Tag: Catholics

Indonesia: Catholics forced to stop aid work after accusations of converting Muslims

February 2, 2018 Indonesia Catholics, Indonesia, Proselytism, Yogyakarta

Catholics from a church in the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta have been accused of proselytism while distributing aid packages to the local mostly Muslim community, Catholic news agency UCAN reports. The packages, containing basic necessities and healthcare, were delivered to locals as part of a programme to celebrate the elevation . . . Read More

Chinese bishop reshuffle reinforces fears of state meddling

January 30, 2018 China Catholics, China, Churches, Crosses, Guangdong, Pope Francis, Religion Law, Shantou, Sinicisation, Xi Jinping

Fears are growing that China’s communist government may be gaining more control over the Catholic Church there, as news emerged that the Vatican asked two bishops it had appointed to step aside in favour of ones selected by Beijing. These developments have taken place following a state campaign against China’s . . . Read More

Bangladesh: Christians ‘appreciated’ but attacks continue

January 26, 2018 Bangladesh Bangladesh, Catholics, Converts, Religious freedom, Tangail

Christians protest following an attack by local thugs on a church last Saturday in which three men were injured and the building damaged. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Portuguese Christians, initially merchants and later also missionaries, arrived in Bangladesh 500 years ago and started communities. Today Bangladeshi Christians form a tiny group in the Muslim-majority nation and face various challenges because of their faith. According to Fr. David Bipul Das, a Catholic priest in the diocese of Barisal, . . . Read More

Indonesia’s president tells Catholic students to work for ‘harmony’

January 25, 2018 Indonesia Catholics, Indonesia, Joko Widodo, Religious freedom, Sumatra, Youth

Catholic students meet in Palmbang, Sumatra, this week. (Photo: Matters India)

Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo, opened the 30th Catholic students congress in Palembang, on the island of Sumatra, this week by telling them to work together for “peace” and “harmony”. The president told the 3,800 participants that the “Pancasila”, the five principles that make up the state philosophy of the Indonesian . . . Read More

Eritrea government closes Church-run initiatives

January 19, 2018 Eritrea Asmara, Catholics, Eritrea, Mussie Zerai

Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Cathedral in Asmara, Eritrea. (Photo: David Stanley)

In a further clampdown on religious groups in Eritrea, the government is closing all social initiatives run by the Catholic Church. Mussie Zerai, an Eritrean priest now living in Italy, told Catholic news agency Fides that in the last few months the government closed five Catholic health clinics and has . . . Read More

India: Catholic schools under pressure in Madhya Pradesh

January 17, 2018 India Bajrang Dal, BJP, Catholics, Education, Hindu nationalism, India, Madhya Pradesh, Narendra Modi

A Catholic school in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh has received threats from Hindu nationalists, who claim children at the school were punished for singing patriotic songs – the third school to come under pressure this month. The nationalists claimed around 30 students at the St. Joseph Convent . . . Read More

6 Nigerian nuns released 2 months after kidnap

January 9, 2018 Nigeria Catholics, Edo, Kidnapping, Lagos, Niger Delta, Nigeria

Altar in the Catholic church in Bauchi, northeast Nigeria. (Photo: World Watch Monitor, 2010)

Six Catholic nuns from a convent in the southern Nigerian state of Edo were released on Sunday (7 January), two months after they were kidnapped by armed men. The nuns, belonging to the Sisters of the Eucharistic Heart of Christ, were released after police intervention and were said to be . . . Read More

India: Catholic college attacked after refusing to perform Hindu rites

January 5, 2018 India Anti-conversion law, BJP, Catholics, Education, Hindu nationalism, India, Madhya Pradesh, Vishva Hindu Parishad

Indian school children are taking a 'selfie'. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

A large group of Hindu nationalists clashed with police on 4 January outside a Catholic college in Vidisha, in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, after they tried to force the school to carry out a Hindu religious ritual. More than 900 members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, . . . Read More

23 Catholic missionaries killed in 2017

January 4, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Catholics, Gloria Argoti, Jacques Hamel, Mexico, Missionaries, Nigeria, Paolo Dall’Oglio, Philippines, Samaan Shehata, Younan Abdulla

Mourners at the funeral of the popular activist Filipino priest Fr. Marcelito Paez

At least 23 people working for the Catholic Church were killed in 2017, a Vatican agency has said. For the eighth consecutive year the place where most violent deaths occurred was America, where 11 people lost their lives. Ten pastoral workers were killed in Africa, five in Nigeria, and two . . . Read More

Vietnam: Catholic blogger’s 9-year prison sentence upheld

January 3, 2018 Vietnam Catholics, Hanoi, Maria Tran Thi Nga, Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, Vietnam

Catholic rights activist and blogger Maria Tran Thi Nga has had her nine-year prison sentence upheld following an appeal hearing at the Supreme Court in the capital city, Hanoi, reports Asia News. Only three of Nga’s lawyers were able to attend the hearing. Her husband and family members were detained . . . Read More

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