Egypt’s elections and the man dividing the country’s Copts

Egypt’s elections and the man dividing the country’s Copts
Walking around Cairo you would be forgiven for thinking that President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was the only candidate running in the elections later this month. His is the only grandiose face bearing down on passers-by, while billboards of his rival, Mousa Mostafa Mousa, are nowhere to be seen. Egypt’s 26-28 March presidential elections have . . . Read More

53 churches legalised in Egypt, 1000s more still waiting

Coptic Church in central Egypt. (Photo: World Watch Monitor, 2004)
Fifty-three Coptic Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant churches were recently granted licenses by the Egyptian government, as Catholic news agency Fides reported last week. These churches and annexed buildings already existed before the new law on the construction of Christian buildings of worship was passed by the Egyptian Parliament on 30 August . . . Read More

Kenya: engaged couple killed, together with fellow primary school teacher, by suspected Al-Shabaab attackers

Kenya: engaged couple killed, together with fellow primary school teacher, by suspected Al-Shabaab attackers
After the coldblooded murder of three Christian teachers – including a couple soon to be married – in north-eastern Kenya by suspected Al-Shabaab gunmen, fear is growing that the Islamist militant group is targeting education, and its proponents, in the predominantly Muslim region. Seth Oluoch Odada and Kevin Shari were . . . Read More

India: Catholic bishops warn against Hindu nationalism as religious hate crimes rise

India: Catholic bishops warn against Hindu nationalism as religious hate crimes rise
An acknowledgement by India’s BJP-led government that there has been a rise in religion-based hate crime has coincided with a warning from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) about the dangers to the country of a Hindu-nationalist agenda. Statistics revealed in India’s parliament on 6 February confirmed a long-standing . . . Read More

Father Tom releases book about 18 months’ captivity in Yemen

Father Tom releases book about 18 months’ captivity in Yemen
The Indian priest who spent 18 months in captivity in Yemen has released an autobiography. Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil, who was freed in September 2017, has titled the book ‘By the Grace of God’. The priest, who is 58, presented his book during a meeting of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of . . . Read More