Tag: Catholics

Turkey: churches targeted during attempted coup

July 19, 2016 Turkey Armenians, Balikesir, Bursa, Catholics, Chaldeans, Coup, Diyarbakir, Greek Orthodox, Malatya, Surp Giragos, Trabzon

Santa Maria Catholic Church in Trabzon, Turkey, in a 2007 photo.World Watch Monitor Two churches in cities in eastern Turkey infamous as the sites of historic killings of Christians were vandalised during the attempted coup on 15 July, reports Middle East Concern. One of the attacks took place in . . . Read More

Mexican Protestants continue to face pressure for leaving ‘traditionalist’ churches

June 13, 2016 Mexico Burial, Catholics, Chiapas, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Lauro Pérez Núñez, Protestants, Tuxpan de Bolaños, Veracruz

Lauro Pérez Núñez has been arrested and detained several times since leaving ‘traditionalist’ church.Coordinación de Organizaciones Cristianas Mexican Christians who branch away from the “traditionalist” village churches, which blend aspects of indigenous paganism and popular Catholicism, continue to face pressure to return to the fold or leave their villages. . . . Read More

Monk stokes religious tension in Myanmar

June 8, 2016 Myanmar Buddhist nationalism, Cardinal Bo, Catholics, Churches, Hlaingbwe, Karen, Myanmar, Religious freedom

An influential Myanmar monk looks set to continue his controversial plan of building Buddhist temples on or close to the grounds of churches, says . On 6 June, Myaing Kyee Ngu and his supporters arrived near St Mark’s church in Hlaingbwe – one of the largest townships in Karen State, . . . Read More

Large number of Muslim refugees ‘turn to Christ’

June 6, 2016 Austria, Baptism, Berlin, Catholics, Converts, Denmark, Europe, Finland, Germany, Migrants, Netherlands, Refugees, UK

Several churches across Europe have reported an unprecedented number of Muslim refugees seeking Christian baptisms. This comes as Europe has seen mass migrations, easily surpassing the one-million-mark in 2015 alone. The new arrivals have raised fears and challenges across the continent. The congregation of a Berlin suburb has grown from . . . Read More

Another Christian killed in Bangladesh

June 6, 2016 Bangladesh Bangladesh, Catholics, Converts, Islamic State, Minorities

A Christian grocer has been killed in Bangladesh, the latest in a string of violent attacks against minorities that have left more than 40 dead in the last three years. IS claimed responsibility for the murder through its Amaq news agency, according to US-based SITE monitoring, saying it was “part . . . Read More

Khartoum ‘bombs’ Catholic school in Nuba Mountains

May 31, 2016 Sudan Catholics, Nuba Mountains, South Kordofan, South Sudan, Sudan

The government of Sudan has bombed St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Primary School in Kauda, in the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan, near its own border with South Sudan, according to local reports. Bishop Macram Max Gassis of the local diocese condemned the attack, which reportedly occurred during the afternoon of . . . Read More

Hostile homecoming for Mexican Protestant after exile

May 16, 2016 Mexico Catholics, Chiapas, Exile, Lauro Pérez Núñez, Oaxaca, Protestants

Lauro Pérez Núñez has been arrested and detained several times since leaving ‘traditionalist’ church.Coordinación de Organizaciones Cristianas Lauro Pérez Núñez, a convert to the Protestant faith, was ordered to leave his community last year for violating what local authorities claimed was the village’s “custom” of belonging to the “traditionalist” . . . Read More

Third church in four months burnt down in N. Tanzania

May 5, 2016 Tanzania Bukoba, Catholics, Churches, Kagera, Pentecostals

Another church in Tanzania’s extreme north-west corner was burned to the ground on 2 May in a suspected arson attack. No group has claimed responsibility for the fire that destroyed the Roman Catholic church in Nyarwele, in the Kagera region which borders Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda. It is the third . . . Read More

Malaysian court upholds right to convert from Islam

March 29, 2016 Malaysia 'Allah', Apostasy, Catholics, Kuching, Malaysia, Najib Razak, Sabah, Sarawak, Sharia

In a landmark ruling last week a Malaysian court upheld the rights of a Christian to convert from Islam. The judgment establishes a precedent in a country where religious conversions, particularly from Islam to Christianity, have been steeped in controversy. The verdict reaffirms the supremacy of the Federal Constitution, which . . . Read More

Imprisoned Mexican Protestants allowed home

February 10, 2016 Mexico Catholics, Chiapas, Exile, Mexico, Pentecostals, Protestants, Religious freedom

Two Mexican Protestants who were imprisoned and then expelled from their community for refusing to renounce their faith have been allowed to return to their homes with a guarantee of full religious freedom. Casto Hernández, 31, and his cousin Juan Placido Hernández, 26, of the United Pentecostal Church of Mexico, . . . Read More

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