ANGOLA – Church condemns corruption and human rights violations Although the Church is not “an opposition party”, it will not “remain silent in the face of grave violations of human rights” In a strongly-worded pastoral letter, the bishops of Angola—citing an alarming growth in poverty and a sharp rise in the cost of living in...
EU creates new position to address Religious Freedom issues worldwide The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, has just created a new position specifically to address and tackle the growing restrictions on religious freedom internationally. The decision follows last February’s resolution on the systematic mass murder being committed by ISIS, in which the...
UKRAINE – Pope’s initiative highlights humanitarian crisis Following the extraordinary collection for Ukraine launched by Pope Francis, Mgr Giampietro Dal Toso was sent to Ukraine to assess the situation. Mgr Dal Toso is the Secretary of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum which has been entrusted by the Pope to deliver the money collected to those...
THAILAND – Christians and Muslims work together to promote harmony and peace Catholic bishops attended the inauguration of a new mosque in Bangkok in an initiative to foster interreligious dialogue and harmony between Christian and Muslim communities. Both Muslims and Christians are minorities in Thailand, where 93 percent of residents are Buddhist. “We need to build...
Syria – “We don’t want to live under Islamic rule.” “The tears of the Christians are very painful for me” The Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II visited Al Qaryatayn, the town liberated from IS – He expressed his shock at the extent of the destruction After visiting the Syrian town of Al Qaryatayn, which...
INDONESIA – Catholic groups and bishop speak out against police harassment of activist priest Dozens of young people from the Catholic Youth and the Union of Catholic University Students of the Republic of Indonesia organizations in West Papua protested in the provincial capital Manokwari. Protesters marched several kilometers from the State University of Papua to...
Christian woman bulldozed to death while trying to stop demolition of church The deliberate killing of a Christian woman signals a new wave of persecution in China. Police have detained two members of a demolition crew after they allegedly bulldozed the wife of a Christian pastor who had attempted to halt the destruction of...
Archbishop Jeanbart of Aleppo joins Christians worldwide in asking UN to intervene in Christian genocide Archbishop Jean-Clement Jeanbart of Aleppo, Syria and other religious leaders including Nigerian Bishop Joseph Danlami Bagobiri joined representatives of CitizenGO outside the U.N. to deliver a petition to the office of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. “We’re here at the...
Increasing discrimination against Christians in Europe and US – the “polite persecution” Discrimination against Christians, even where they are the majority, is a serious threat to the whole of society stated Mgr. Janusz Urbanczyk, a representative of the Holy See to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Restrictions on religious freedom...
The Pope’s visit to Lesbos sends message to Arab states to do more for refugees “The solidarity visit of Pope Francis on Lesbos has sent a strong message to the Arab states that have so far received only a few refugees to do more for refugees from Syria and Iraq” said Father Khalil Jaar,...
