Asian

Rights groups slam Pakistan senator’s forced conversion denial

Rights groups have condemned a Pakistani senator’s claim that a fact-finding team led by him could not find any proof of forced conversions among religious minorities in the Muslim-majority nation. Senator Anwarul Haq Kakar is head of a parliamentary committee set up to look into the increasing incidents of Muslim men kidnapping Hindu and Christian girls […]

Sri Lankan woman arrested for insulting Cardinal Ranjith

Police in Sri Lanka have arrested a 43-year-old woman on charges of spreading hate between Buddhists and Catholics after she posted a video making various allegations against Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of Colo-mbo. Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department arrested the woman on Oct. 18 in capital Colombo, police spokesman Ajith Rohana told media. The video released […]

China’s ‘underground’ Catholics wary of Beijing-Vatican deal

The Communist Party is officially atheist and exercises strict control over all recognised religious institutions, including vetting sermons. The provisional deal, signed in September 2018, allowed both Beijing and the Holy See a say in appointing bishops, in an attempt to close the schism in China’s 12-million-strong Catholic community. An announcement extending the deal is widely […]

Vincenzo Guo Xijin endured years of communist persecution and Resigns

Bishop Vincenzo Guo Xijin of the Mindong diocese announced his decision to resign from public life and retire to a life of prayer in a speech delivered at his last public Mass on the evening of Oct. 4. Guo, who has suffered homelessness and imprisonment many times at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party […]

First Swiss-Filipino joins Vatican guard

Vincent Lüthi was among the 38 new recruits who took oath of allegiance to Pope Francis in the Vatican on October 4. The 22-year-old grew up in Cugy, Switzerland and the only child of a Swiss father and a Filipino mother from Santa Fe town on Bantayan Island in Cebu province. The ceremony for new […]

North Korean defectors to reveal harrowing detail of escape at Night of Freedom event

North Korean defectors who risked everything for freedom will speak on October 7 night at Liberty in North Korea’s annual Night of Freedom, which will be held online this year. The hour long event will be held at 7 p.m. Eastern time and will include three stories from defectors who escaped one of the world’s […]

Bishops concerned as South Korea adopts abortion law

South Korea’s government has adopted a draft law to legalize abortion until the 14th week of pregnancy, but Catholic bishops in the country said it violates the foetus’s right to life. The government on Oct. 7 adopted the bill that plans to ban abortion after 14 weeks of pregnancy except in the case of a […]

Police arrest well-known Vietnamese rights activist

Police in southern Vietnam have captured a famous blogger and rights activist who has been praised for bravely struggling for democratic freedom and accepting persecution. The Public Security Ministry announced on Oct. 7 that police arrested Pham Thi Doan Trang and searched her boarding house in Ho Chi Minh City. Trang is accused of campaigning […]

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

Goans oppose tourism project near 16th century basilica