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Pakistan’s new cardinal says government unable to stop religious extremism

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Newly-appointed Pakistani Cardinal Joseph Coutts during a courtesy visit of relatives following the ceremony for the creation of new cardinals at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican on 28 June. (Photo: TIZIANA FABI/AFP/Getty Images)
Pakistan’s first cardinal in nearly a quarter of a century says his country’s government is unable to control Islamic extremism. “Our government is not strong enough to control the kind of extremism that has developed in the country,” Joseph Coutts, Archbishop of Karachi since 2012, said, adding: “It is enough to accuse . . . Read More

Church council calls for release of Syrian bishops abducted five years ago

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(Source: World Council of Churches)
The World Council of Churches (WCC) has called for the release of two Syrian archbishops kidnapped five years ago. “The Central Committee recalls with heavy hearts the abduction five years ago of the archbishops of Aleppo, Yohanna Ibrahim and Paul Yazigi,” the WCC said in a statement following a six-day . . . Read More

Religious freedom ‘essential goal’ in normalising relations with Sudan – US commission

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While church properties were returned to the SCOC, other church bodies like SPEC are also in conflict with the government over the ownership of their properties in Bahri (Khartoum North) and Omdurman. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
A new report highlights the lack of religious freedom in Sudan and says improvements in this area remain “an essential goal” for the US before relations between the two countries can be fully normalised. A delegation from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent, bipartisan advisory body, . . . Read More

Syria: Report highlights ‘brutality against Christian clerics’, with five still missing

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Fr. Paolo Dall’Oglio, a Jesuit priest who was abducted in Syria in July 2013, is one of the clerics who disappeared and whose fate remains unknown. (Photo: veDro via Flickr / Creative Commons)
A report about violence against Syrian church leaders during the ongoing civil war shows that clerics have been beaten, abducted – five are still missing – and killed, and that 2013 was the worst year. In ‘The Good Shepherd: A Report on Brutality against Christian Clerics in Syria March 25, . . . Read More

Malaysia: Nearly 500 days since his abduction, Raymond Koh’s wife renews call for action

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Susanna Liew (r), wife of Pastor Koh, supports Che Mat's wife, Norhayati Mohd Afriffin (l), as she calls for her husband's release at the meeting on Sunday (24 June). (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
Dozens of people came together in Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur on Sunday (24 June) to call for the release of pastor Raymond Koh, social activist Amri Che Mat and Christian couple Joshua and Ruth Hilmy, and for further investigation into their disappearances. At least 60 people met with the families . . . Read More

‘Why have killers of Christians been set free?’ – Christian Association of Nigeria

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'Why have killers of Christians been set free?’ - Christian Association of Nigeria
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene after five Christian youths were sentenced to death in the north-eastern state of Adamawa, warning of a “miscarriage of justice” and bemoaning a lack of consistency in bringing killers to justice. On 11 June, a judge . . . Read More