At least 30 seminarians at a minor seminary in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province have been infected with the coronavirus. Some are currently being treated at a local hospital, while others are self-quarantining.

Judges in smaller courts in Pakistan are too afraid to let Christians go free in blasphemy cases because of the threat from extremists, a human rights activist says.
The country prosecutes anyone who is seen to be insulting Islam – with the death sentence often handed out.
In light of another Christian falling foul of the laws, Sajid Christopher Paul, President and Executive Director of Human Friends Organisation, has said more needs to be done to make judges feel secure.
“Judges in the low courts do not feel as secure as the judges in the higher courts. The judges in the low courts do not have as much security as the High Court and the Supreme Court,” Paul told religious freedom charity Aid to the Church in Need.
“I am not saying the judges themselves say they are insecure but the lawyers and everyone involved in cases such as this say that they don’t have the same security so they don’t make the bold decisions.
“The Supreme Court can make daring decisions like the acquittal of Asia Bibi because they have high-level security.”

As the Vatican sits poised to renew its historic agreement with China on the appointment of bishops later this month, one of the Catholic Church’s leading experts on Chinese affairs has argued that while the desire for dialogue is understandable, there is still nothing to show for the deal two years later.
“I understand the positivity, the temptation to have this relationship with China, but I have to say that there is very little fruit,” said Father Bernardo Cervellera, voicing his hope that “the Vatican, in renewing the agreement, instead of undergoing still more of the demands of China, puts more posts” in the way of their demands.
Head of Asia News and a former missionary in China, Cervellera spoke during a Sept. 4 online discussion hosted by the Acton Institute, a free-market Catholic organization, offering his evaluation of the state of the Asian continent amid the coronavirus pandemic and the new national security law in Hong Kong.
Speaking of the provisional agreement on the appointment of bishops the Vatican made with China in 2018, which is up for renewal this month, Cervellera noted that many officials on the Vatican’s side have praised the deal as something both positive and fruitful, while “China has never said anything.”
He referred to one article printed in the Global Times, a Chinese newspaper with ties to the Communist Party, which quoted Vatican officials praising the agreement, but which contained no references to officials or opinions from members of the Chinese government.
Everything, in this sense, he said, would mean that “the Vatican must give the ‘okay’ for everything that China does, and certainly they must interrupt their dialogue with Taiwan.”

The leader of the Diocese of Hong Kong has instructed priests to avoid politics in homilies and admonishing them for “offensive” and “provocative” preaching. The warning comes amid a crackdown on free expression in Hong Kong, after the implementation of the new National Security Law in July.
A letter, obtained by CNA, was sent from Cardinal John Tong Hon, the former Bishop of Hong Kong and current administrator of the diocese. “The homily is not meant to convey the preacher’s personal views (such as his own view on a social or political issue) but God’s message,” the cardinal wrote.
While the letter does not explicitly reference the ongoing political situation, the cardinal warned that priests and deacons “should be well aware that our faithful are all the time listening to what we say and watching what we do.”
“Therefore, we have to be prudent and attentive to what we say in our homilies, sermons and speeches.”
Cardinal Tong has previously spoken in support of the National Security Law, which came into force on July 1. The cardinal insisted the law would have “no effect” on the local Church’s religious freedom. Since the law came into force, Catholic journalists, political activists, and businessmen have been arrested on charges of sedition.

Religious and ethnic parties must be banned: they do nothing but divide the country, says Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo, in his homily for the National Day of the Sick, delivered in the basilica of Our Lady of Lanka in Tewatte.
Referring to the Easter attacks last year, and to the slow progress in investigations to find the culprits, Cardinal Ranjith recalled that religion must not divide or kill people: “If one religion destroys another, what is its meaning? Show me where such a God is!”
According to the Archbishop, religious extremism has spread dangerously in the country. He wonders if religious leaders are responsible for the attacks. The suicide bombers targeted three churches – two Catholic and one Protestant – and three hotels. The explosions caused about 280 deaths, including 45 foreigners, and nearly 600 victims.
After more than a year, justice has still not been done. “The investigation is underway – under-lined Cardinal Ranjith – but the authorities have not found out who planted the bombs, who the organizers are and who financed the raids.”
He continued that it is of serious concern that those politicians and officials who failed in their responsibilities have yet to be identified: “We ask and hope that the government will keep its promises to the Church, punishing those responsible.”

On 30 August a Pakistani Christian was arrested on charges of blasphemy in Nowshera (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa). It is the 42nd case of its kind recorded in August in the country, a real record according to the Naya Daur (New Era) website.
David Masih’s arrest occurred three days after a video – which went viral – was posted on social media showing pages of the Koran being thrown down a drain. Reported to the police by some Muslim inhabitants of his neighbourhood, he allegedly confessed to having torn the pages “to practice witchcraft.”
The Pakistani Penal Code states that “anyone who intentionally defiles, damages or desecrates a copy of the Holy Quran or an extract from it, or uses it in a derogatory manner or for any illegal purpose, will be punished with life imprisonment.” In the case of defamation of the Prophet Muhammad (section 295-C), the death sentence is foreseen.
Since 1987, when Pakistan added sections 295-B and 295-C to the blasphemy law, the number of arrests for this crime has increased. According to the National Commission for Justice and Peace of the Pakistani Bishops’ Conference, between 1987 and 2018, 776 Muslims, 505 Ahmadis, 229 Christians and 30 Hindus were accused of blasphemy.

