China pledges to protect religious freedom, days after Bible ban

Women, married to pastors who work in rural areas in China, meet in a church. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
China presented an official ‘white paper’ on religion on Wednesday, 4 April, guaranteeing “protection” for religious freedom, just four days after banning the online sale of Bibles. The policy paper, titled ‘China’s Policies and Practices on Protecting Freedom of Religious Belief’, was presented by the State Council Information Office at . . . Read More

Persecuted Christians celebrate Easter with mixed emotions

Flag of Syria is waving as sign of victory over the destroyed heavily damaged city of Aleppo. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
Easter this year was a time of mixed emotions for the Christians who live under pressure for their faith. While political and religious leaders called for peace, reconciliation and brotherhood, Christians in countries like Syria and the Philippines continued to face violence and its consequences. Below, World Watch Monitor gives . . . Read More

Turkey’s Churches publish landmark book of common Christian doctrine

Turkey’s Churches publish landmark book of common Christian doctrine
A joint commission of Turkey’s major Christian denominations has published an historic book of concise Christian doctrine, receiving the unprecedented endorsement of all the nation’s Orthodox, Catholic, Armenian, Syriac and Protestant Churches. According to Armenian Bishop Sahak Masalyan, keynote speaker at the formal book launch in Istanbul of the English . . . Read More

Dozens killed in CAR, including priest who planned to move

Dozens killed in CAR, including priest who planned to move
Dozens, including a Catholic priest, were killed last week as fighting erupted between armed groups in several villages in southern Central African Republic. Father Joseph Désiré Angbabata, 49, the parish priest of Séko village, near Bambari, lost his life when armed men stormed his village parish of Saint Charles LWANGA . . . Read More

India: police leave Catholic hospital separated from power supply after attack

India: police leave Catholic hospital separated from power supply after attack
Police guarding a Catholic hospital in central India that was attacked by a Hindu nationalist mob are restricting staff access to its emergency generator. The last members of the 100-strong mob that attacked Pushpa Mission Hospital in Ujjain city, Madhya Pradesh, left the site following a 16 March court order . . . Read More

Pro-Hindu BJP wins over Christian voters in northeast India

Christians gather for the general assembly of the National Council of Churches in India in Shillong, capital of the Christian-majority state of Meghalaya in the north-east. (May 2008)
India’s pro-Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is now the governing party in two Christian-dominated states in the northeast, following recent election successes in Nagaland and Meghalaya. But to do so, it had to betray its core values of Hindutva, according to John Dayal, former National President of the All India . . . Read More