Tag: Catholics

China: Christian summer camps closed down, priests dismissed

August 15, 2018 China Catholics, Children, China, Gansu, Religious freedom, Xi Jinping, Youth

Authorities make holding summer youth camps like this one held in 2008, increasingly difficult. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

China has closed several Christian summer camps for children and dismissed two priests for holding a camp, reports Catholic news agency UCAN. The two priests belonged to one of the only two unregistered Catholic churches in Tianshui diocese, in China’s northwest Gansu province. After their dismissal, the Tianshui Municipal Ethnic . . . Read More

‘Is it necessary for the government to do this?’ asks Chinese Christian after church demolition

August 6, 2018 China Catholics, China, Churches, Jinan, Shandong

Chinese authorities have demolished a church in Jinan, Shandong province, to make way for further development of the area, Catholic news agency UCAN reports. Liangwang Catholic Church was legally registered with the religious administration. So was Shilihe Church, of the same diocese, demolished earlier this year. A third church, Wangun . . . Read More

Indonesia’s religious minorities protest against closure of worship places

August 1, 2018 Indonesia Banten, Bekasi, Bogor, Catholics, Churches, GKI Yasmin, HKBP Filadelfia, Indonesia, Java, Minorities, Tangerang

Indonesian Christians and Ahmadiyya Muslims gathered together in West Java over the weekend to protest against the closure of several of their places of worship, Catholic news agency UCAN reports. Over 100 people took part in a range of events, including the sharing of personal stories of discrimination. The participants . . . Read More

India’s Christians treated like terrorists, Catholic bishops say

July 31, 2018 India Catholics, Hindu nationalism, India, Jharkhand

Christians in India are treated as “terrorists” by the government, according to a group of Catholic bishops, who claim it uses its Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) to investigate Christian institutions, Catholic news agency UCAN reports. Nine bishops from the north-eastern state of Jharkhand met with the state governor, Draupadi Murmu, in . . . Read More

Indian government body wants church confessions banned

July 30, 2018 India Catholics, India, Kerala, Rape, Religious freedom, Women

The Indian government should ban the sacrament of confession in the country, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has proposed, saying Catholic clergy use it to harass women, AsiaNews reports. The state advisory body said in its statement that confessions can lead to blackmail and that “priests pressure women into . . . Read More

China’s Catholics told to create five-year plan to Sinicise Church

July 26, 2018 China Catholics, China, Churches, Education, Sinicisation, Xi Jinping

Cross on Dongguang Church against factory name. Shenyang, northeastern China. Shenyang is the capital and largest city of China’s northeast Liaoning Province. It was the site of the 17th-century Manchu capital Mukden, and the imposing Mukden Palace (Shenyang Imperial Palace) is a blend of Manchurian and Tibetan architectural styles. Mausoleums of Qing dynasty emperors can be found at Zhaoling Tomb, amid the pine forests and lakes of Beiling Park, and at Fuling Tomb in the city’s east. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Catholic dioceses in China have been told to come up with a five-year plan outlining how they will adapt more to Chinese culture and show loyalty to the Communist Party, reports the Catholic news site UCAN. A 15-page document, given to the churches by the state-approved Bishops’ Conference of the . . . Read More

Bahrain: New cathedral to be Catholic headquarters for northern Persian Gulf

July 19, 2018 Bahrain Bahrain, Catholics, Constitution, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Qatar

Bahrain's capital Manama is home to 19 churches according to government's statistics. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

A new cathedral being built in Bahrain will serve as the ‘seat of government’ of the Catholic Church for the northern Persian Gulf, reports AsiaNews. The Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia, patron saint of the Arabian Peninsula, to hold 2,000 people, is some 20 km outside the capital Manama, . . . Read More

China: Henan churches told to sing national anthem at services

July 12, 2018 China Catholics, China, Henan, House churches, Religious freedom

The outside of a registered church. Churches in Henan are now required to have a Chinese flag on display and to sing the national anthem at each service. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Local authorities in China’s central Henan province have stipulated that all churches must have a Chinese flag on display and sing the national anthem at each gathering. In the “Special Emergency Notice” circulated earlier this month, they also asked clergy to collect data on their members, especially on those from . . . Read More

The Mexican bishop who negotiates with the cartels

July 6, 2018 Mexico Catholics, Chihuahua, Guerrero, Juarez, Kidnapping, Latin America, Mexico, Organised crime

A bishop in the Mexican state of Guerrero, notorious for its narcotics production and drug traffickers, has developed his own way of dealing with cartels – by negotiating, La Croix reports. Local communities frequently suffer because of the conflicts between rival gangs. In 2017, there were seven murders per day . . . Read More

India: Priest’s arrest an attempt to ‘malign’ Church

July 3, 2018 India Catholics, India, Jharkhand, Rape, Women

Indian National Congress party activists hold placards and shout slogans during a protest against the abduction and gang-rape of five women in Jharkhand's Khunti district on 23 June 2018. (Photo: -/AFP/Getty Images)

Civil society representatives in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand have objected to the arrest of a Jesuit priest for his alleged involvement with the gang rape of five women last month, calling for an independent investigation, reports news site Indian Currents. “The allegations against Fr. Alphonse Aind … are . . . Read More

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