Asia

• 
  20 February 2018
  ASIA/PAKISTAN - Blasphemy on social media: a Christian arrested Lahore (Agenza FIdes) – 17-year-old Christian Patras Masih was accused of blasphemy on social media and arrested yesterday in Lahore. As Fides learns, the complaint, based on Article 295-c of the Pakistani Penal Code ( ...
• 
  19 February 2018
  ASIA/INDIA - The trishul or the cross? Appeal not to abandon Christian principles Kohima (Agenzia Fides) - Choose between the trishul and the cross: is the appeal addressed to voters by the Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) - the largest Christian organization in the state of Nagaland (eastern In ...
• 
  17 February 2018
  ASIA/HOLY LAND - Palestinian Minister at the Vatican: "We would like the Holy See lead a Conference on Jerusalem" Rome (Agenzia Fides) - The unilateral decision of the US Administration to recognize Jerusalem as the exclusive capital of Israel "is undermining the possibility of having positive results concerning peace negotiations", ...
• 
  16 February 2018
  ASIA/PAKISTAN - Attack on a church: Christians forgive the aggressors Karachi (Agenzia Fides) - After the attack, the response was forgiveness. Pastor Samson Ashiq who leads the community of the faithful of the "Church of the Assemblies of God" - among the evangelical denominations present ...
• 
  16 February 2018
  ASIA/CHINA - Over 48 thousand baptized in 2017: the Church in China towards a new missionary impulse Beijing (Agenzia Fides) - There were 48,556 newly baptized in 2017 in mainland China. The statistics published by "Faith Cultural Society" on the eve of the Chinese New Year, and sent to Agenzia Fides, "are not complete" ...
• 
  15 February 2018
  ASIA/AFGHANISTAN - Fr. Scalese: "We pray for the nation, but the Catholic community gets smaller and smaller" Kabul (Agenzia Fides) - "We hope for a Lent rich in spiritual fruits. Let us pray so that Afghanistan may regain some peace and resume its path of human, political, social and economic growth", says Fr. Giovanni Scalese, ...
• 
  15 February 2018
  ASIA/ISRAEL - The Heads of Churches in Jerusalem say no to the taxation of ecclesiastical properties Jerusalem (Agenzia Fides) - The intention declared by the municipality of Jerusalem to impose municipal taxes on Church properties "contradicts the historical position between Churches and civil authorities over the cent ...
• 
  14 February 2018
  ASIA/INDONESIA - Indonesian Catholics between Lent and Lunar New Year Jakarta (Agenzia Fides) - The Archdiocese of Pontianak (in Indonesian Borneo) has given dispensation from abstinence from meat and fasting on 16 Feb 2018 in view of the Lunar New Year to Chinese Catholics. The Archdioces ...
• 
  14 February 2018
  ASIA/LEBANON - Christian and Muslim leaders discuss the bill against early marriages Kaslik (Agenzia Fides) - The different religious communities are called to confront themselves and to promote a reflection to review their own customs and community rules if they want to concretely contribute to overcomi ...
• 
  13 February 2018
  ASIA/TURKEY - A decree provides for the complete restitution of 30 ecclesiastical assets to the Syriac Orthodox Church Mardin (Agenzia Fides) - A decree has ordered the full restitution of ecclesiastical assets scattered in the Mardin region to the Syriac Orthodox Church and that in 2017 had been placed under the control of Turkish publi ...
• 
  13 February 2018
  ASIA/INDIA - New health system: big announcement, but not very feasible New Delhi (Agenzia Fides) - The recent announcement of the federal government on the new health system for 2018 - the largest health insurance project ever proposed in the world - could be "just a big announcement, but n ...
• 
  13 February 2018
  ASIA/PAKISTAN - Education and a renewed mentality, key factors for the development of Christians Lahore (Agenzia Fides) - "Education is the only way to emancipate the Christian community in Pakistan. A change of mentality is urgent; too many young people do nothing but replace their parents who work as street or sew ...
• 
  12 February 2018
  ASIA/PAKISTAN - Free medical assistance and home visits for patients in Okara and Sahiwal Okara (Agenzia Fides) - On Sunday 11 February the 26th World Day of the Sick was celebrated all over the world. In Pakistan the event was particularly felt in the two districts of Okara and Sahiwal, diocese of Islamabad, ...
• 
  12 February 2018
  ASIA/LEBANON - Desecrators of a statue of Mary "condemned" to memorize verses from the Quran’s Al-Omran surah on the Mother of Jesus Akkar (Agenzia Fides) - A Lebanese judge ordered two Muslim young men who insulted Christianity to memorize verses from the Quran’s Al-Omran surah which glorifies Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ. The sentence, ordered by ...
• 
  12 February 2018
  ASIA/INDIA - The Bishops on the future of India: "No to religious nationalism, it is urgent to defend life" Bangalore (Agenzia Fides) - The Catholic faith came to India thanks to great saints and apostles such as St. Thomas and St. Francis Xavier, and "India is what it is today, thanks to Christianity". Today the nation is cal ...