My mother does not deserve to be insulted and called a “whore.” Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David said this in his Facebook post on April 3 after President Rodrigo Duterte called him a “son of a whore” during a speech in Malabon.

“[Duterte] called me a son of a whore for allegedly attacking him from the Church pulpit—which I have never ever done,” David said in a statement posted on Facebook.

“Our family does not expect anyone in government to give her a recognition for her immense contribution in nation-building. But we do not expect anyone either, to insult her memory and call her a whore. She does not deserve it,” David added.

The bishop said that his deceased mother, Bienvenida Siongco David, did everything to raise 13 children despite being a widow at the age of 58.

He added that his mother was able to raise one sociologist, one architect/urban planner, two lawyers, one civil engineer, one real estate broker, one banker, one medical technologist, one critical care nurse, one bishop, one nutritionist, one dentist, and one economist.

“Her efforts did not end up in vain; not a single one of her children became a liability to the country,” David said.

The Church of Hong Kong is preparing to welcome more than 2,800 new Christians, who will be baptised for Easter.

Starting on 24 March and in the last three Sundays of Lent, the bishop examined the journey of faith of the catechumens in eight ceremonies of scrutiny held across the diocese.

On the first of the three Sundays, a total of 1,720 catechumens, godparents and catechists took part in two ceremonies of scrutiny at the St Francis of Assisi’s Church, in Shek Kip Mei. The apostolic administrator of Hong Kong, Card John Tong Hon (pictured), led the scrutiny during the service concelebrated by Card Joseph Zen Zekiun, bishop of the diocese until 2009.

The catechumens from the parishes of Hong Kong Island were present at the scrutiny ceremonies in Shek Kip Mei.

The service held at the Church of Saint Benedict, in Sha Tin, on 31st March, was reserved for those from the parishes on the New Territories.

The future Christians from the parishes of Kowloon took part in the services celebrated two days ago in Shek Kip Mei and at St Andrew’s Church (Hang Hau).

At least 600 government officials and policemen arrived this morning in front of the Marian shrine of Mujiaping to destroy it. The shrine is located in the Diocese of Fengxiang (Shaanxi), the same where the authorities destroyed the Qianyang Church on 4 April.

Alerted to the authorities intentions, late night, about 200 faithful from the area gathered on the steps leading to the church to defend the sanctuary. “We are willing to lay down our lives,” one of them said. However, the number of police officers and officials is almost three times as many, so it will be very difficult for them to be stopped.

The Marian shrine of Mujiaping is located on a mountainous area of the district of Taibai, in the midst of very poor populations. The church itself is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, but people use it as a place of pilgrimage to a statue of the Virgin housed in the shrine. The police plan to destroy the sanctuary, the historic gate from which one enters the steps that leads to the church, the statue of Our Lady that welcomes pilgrims. The faithful ask all Christians to pray for the preservation of the sanctuary and the salvation of the population.

In the coming days the authorities have planned the destruction of other churches, at least three.

The violence that is sweeping the Fengxiang churches has a specific goal, confirmed by the faithful: the authorities want the places, the people, the priests and the bishop to belong to the Patriotic Association, the control body of the Communist Party, which wants to build a Church that is “independent” of the Holy See. “If you don’t sign up, we will destroy everything,” an official is reported to have said.

The Gulf states – with the complicity of Islamic nations in Africa – stand accused of master-minding a “secret agenda” to invade the Central African Republic (CAR), drive out non-Muslims and divide the country in two. But, making the claim, Bishop Juan José Aguirre Muñoz of Bangassou has vowed that the Church would never leave the country and remains committed to helping the poorest of the poor and building bridges with Muslims.

In an interview with Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, Bishop Muñoz condemned what he called a “secret agenda” involving the Gulf states as well as “countries hiding in the shadows” such as Chad, Niger, Sudan, Libya and other Islamic nations in Africa. The bishop said: “Thousands of mercenaries – most of them foreigners – have invaded the country from the north aided by the Gulf states and by Chad and with the complicity of other countries… such as Sudan and Niger.

Malaysia’s human rights commission, Suhakam, has ruled that Pastor Raymond Koh and a Muslim social activist, Amri Che Mat, were the victims of state sponsored “enforced disappearances.” After a year-long inquiry, Suhakam reported on 3rd April that the two were taken by Special Branch – the police’s intelligence unit. Church leaders in Malaysia are now calling on the government to “Immediately take steps to clarify and separate the jurisdictions of the religious authorities and the Royal Malaysia Police.”