Asia

• 4 June 2014
  ASIA/TURKEY - 779 people have converted to Islam so far this year, mostly from Christianity Ankara (Agenzia Fides) - According to the information reported in the Turkish press and from the General Secretariat of Religious Affairs in Turkey, 779 people residing in the Country have converted to Islam since the be ...
• 3 June 2014
  ASIA/AFGHANISTAN - Jesuit kidnapped: Fr. Moretti asks for "prayer and silence" Kabul (Agenzia Fides) - "Let us live this moment, after the kidnapping of a Jesuit priest, in profound, silent prayer and full of hope. It is a sad moment which we hope will soon evolve positively. We ask the media stric ...
• 3 June 2014
  ASIA/LEBANON - Orthodox Patriarch Yohanna X announces the Conference of the Church of Antioch Tripoli (Agenzia Fides) - In a public letter addressed to all the members of his Church, the Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, Yohanna X al-Yazigi, announced a General ecclesial Conference which will be held at the Monaste ...
• 2 June 2014
  ASIA/SYRIA – The jiahdists of ISIL in Raqqa confiscate the property of Christians Raqqa (Agenzia Fides) - The militiamen of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a Sunni jiahdist formation acting on the scenario of the Syrian conflict, confiscated houses and land belonging to Christian fami ...
• 2 June 2014
  ASIA/NEPAL - The new Apostolic Vicar walks "in the light of the Word of God" Kathmandu (Agenzia Fides) - On June 29, the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, the episcopal ordination of Mgr. Paul Simick, former pastor of the Cathedral of Darjeeling, appointed by the Pope as new Apostolic Vicar of Nepa ...
• 2 June 2014
  ASIA/LAOS – A Christian arrested and mocked by the police because refuses to renounce his faith Savannakhet (Agenzia Fides) - Five security officers in the village of Loynam, in Nong district in the province of Savannakhet, arrested a Christian man named Sort, they tied him to a pole and then they laughed and kept ...
• 31 May 2014
  ASIA/TURKEY – Mobilisation to reconvert Ayasofya Musem back into a mosque Istanbul (Agenzia Fides) – In an Istanbul braced for the first anniversary of the Gezi Park revolt, the Saudi Imam Abdullah Basfar is to lead street prayers organised for Saturday 31 May in front of Ayasofya Museum to ...
• 30 May 2014
  ASIA/PAKISTAN – The local Church: crimes to avenge honour, an evil practice which must be eradicated Lahore (Agenzia Fides) – “We firmly condemn the brutal killing of Farzana Parveen Bibi, a pregnant mother stoned to death by family members in the precinct of Lahore High Court. The old custom of crimes to avenge hon ...
• 30 May 2014
  ASIA/MYANMAR – Blessed father Vergara and Blessed Isidoro will give “impulse to vocations and to mission” Loikaw (Agenzia Fides) – “We rejoice for the beatification of PIME missionary Fr Vergara and the lay catechist Isidoro. We are proud of them both. It was Fr Mario Vergara who evangelised us and we see it as a blessin ...
• 28 May 2014
  ASIA/INDIA - The Hindu fundamentalists: request to ban the Muslim call to prayer in India Mangalore (Agenzia Fides) - In a seemingly provocative act, tended to disturb the harmony between different religious communities in India, the Hindu group "Rashtriya Hindu Andolan", based in Mangalore, has requested tha ...
• 27 May 2014
  ASIA/PAKISTAN - Asia Bibi's case disappears from the list of hearings, the possibility of an appeal diminishes Lahore (Agenzia Fides) - The first hearing of the appeal for Asia Bibi, a Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy, will not take place today, 27th May, and no one knows if and when it will be scheduled again. Th ...
• 27 May 2014
  ASIA/VIETNAM - Tensions with China: the faithful pray for justice and peace Hanoi (Agenzia Fides) - More than 2,000 faithful Catholics gathered for a prayer vigil and Mass with the intention of praying intensely for justice and peace, while between China and Vietnam, tension remains high because ...
• 26 May 2014
  ASIA/CHINA - 20 000 baptisms celebrated at Easter in the Catholic community in mainland China Shi Jia Zhuang (Agenzia Fides) - "Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel" (1 Cor 9: 16), in the spirit of Paul's exhortation, the Catholic community in mainland China reaped the fruits of evangelization at Easter 2014. ...
• 26 May 2014
  ASIA/SOUTH KOREA - South Korea invites a group of North Korean Catholics to the Pope's Mass in Seoul Seoul (Agenzia Fides) - South Korea has invited members of the Catholic community of North Korea to participate in the Mass that Pope Francis will celebrate in Seoul at the end of his pilgrimage from August 14 to 18: thi ...
• 23 May 2014
  ASIA/THAILAND - After the coup, Bishops and religious leaders become mediators between the warring parties Bangkok (Agenzia Fides) - The Bishops and other religious leaders of Thailand will play a role and offer their contribution to mediate between the warring factions and find a political solution to the crisis: is what His ...