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50,000 Catholics baptised in China in 2017

February 28, 2018 China Baptism, Beijing, Catholics, China, Hainan, Hebei, Minorities, Tibet, Xinjiang

Almost 50,000 Catholic baptisms were recorded in mainland China last year, reports Catholic news agency Fides. The 48,556 recorded baptisms “reflect the vitality and the missionary dynamism of a community that fully lives faith”, Fides said, adding that the actual number of people baptised may be even higher, because of . . . Read More

Pope and Patriarch ‘feared nuclear war could erupt over Syria’

February 27, 2018 Cuba, Dagestan, Greek Orthodox, Jordan, King Abdullah II, Moscow, Patriarch Kirill, Pope Francis, Russia, Syria, Turkey, USA, Vladimir Putin

Flag of Syria is waving as sign of victory over the destroyed heavily damaged city of Aleppo. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The historic meeting between the heads of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches took place not only out of shared concern for Middle Eastern Christians, but to try to avert confrontation between nuclear powers in Syria, according to the Russian Orthodox Patriarch. When Patriarch Kirill met Pope Francis in 2016 it . . . Read More

Nepal’s ‘opportunity’ to review religion laws

February 27, 2018 Nepal Nepal, Religion Law, Religious freedom, UN

Being elected to serve on the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) gives Nepal an “opportunity for a fresh start” by reviewing its commitment to religious freedoms, writes Canadian MP David Anderson in the Kathmandu Post. Election to the UNHRC means the Council is satisfied with a state’s “contribution to the . . . Read More

Asia Bibi’s family and Boko Haram survivor visit Pope

February 26, 2018 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Nigeria, Pakistan, Pope Francis

Rome’s Colosseum was bathed in red light on Saturday night (24 February) in solidarity with victims of religious persecution, as Reuters reported. The light-show marked a meeting between Pope Francis and family members of Asia Bibi, the Pakistani Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy and in prison since 2009, . . . Read More

Egypt: Monks want new church in memory of Copts killed in Minya bus attack

February 22, 2018 Egypt Copts, Egypt, Minya

Following an Egyptian town council’s order last week to demolish a makeshift memorial for the 28 Copts murdered on Ascension Day last year as they travelled towards a monastery, the governor of Minya has met with a delegation of monks from the monastery to discuss the matter. The memorial was . . . Read More

Fears of ‘another Chibok’ after Boko Haram school attack

February 22, 2018 Nigeria Boko Haram, Borno, Chibok girls, Dapchi, Islamic extremism, Kidnapping, Leah Sharibu, Nigeria, Yobe

Some of the 21 girls who were released in October 2016. (Photo: Open Doors International)

Fears are growing that the girls still missing after Boko Haram attacked a boarding school in Nigeria’s north-eastern state of Yobe on Monday night (19 February) have been taken by the militant group. The attack comes almost four years after Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from a boarding school in Chibok, . . . Read More

Islamic State regroups in Somalia, ‘without many obstacles’

February 22, 2018 Somalia Al-Shabaab, Catholics, Islamic State, Kenya, Mogadishu, Somalia, Somaliland, Wajir

A bishop responsible for the minimal Catholic presence in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, says the Islamic State group is gaining ground in the country. Bishop Giorgio Bertin of Djibouti, who serves the Diocese of Mogadishu from outside the country, says the extremist group known for its brutality in Iraq . . . Read More

Uzbekistan President vows to reform ‘mad dog’ secret police

February 21, 2018 Uzbekistan Islam Karimov, Shavkat Mirziyoev, SNB, Soviet Union, Uzbekistan

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev has said he will reform the country’s secret police, reports Radio Free Europe (RFERL). Calling members of the security services “mad dogs”, Mirziyoev has accused the SNB (a successor to the Soviet-era KGB) of committing atrocities, targeting innocent people and “exceeding its authority”. The SNB developed . . . Read More

Tajikistan’s new Religion Law ‘represents total control’

February 21, 2018 Tajikistan Bakhrom Kholmatov, Communism, Khujand, Religion Law, Tajikistan

The Presidential Palace in Dushanbe, capital of Tajikistan (CC/Wikipedia)

Amendments to Tajikistan’s Religion Law, which came into force in January, have given the state a “total control” over religious freedoms, reports regional news agency Forum 18. “Instead of improving the Law, the amendments worsened it and made it more restrictive. The Law represents total control and is unjust,” human . . . Read More

Boko Haram leader allowed to walk free – BBC

February 20, 2018 Nigeria Boko Haram, Chibok girls, Dapchi, Nigeria

The leader of the radical Islamic group, Boko Haram, was allowed to walk away as the army took over the militants’ main camp in the Sambisa Forest in north-east Nigeria earlier this month, the BBC has revealed. Abubakar Shekau, the country’s most-wanted man, has been designated a terrorist by the . . . Read More

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Catching Our Eye

Catching Our Eye

50,000 Catholics baptised in China in 2017

Pope and Patriarch ‘feared nuclear war could erupt over Syria’

Nepal’s ‘opportunity’ to review religion laws

Asia Bibi’s family and Boko Haram survivor visit Pope

Egypt: Monks want new church in memory of Copts killed in Minya bus attack

Fears of ‘another Chibok’ after Boko Haram school attack

Islamic State regroups in Somalia, ‘without many obstacles’

Uzbekistan President vows to reform ‘mad dog’ secret police

Tajikistan’s new Religion Law ‘represents total control’

Boko Haram leader allowed to walk free – BBC

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