Universal common good

Issues concerning globalization, international relations, fair trade, international organizations, immigration / refugees, debt-relief, race / ethinicity, third world, war, peace, ...

Shanghai Has A New Courageous Bishop

Shanghai has a new bishop - Thaddeus Ma Daqin. He was ordained with the approval of Pope Benedict XVI and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on July 7.

Showing courage and leadership, Bishop Ma told the congregation of more than 1200 people present at the ceremony– including government officials – that he would no longer hold any position in the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA). At the time of his ordination he was vice-chairman of Shanghai CCPA and a member of the national CCPA’s standing committee. Read more »

Many Nations Ignore Commitments To Religious Freedom, Vatican Envoy Tells UN

A Vatican representative has told the UN’s Human Rights Council that many nations are failing to honor their professed commitment to religious freedom.

Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Holy See’s permanent observer at UN headquarters in Geneva, said that there is a “widening gap between the commitment and the stated principles of the international community regarding freedom of religion, conscience, and belief and the right to freedom of assembly, and the implementation of these fundamental human rights.” Read more »

Muslims In Kenya Vow To Protect Christian Churches

Reacting to a massacre at a Christian church in Garissa, Kenya, a group of local Muslim leaders have promised to recruit volunteers to guard other Christian churches.

Adan Wachu, who heads the Supreme Council of Kenyan Muslims, said that the Islamic community in Kenya does not want to see sectarian divisions in the country. Read more »

Lay Off The Bishop, Sri Lanka Parliamentarian Pleads

Over 5,000 people attended a public show of support for Bishop Rayappu Joseph from the northern Mannar diocese of Sri Lanka, as an opposition member of the parliament was putting pressure on the government to stop harassing the bishop, saying it has led to threats being made against him.

In a letter sent to Pope Benedict XVI on June 13, Jayalath Jayawardena said the bishop is coming under increasing attack by several government ministers and the media. Read more »

Egypt: Mursi Names Coptic Christian And Woman As Deputies

Today, Egypt’s newly elected president, Mohammed Mursi, met with Bishop Pakhomius, interim Pope of the Coptic Church, Mena news agency reports.

All Egyptians are equal, Mursi said, claiming he would not accept anyone making Coptic citizens feel as though “they were being done a favour.” Read more »

Egyptian Prelate Optimistic About New President

Coptic Catholic Bishop Joannes Zakaria of Luxor, Egypt, said he and fellow Copts were optimistic after Egyptian President-elect Mohammed Mursi’s post-election victory speech Sunday, when he said he wanted to reach out to Christians as well as Muslims.

In an interview with Aid to the Church in Need, Bishop Zakaria said the Muslim Brotherhood candidate’s success was a cause for hope in spite of many Christians’ concerns that the party’s apparent openness masks an Islamist and intolerant policy agenda. Read more »

Indonesia: Church Closures And Jailed Atheist Show Rising Religious Intolerance

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is deeply concerned at the recent further deterioration in respect for religious freedom in Indonesia, illustrated by the sentencing on 15 June of Indonesian atheist Alexander An to two and a half years in prison for blasphemy and publicly declaring himself an atheist, the reported closure of at least 20 churches in Aceh and the continuing intimidation and restrictions on churches such as HKBP Filadelfia in Bekasi, West Java. Read more »

Nigeria: Islamist Terrorists Attack 3 Churches, Killing Dozens

Bomb attacks on three Christian churches, including the cathedral of the Diocese of Zaria, have left dozens of worshippers dead in Nigeria.

The Islamist terrorist organization Boko Haram (“Western education is a sin”) claimed responsibility for the attacks, which took place in the north-central Nigerian state of Kaduna. Read more »

Syrian Ultimatum To Christians: "Leave Qusayr"

Exodus of Christians in the west of Syria: the Christian population has left the town of Qusayr, near Homs, following an ultimatum from the military chief of the armed opposition, Abdel Salam Harba.

This is what local sources of Fides report, indicating that, following the outbreak of the conflict, out of the ten thousand faithful who lived in the town, only a thousand have remained, who have now been forced to flee in haste to fury. Read more »

Religious Liberty But Also “Strengthening Of The Sharia” In South Philippines

The new “political subject” which the government and Islamic rebels are agreeing to create in the South Philippines, in the framework of a type of federal system:
- to substitute the actual Autonomous Muslim Region of Mindanao;
- recognizes the identity of the Philippine Muslims;
- guarantees religious liberty; and
- admit the strengthening of the jurisdiction of Islamic tribunals according to the sharia, which, however, will be applied only to Muslim communities. Read more »

Syndicate content