Asian

China continues ‘war on the soul’ by jailing pastor

China’s ruling Communist Party has fired a warning shot to the fast-growing underground Protestant Churches in the country by jailing Wang Yi, founder of Sichuan province’s Early Rain Covenant Church, for nine years after a secret trial where he had no legal representation. The US State Department has demanded his immediate release. The sentence for […]

Vietnam archdiocese kicks off anniversary year

Hue Archdiocese in central Vietnam has kicked off a year of celebrations marking 170 years as a Catholic Church jurisdiction by honouring Mother Mary and thousands of people martyred in anti-Catholic purges. An estimated 3,000 people attended the opening Mass on Jan. 1 to start the special year at Phu Cam Cathedral in Hue, the […]

Supreme Court of the Philippines rejects petition to legalize same-sex marriage

The Supreme Court of the Philippines has reiterated its dismissal of a petition to redefine marriage in the country to include same-sex couples. The court had initially dismissed the petition in September 2019, on the grounds that the applicant lacked standing because he did not have a partner, nor was he seeking a same-sex marriage. […]

President of Asia’s bishops’ confederation calls for end of police brutality in Hong Kong

Asia’s leading cardinal was among the dozens of people to sign an open letter to the Hong Kong government to complain about “police brutality” over the Christmas period in the self-governing Chinese city. Major protests began in the former British colony in June, after the Hong Kong government attempted to push through legislation which would […]

Foreigners vacate Brunei, where Christmas is banned

Foreign workers are gathering their families, packing their bags and leaving Brunei, where a ban on celebrating Christmas has been enforced since 2014 by an authoritarian regime happy to impose stiff penalties for any breaches of the law. Fearing Muslims would be led astray and convert to Christianity, the sultan of Brunei imposed full Sharia […]

Malaysian state declares extra holiday for Christmas

The Muslim chief minister of Sabah in Malaysia has ramped up the celebratory mood among Christians in the state by adding Dec. 24 or Christmas Eve as a new public holiday. The neighbouring state of Sarawak is also thinking of declaring Christmas Eve a holiday, local reports said. “The additional public holiday will enable those […]

Sri Lanka dragged into global conflict with Islamic extremism

The sudden deterioration of the security situation in Sri Lanka has come as a shock to its people. Five days after a series of suicide bombings on Easter Sunday killed more than 250 people, injured over 500, wrecked three Christian churches and caused substantial damage to three five-star hotels, Sri Lanka continues to be in […]

Funding restrictions cripple Church agencies in Pakistan

Christian groups in Pakistan are trying to stop the government closing their bank accounts as part of a process it says is in-tended to throttle foreign funding to terrorist organizations. The government has revoked the licenses of thousands of non-governmental agencies and thus prevented them receiving foreign funding, including from Christian non-governmental agencies. “The future […]

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

Goans oppose tourism project near 16th century basilica