Freedom of religion an issue ‘whose time has come’

Freedom of religion an issue 'whose time has come'
Freedom of religion and belief is an issue “whose time has come”, the vice chairwoman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said yesterday. During the presentation of two reports on religious freedom at the European Parliament in Brussels on Feb. 12, commission Vice Chairwoman Katrina Lantos Swett said . . . Read More

Nanle Church update: 11 released

A number of Christians from Nanle County Church in Henan Province, China, have been released after almost two months in custody, although 13 are still being detained. Twenty-four church members were arrested in mid-November, including five church leaders, after a dispute over a piece of land on which the group . . . Read More

More Christians arrested in Nanle

Several more members of Nanle County Church in Henan Province in China have been arrested, China Aid reports. Those reportedly detained include the youngest daughter of Pastor Zhang Shaojie, who was himself one of the 24 church members arrested last month. Seven of the 24 were reportedly released, but the . . . Read More

Lawyers begin hunger strike

Fifteen lawyers who have been prevented from seeing their clients – a group of 24 Chinese Christians arrested in Henan Province earlier this month – have started a hunger strike outside the Nanle County Public Security Bureau. China Aid reports that of the 24 Christians detained, seven have been released, . . . Read More

UK Parliament is told Christianity is ‘most persecuted religion’

UK Parliament is told Christianity is 'most persecuted religion'
The Bishop Moussa Coptic Church in Minya was destroyted by pro-Morsi supporters in Egypt, many of whom blamed Christians for his overthrow.David Degner, Getty Images   The plight of Christians around the world was discussed in a three-hour debate at the Houses of Parliament in London yesterday. Members of the . . . Read More

Beaten Chinese pastor suspects regime

A Chinese house church leader who was abducted and beaten while driving home last week said he suspects local government agents, China Aid reports. Li Shuangping, leader of Linfen house church, was dragged from his car on Aug. 13 and assaulted by four men, who threatened to kill Li and . . . Read More

China crackdown on house churches?

A government campaign is underway in China to eradicate unregistered churches, according to Release International. The agency says members of unregistered house churches in Shandong province in eastern China are visited in their homes and told to attend the government-approved churches of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement. Meanwhile, Christian Solidarity Worldwide . . . Read More

‘Persecuted: The Global Assault on Christians’

'Persecuted: The Global Assault on Christians'
This is a book designed to show that “Christians are the single most widely persecuted religious group in the world today” (p4). With that aim, three authors well known in the field of religious advocacy give the reader the ultimate global briefing on the causes, patterns and trends in the persecution . . . Read More

Bishop’s death divides Catholic Church

The 96-year-old Chinese Catholic bishop described as the “most powerful above-ground bishop” (in contrast to the “underground” Catholic Church that follows the Vatican), Aloysius Jin Luxian, died on Saturday. Jin spent almost three decades in detention for his faith, then led the state-run Catholic Church in Shanghai from 1985. Thaddeus . . . Read More