing, disseminating and spreading information and documents against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,” […]

Pakistani bishop rejects bill on minorities’ properties

A Lutheran bishop in Pakistan has opposed an act that mandates a federal ministry to sell the properties of religious minorities. Under the Protection of Communal Properties of Minorities Act, 2020, a “ministry concerned” is mandated to issue a no-objection certificate for the sale / purchase / transfer / gifts of minority properties on the […]

Christian schools struggle to survive in Pakistan

Yousaf Adnan remembers retiring as principal of a Pakistani high school in 2011 due to a shortage of funds. “After serving for two decades in the Catholic school, my salary was only 5,700 rupees [US$36]. The teachers used to get half of that amount. The ceiling fans were as old as our careers,” Adnan, 56, […]

Bangladesh’s churches struggle to serve as Covid-19 rages

Churches in Bangladesh are struggling to provide the faithful with spiritual and pastoral care and to assist marginalized communities amid a drop in donations during the worsening Covid-19 situation. A deadly third wave of the pandemic hit the country in June as the more contagious Delta variant caused a massive spike in infections and deaths. […]

Pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily shutting down after raid in Hong Kong

The pro-democracy Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily will be shutting down on June 24 , one week after the arrest of five of its editors and executives under a year-old national security law. As The Associated Press reports, the board of directors for the newspaper’s parent company Next Media, said in a statement that its online and print editions would cease […]

Thai Catholics and Buddhists strengthen ties

Catholic and Buddhist leaders in northern Thailand have been engaging in dialogue seeking to strengthen unity and harmony among followers of both faiths for the common good. Interfaith dialogue is an integral part of the Catholic Church’s pastoral plan, said Archbishop Anthony Weradet Chaiseri of Tharae and Nonseng Arch-diocese that covers the four northern provinces of Kalasin, Mukdahan, Nakhon […]

Eviction-facing Indian Catholics to fight Muslim charity’s claims

Goans oppose tourism project near 16th century basilica