Tag: Catholics

Home at last in Mexico

June 11, 2015 Mexico Catholics, Chiapas, Exile, Hidalgo

The 12 families returned to the village of Buenavista Bawitz on 15 April to find that some of their homes had been vandalised while they were gone.Courtesy Open Doors International It’s been almost two months since 12 evangelical Christian families – 49 people* in all – were allowed to . . . Read More

Ukraine rebels accuse Christians of spying

May 14, 2015 Ukraine Catholics, Donetsk, Protestants, Russia, Russian Orthodox Church, Ukraine

Rebels in the Donetsk region of Ukraine have declared an autonomous region complete with an official religion: The Russian Orthodox Church. that commanders of the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic” have shelled churches and the buildings of other religious minorities, and have arrested Protestant and Catholic leaders on suspicion of spying . . . Read More

5,000 killed, 100,000 displaced by Boko Haram

May 14, 2015 Nigeria Adamawa, Boko Haram, Borno, Catholics, Maiduguri, Nigeria, Yobe

A new report has highlighted the scope of Boko Haram’s attacks against Christians in north-east Nigeria. More than 5,000 Catholics have been killed, 100,000 displaced and 350 churches attacked – “a good number of them destroyed more than once” – according to the ‘Situation Report’ from the Diocese of Maiduguri, . . . Read More

Vietnam’s Religion Law

May 8, 2015 Vietnam Catholics, Central Highlands, Churches, Communism, Human rights, Minorities, Religion Law, Religious freedom, UN, Vietnam

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is drafting a “Law on Belief and Religion,” for passage in the National Assembly in 2016, and possibly this year. It is almost inevitable the new law will disappoint proponents of universal human rights.1 Diverse religions and religious practices flourish in communist Vietnam. Religious believers far . . . Read More

Ukraine Christians living in fear

March 18, 2015 Ukraine Catholics, Donetsk, Kiev, Protestants, Russia, Russian Orthodox Church, Ukraine

Christians in eastern Ukraine fear growing persecution from pro-Russian separatists who have declared religious groups not affiliated to the Russian Orthodox Church to be their potential enemy. Since the Russian-backed rebels established the Donetsk People’s Republic in April 2014, their self-declared government made Russia’s Orthodox Church their official faith. The . . . Read More

A battle lost, a campaign still to win

February 16, 2015 Malaysia 'Allah', Catholics, Jill Ireland, Kuala Lumpur, Lawrence Andrew, Malaysia, Sarawak, Selangor, The Herald

After a seven-year legal battle, Malaysia’s courts finally ruled against him. As of Jan. 21, Rev. Lawrence Andrew no longer can call God by the name “Allah” in his Catholic weekly newspaper, the Herald. In a country of 30 million people that is 60 percent Muslim, the courts agreed “Allah” . . . Read More

2014 deadliest year for Mexican Catholic leaders

February 2, 2015 Mexico Catholics, Mexico, Organised crime

has published a new report on religious freedom violations in Mexico revealing that “more Roman Catholic priests and lay leaders were killed in Mexico in 2014 than in any other country in the world.” According to the report, leaders from other Christian denominations face similar threats from criminal groups, but . . . Read More

‘Allah’ is forbidden

January 21, 2015 Malaysia 'Allah', Catholics, Malaysia, The Herald

A panel of judges in Malaysia ruled on Wednesday that The Herald, a Catholic weekly newspaper, has no basis to challenge an earlier federal court order to stop using the word “Allah” in its pages to name God. The Herald’s legal odyssey began in 2009 when the government said the . . . Read More

Give all religions a voice, Pope urges Sri Lanka

January 14, 2015 Sri Lanka Buddhist nationalism, Catholics, Colombo, Maithripala Sirisena, Pope Francis, Sri Lanka

Religious freedom must be central to Sri Lanka’s future, Pope Francis urges on his arrival in the capital, Colombo. In his arrival speech at Colombo’s airport, he said that followers of various religious traditions “have an essential role to play” in the process of the country’s reconciliation and rebuilding, adding: “For that process . . . Read More

Nigerian Bishops: ‘Stop playing politics, protect innocent citizens’

September 24, 2014 Nigeria Boko Haram, Catholics, Delta State, Islamic extremism, Maiduguri, Nigeria

Most Rev Ignatius Ayau Kaigama, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria.World Watch Monitor Catholic Bishops in Nigeria have called on the government to protect the lives and property of its people, as militants intensified their killing spree across the country. In a statement ”While Nigeria bleeds and . . . Read More

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