Human rights activists were shocked after Asia Bibi dissociated herself from her autobiography, due out later in September. Bibi, the Catholic woman acquitted of blasphemy in 2018 after spending eight years on death row in Pakistan, sparked controversy with an Aug. 31 interview with Voice of America Urdu, reported ucanews.com. “I wasn’t involved in its drafting. I don’t know when she wrote it, whose story is it and who guided her for the book. I absolutely do not agree with this book because it’s not my autobiography,” she said, referring to French writer Anne-Isabelle Tollet, the only reporter to have met her during her stay in Canada. In February, Bibi confirmed that she was seeking asylum in France to live closer to Tollet, who played a key role in her fight for freedom and helped write her autobiography, “Enfin Libre!” (“Finally Free”).

A video posted on TikTok in July shows a Christian man being pressured to reject his faith and convert to Islam. Despite threats, he can be heard saying that “for nothing in the world” will he abandon the Christian faith. The video, posted by bilalmaher479, went viral, but also sparked a strong reaction from Christians and members of other religious minorities.
Hitherto, non-Muslims have to had to witness the forced conversions of girls and young women, compelled to marry Muslim men. The forced conversion of boys and young men is something relatively new.In the video in question, the Christian man is seen being pressured to recite the shahada, the Islamic creed, surrounded by people who are not seen. Despite everything, he refuses, saying that for nothing in the world would he recite the Muslim creed and reject the Christian faith.
His tormentors then begin to threaten him, saying that he will face serious consequences. Even then, the victim says no, stating that it is his right to keep his faith and that he is ready to suffer all the consequences, that he would not give up his religion.
In a statement, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said that it has received many complaints about the immoral, obscene and vulgar contents in social media, especially TikTok and Bigo, for their negative impact, especially on young people.
After contacting the two companies, the PTA said that their response was unsatisfactory and that it blocked Bigo under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act.
Taskeen Khan, a Glory TV presenter and human rights activist, came to the victim’s defence, posting the video on his official page and slamming the forced conversion attempt.
“Will the Pakistani authorities find the offenders through their TikTok account and punish them according to the law?” he asked.
For his part, Rev Irfan James of Peshawar said that “Pakistani Christians suffer many challenges and [endure] persecution. They face difficult situations every day.” “It is sad that young Muslims, the majority community, constantly threaten Christians and our faith. Time and time again, they make fun of our faith, but neither the government nor law enforcement do anything about it.”

Following an unprecedented “paid and planned” attack on Patriarch Raï, carried in the ne-wspaper al-Akhbar, the Episco-pal Commission for Social Co-mmunications has stated that information on “hidden weapons and explosives in residential areas and among civilians” revealed in his Sunday Homily are “without any doubt.”
“Instead of abusively accusing the patriarch, whose sources of information leave no doubts of any kind, we advise this newspaper to verify and investigate the statements that reveal that weapons and explosives are being hidden and stored in residential areas and among civilians. Otherwise – affirm the bishops – in reality, the enemy is hiding, among them.”
In his homily, considered the first direct attack on Hezbollah’s military strategy, Patriarch Raï had asked the leaders to “consider the explosion at the port of Beirut as a warning signal.” The Cardi-nal called on authorities “to search all the weapons depots illegally located in the heart of residential districts, in cities and villages.” The head of the Maronite Church added that “certain Lebanese regions have become minefields, which could blow up at any moment. The presence of these hidden weapons depots represents a real threat to the life of the Lebanese, which does not belong to anyone, any party or any organization.” “It is time – concluded the cardinal – to unearth these weapons and these explosives, so that citizens can truly feel safe.”
Furthermore, the patriarch, who has been promoting and relaunching the principle of Lebanon’s ”active neutrality” for several weeks, stressed.

S. Korean President Moon Jae-in, who is facing increased pressure over some of his policies, hosted a luncheon for Catholic leaders, asking for their cooperation in tackling the COVID-19 coronavirus.
“We must overcome the coronavirus (and) we will do our best to overcome the crisis quickly and minimize economic loss,” Moon said during the meeting, adding that he plans to meet with other Christian leaders in the near future.
Once seen as a model in dealing with the pandemic, South Korea has seen a spike in cases of coronavirus that has led to a fresh suspension of public Masses and could even throw the nation into a second lockdown.
In attendance at the presidential luncheon were Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, Archbishop of Seoul; Archbishop Hyginus Kim Hee-jong of the Gwangju Diocese; Archbishop Thaddeus Cho Hwankil of Deagu; Bishop Peter Lee Ki-heon of Uijeongbu; Bishop John Chri-sostom Kwon Hyok-ju of Andong; and Bishop Lazarus You Heung-sik of Daejeon.
According to the presidential office, Moon praised the Catholic Church for its swift action in obeying government quarantine restrictions during South Korea’s first wave of COVID-19 in February.