Tag: Catholics

Majority-Christian Mexico still struggling to ensure religious freedom for rural converts

April 6, 2017 Mexico Catholics, Converts, Jalisco, Latin America, Oaxaca, Tuxpan de Bolaños

Some of the Christians from San Juan Ozolotepec.

As many as 90% of Mexico’s population would identify as Christian, yet not all of them are free to practise their faith. Some come under pressure from drug cartels, either by being members of churches who meet regularly and carry money for giving offerings there and are therefore seen as . . . Read More

New Erbil university offers fresh hope for young lives disrupted by IS

March 30, 2017 Iraq Bashar Warda, Catholics, Education, IDPs, Iraq, Kurds, Minorities

The new Catholic University of Erbil offers displaced young people an opportunity to continue their education.

Displaced young Iraqis whose education was halted by Islamic State’s violent seizure of territory are receiving a vital opportunity to catch up and train for professional life, thanks to the local Catholic archdiocese and charitable donations. The Catholic University of Erbil (CUE) opened in October 2016 and has around 250 . . . Read More

Uncertain future for Indian Christians after BJP’s election victories

March 22, 2017 India Anti-conversion law, BJP, Catholics, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Hindu nationalism, India, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand

India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seems to have consolidated its political position across India after the party won several state elections. These were held in February and March; after results were counted in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur, it had secured a comfortable majority in India’s most populous . . . Read More

Criticised for not securing release of kidnapped priest in Yemen, Indian government says it ‘told him not to go’

January 9, 2017 Yemen Aden, Catholics, Tom Uzhunnalil, Yemen

Fr Tom UzhunnalilArchdiocese of Bombay India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has come under fire from his political opponents for his failure to secure the release of an Indian Catholic priest kidnapped 10 months ago in Yemen by Islamic extremists. Now Modi’s Deputy Foreign Minister, M. J. Akbar, has said the . . . Read More

Indian Catholic bishops vow to end marginalisation of Dalits in Church

December 20, 2016 India Catholics, Dalits, Manipur

People threshing in a Dalit village near Madurai, Tamil Nadu, 2006Creative Commons Christian Dalits, who make up two-thirds of India’s Christians, are discriminated against twice over in India – firstly for being from the caste known as ‘untouchable’, and secondly for not being Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist. Christian and . . . Read More

Pakistan bishops call for new census

November 28, 2016 Pakistan Catholics, Corruption, Marriage, Minorities, Pakistan, Protestants

Pakistani bishops have called for a new population census to help give a more accurate count of religious minorities, says . The last population census was in 1998. Up-to-date figures will help the government assign the right proportion of public service jobs to minorities – a provision designed to help . . . Read More

Three priests killed, another tortured in Mexico

November 15, 2016 Mexico Catholics, Guerrero, Kidnapping, Mexico, Michoacán, Organised crime, State of Mexico, Torture, Veracruz

Three Roman Catholic priests have been murdered and another tortured in Mexico since September, reports the Associated Press. Rev. Jose Luis Sanchez Ruiz was found alive three days after his abduction in Catemaco town, Veracruz state, with ‘visible signs of torture’ according to a Roman Catholic Church statement. His kidnap . . . Read More

Churches’ prayers show Syria’s “blood ecumenism”

November 10, 2016 Syria Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants, Syria

Christians from different backgrounds have gathered in Damascus to stress the “blood ecumenism” uniting them through shared suffering in Syria. The “cry for peace” was joined by over 2,500, together with bishops of various Christian denominations, as well as nuns, priests, volunteers and scout groups, reported Asia News on Tuesday. . . . Read More

Religious freedom ambassador visits Mexico

August 17, 2016 Mexico Catholics, Chiapas, Hidalgo, Lauro Pérez Núñez, Mexico, Mexico City, Protestants, Puebla, Religious freedom

The US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, David Saperstein, is in Mexico to discuss how its federal and state governments are adhering to their international obligations to uphold freedom of religion and belief. As World Watch Monitor has reported, Mexican Christians who branch away from the “traditionalist” village churches, which . . . Read More

Video: Aleppo youth fill church on World Youth Day

August 2, 2016 Syria Aleppo, Catholics, Syria

Young people in the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo filled a church for their own ‘mini Youth Day’ as the Pope celebrated the Catholic Church’s World Youth Day during his visit to Poland last week. The eastern part of the city, which has been held by opposition forces, is currently . . . Read More

Catching Our Eye