Asian

‘Grave situation’ as Wuhan virus infections soar

As the spread of the Chinese respiratory coronavirus (2019-nCoV) continues to accelerate, a global pandemic and ensuing massive humanitarian tragedy are threatening the country and surrounding territories. The virus has spread to almost every province in mainland China, while Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand are the worst affected outside the mainland, whose Spring Festival holiday […]

Card. Tagle bids farewell to hometown

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila bade farewell to his hometown in Cavite province, south of Manila, on Jan. 20, before his expected departure for Rome. The Manila prelate was appointed prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in last month. The 62-year-old cardinal is only the second Asian to lead the congregation, […]

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 […]

Indian bishops slam terror attack on tourists in India’s Kashmir

No action taken against police who assaulted Catholic priests in India