Tag: Churches

More than 8,000 Rwandan churches closed following government directive

July 27, 2018 Rwanda Churches, Constitution, Kigali, Rwanda

The Rwanda Governance Board continues to close churches it says fail to meet requirements laid down at the beginning of the year. New requirements set in place for those congregations that want to continue ministry are also complicating efforts to comply. Many see the closures as part of an effort . . . Read More

China’s Catholics told to create five-year plan to Sinicise Church

July 26, 2018 China Catholics, China, Churches, Education, Sinicisation, Xi Jinping

Cross on Dongguang Church against factory name. Shenyang, northeastern China. Shenyang is the capital and largest city of China’s northeast Liaoning Province. It was the site of the 17th-century Manchu capital Mukden, and the imposing Mukden Palace (Shenyang Imperial Palace) is a blend of Manchurian and Tibetan architectural styles. Mausoleums of Qing dynasty emperors can be found at Zhaoling Tomb, amid the pine forests and lakes of Beiling Park, and at Fuling Tomb in the city’s east. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Catholic dioceses in China have been told to come up with a five-year plan outlining how they will adapt more to Chinese culture and show loyalty to the Communist Party, reports the Catholic news site UCAN. A 15-page document, given to the churches by the state-approved Bishops’ Conference of the . . . Read More

Chinese churches ‘more careful who they allow in’, as raids increase

July 26, 2018 China China, Churches, Guangdong, Guangzhou, House churches, Sinicisation

People leaving the church after a service in Shenyang, north-eastern Dongguang province. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Churches in China are becoming more careful over who they let in to their buildings, as government pressure increases following the implementation of new religious regulations earlier this year. Local authorities have been pressured to take action. In Guangzhou, for example, the capital of the southern province Guangdong, a local . . . Read More

Egypt: Copts celebrate first Mass in new church, seven years since closure of previous building

July 23, 2018 Egypt Churches, Copts, Egypt, Kom El-Loufy, Minya

Copts in Kom El-Loufy celebrate the first mass in their new church. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Seven years after their previous church was closed by local authorities because of “security reasons”, the Coptic community in the Egyptian village of Kom El-Loufy, 250km south of Cairo, held a first Mass in their new church yesterday, 22 July. The 1,600 Copts from the village in Minya governorate were marking the completion of the first stage . . . Read More

Egypt: Mob attack encouraged by police promise ‘No church will be allowed here’

July 17, 2018 Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Churches, Copts, Egypt, Islamic extremism, Minya

A mob attacked a church in Minya, Egypt, on 13 July protesting against its legalisation and received a police officer’s approval, World Watch Monitor has learnt from local sources. The only church in Ezbet Sultan Pasha village, where about 20 percent of the population is Christian, was built in September . . . Read More

Myanmar: Peace talks resume but ethnic autonomy not on the agenda

July 12, 2018 Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi, Chin, China, Churches, Human rights, Kachin, Karen, Ma Ba Tha, Minorities, Myanmar, Myitkyina, Panglong, Rakhine, Rohingya, Sanctions, Tatmadaw

Myanmar's defacto leader Aung San Suu Kyi leaves the 2016 Panglong Conference. (Photo: AUNG HTET/AFP/Getty Images)

A third round of peace talks are taking place in Myanmar this week between armed ethnic groups and government forces, but the military has ruled out discussions on the autonomy that ethnic groups crave. The six-day meeting, which has been dubbed the 21st century ‘Panglong Conference’ after the historic 1947 . . . Read More

Laos: Law on associations ‘skewed to target religious minorities’

July 9, 2018 Laos Churches, Human rights, Laos, Religious freedom, Southeast Asia

Buddhists meeting in their temple in Laos are often exempt from meeting requirements under the Decree of Association. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

A law that came into effect in Laos last November “has already been skewed to target religious minorities, especially in rural areas”, according to Mission Network News (MNN). The Decree on Associations requires all groups, whether religious or otherwise, to acquire government approval for holding meetings and other activities. It . . . Read More

Myanmar: Army accused of destroying churches and turning them into Buddhist temples

July 6, 2018 Myanmar Baptists, Buddhist nationalism, Cardinal Bo, Churches, Kachin, Ma Ba Tha, Myanmar, Rakhine, Refugees, Rohingya

Myanmar’s military has destroyed about 60 churches in the past 18 months and turned a third of them into Buddhist pagodas in northern Kachin state, according to an American pastor who visited the region recently. “In the last 18 months, they have bombed 60 churches. Of the 60 churches they . . . Read More

Reconciliation with Ethiopia could improve human rights in Eritrea – UN rapporteur

July 2, 2018 Eritrea Abiy Ahmed, Churches, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Human rights, Prisons, Religious freedom, UN

As relations between Ethiopia and its neighbour Eritrea show signs of improvement, the UN’s rapporteur on human rights in Eritrea has called for the momentum to be used to improve human rights conditions in the country. “While peace is being negotiated, while rapprochement is happening, one would make sure that . . . Read More

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

June 28, 2018 Sudan Churches, Darfur, Human rights, Khartoum, Minorities, Religious freedom, Sanctions, Sudan, Terrorism, USA

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

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