Asian

SEVEN CHURCHES AND COMMUNITIES SUPPRESSED IN QIQIHAR DIOCESE

At least seven churches and their communities have been suppressed in recent months in the diocese of Qiqihar, whose bishop, Msgr Giuseppe Wei Jingyi is recognized by the Holy See, but not by the government. Members of the United Front, police, representatives of the Religious Affairs Bureau entered the churches while mass was being celebrated, […]

CARDINAL FILONI: “HOLY SEE-CHINA PROVISIONAL AGREEMENT OF HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE”

Cardinal Fernando Filoni, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, followed the delicate and complex path of the Catholic Church in China since 1992, the year of its arrival in Hong Kong. In those same years the diplomatic detente began between the People’s Republic of China and the Holy See, with the first […]

BP. HINDER: THE POPE IN ARABIA WILL BE A BRIDGE FOR DIALOGUE WITH MUSLIMS

Pope Francis’s visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a country where most migrant workers are Catholic from different Asian countries, is an “encouragement and a recognition of their existence and value,” this according to Paul Hinder, Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia (United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen). Speaking to AsiaNews on the eve of […]

CHALDEAN PATRIARCH: ONE MILLION IRAQI CHRISTIANS HAVE EMIGRATED IN RECENT YEARS

In recent years, with the migratory flows of the Iraqi population to other countries, about a million indigenous Christians have left Iraq. Chaldean Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako recalls this in a message released on January 31 on the occasion of the sixth anniversary of his patriarchal election. On this occasion, the Patriarch traces a brief account […]

20 KILLED IN PHILIPPINES CHURCH BOMBING

At least 20 people were killed and dozens wounded on January 27 in two bomb blasts at a Catholic Cathedral in Jolo, an island in southern Philippines. Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic militant group, and other armed fighters are active in the island. Police said at least 77 people were wounded in Sunday’s incident. The number […]

THE SUPREME COURT RESTORES THE REGISTRATION AND THE CIVIL VALUE OF CHRISTIAN MARRIAGES

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has restored the value and the civil effects of Christian marriage. The Court ordered the “National Database and Registration Authority” (NADRA) of Pakistan and the Punjab government to reactivate the official registration of marriages celebrated in churches by Christian citizens. The decision was welcomed by Christians in Pakistan. “This marriage […]

JAKARTA FREES FORMER CHRISTIAN GOVERNOR CONVICTED OF BLASPHEMY

Former governor of Jakarta, Chinese ethnic Christian Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, is free again after serving almost two years for blasphemy in the national police prison at Kelapa Dua, Depok regency (West Java) Waiting for him outside the prison walls this morning was his eldest son Nicholas Sean, while supporters and sympathizers welcomed the progressive […]

A DOMINICAN PREACHES IN THE MOSQUE, RECALLING THE GREAT IMAM PROMOTER OF PEACE

Maulana Muhammad Abdul Qadir Azad, who served the faithful as Grand Imam in the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore for about 30 years and died in January 2003, was considered “a great promoter of interreligious peace and harmony and above all of dialogue between Christians and Muslims. He was a great religious leader and a lover of […]

Pope Leo XIV shares vision for papacy in age of artificial intelligence

Pope Leo XIV’s coat of arms and motto: Here’s what they stand for