Gunmen Kill Nuns In South Sudan
Pope Francis has offered condolences to victims’ families after two Catholic nuns were shot and killed along a highway in South Sudan.
Catholic Church
Court rules private Catholic school cannot be forced to hire staff member who is in same-sex union
A federal court ruled Wednesday that the government cannot force a private Catholic school in Indiana to renew the contract of a staff member who entered into a same-sex union against the teachings of the Catholic Church, CBN reports.
Migrant Kills Priest In France
A Rwandan immigrant who allegedly caused a massive fire that ravaged the cathedral in the French city of Nantes last year has murdered a Catholic priest in western France, the interior minister said.
Hungary’s Orbán Condemns President Biden Over Totalitarian Remarks
Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has condemned U.S. President Joe Biden for calling him an “authoritarian tug.”
Dozens Of Canada Churches Destroyed Amid Rising Anti-Christian Sentiments
Police in Canada are concerned about growing anti-Christian sentiments after dozens of churches were attacked, with at least ten churches destroyed by fires.
EU Targets Christian Doctors Saying Abortion Is ‘Human Right’
Pro-Life doctors and Christian groups are under pressure after the European Parliament passed a resolution saying that abortion is a “human right” and condemned opponents.
Another Church in Canada Set Ablaze
Police are investigating a suspected arson attack against the House of Prayer Alliance Church in south-east Calgary, Canada on Sunday evening, CBC News reports. A refugee from Vietnam, the church’s pastor Thai Nguyen said no one was in the building at the time of the attack, but that his congregation would still have to be “more careful” in the future.
DR Congo persecution: Islamic terror group believed to have bombed church; “Please Pray”
It is believed that the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) Islamic terror group were responsible for planting the bomb which exploded inside a Catholic church just before the start of a confirmation ceremony in Beni City, DR Congo on Sunday, International Christian Concern reports. While no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, the ADF has terrorized DR Congo for decades.
Myanmar: Five civilians killed during increasing attacks on churches
As violent conflicts between the Burmese army and local forces in Myanmar continue unabated, five civilians sheltering in churches were recently killed as an increasing number of church buildings in Kayah and Shan states have been attacked in the fighting, International Christian Concern reports. Kayah state has one of the largest communities of Christians in Myanmar.
Group of Seven Rollout World Vaccination and Global Tax Plan
The Group of Seven (G7) nations have agreed to participate in a worldwide vaccination plan “to halt the coronavirus pandemic.” It comes amid concerns among G7 leaders that impoverished countries are being left out in the global jab drive. They also want a global tax as they seek to raise their contributions to meet an overdue spending pledge of 100 billion dollars a year by rich countries to help poorer ones cut carbon emissions. And, the leaders made clear they will be seeking to rival China in reaching out to lower and middle-income countries.
Pope Francis Criminalizes Sexual Abuse of Adults by Priests
Pope Francis has changed church law to explicitly criminalize the sexual abuse of adults by priests who abuse their authority and to say that laypeople who hold church office can be sanctioned for similar sex crimes.
Nigeria Muslim Herdsmen Kill Dozens Of Christians
Nigerian Church leaders have appealed for more security after dozens of Christians were killed by Muslim nomadic herdsmen from the Fulani tribe and bandits.
Four Killed As Myanmar Army Attacks Church
Four civilians were killed and eight more injured in an attack by Myanmar’s ruling army on a Catholic Church in the east of the troubled nation, leading junta opponents said Monday.
China Detains Vatican-Backed Bishop, Priests, and Seminarians
Chinese authorities have detained a Vatican-appointed Catholic bishop, his seven priests, and several seminarians amid a new crackdown on the underground Catholic Church in the Communist nation, Catholic sources said Tuesday.
Five Christians Killed, Priest Kidnapped In Nigeria By Herdsmen, Bandits
Suspected Muslim Fulani herdsmen and bandits have killed five Christians, including a priest, in central and northern Nigeria, while another priest has been kidnapped, church officials say.
India’s Catholic Church Struggling With COVID Deaths Among Priests
India’s Catholic Church says the coronavirus pandemic is killing many Catholic leaders. Some 160 Catholic priests have died from Covid-19 in the past five weeks, or an average of 4 each day, according to figures published Monday.
Pakistan: Mob of 200 Muslims attack Christian community in Punjab province
On May 15, a mob of over 200 Muslims attacked a Christian community in the Chak 5 village of Pakistan’s Punjab province, ransacking homes and seriously injuring eight people, International Christian Concern reports. Pakistan ranks 5 on the US Open Doors watch list of countries that persecute Christians; the persecution level in the country has been rated as “extreme.”
Four Christians beheaded in Indonesia; “please pray”
Four Christian men were beheaded in Indonesia earlier this month, in what is believed to have been an attack by East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) Islamic terrorists, Christian Today reports. The horrifying attack was carried out just six months after four Christians were murdered at a Salvation Army outpost in Sigi, Central Sulawesi.
NYC: Hundreds attend church vigil after vandal destroys Jesus statue
Hundreds of people attended a prayer vigil at a Catholic church in New York City’s Brooklyn Friday night, after a vandal entered the church grounds the night before and smashed a statue of Jesus that was there. Police are investigating what is believed to be a hate crime against the St. Athanasius Church, in which the perpetrator also burned the church’s American flag.
Hundreds Detained In Belarus Crackdown On Dissent
Security forces in Belarus have launched a new crackdown on people protesting against the country’s long-time president Alexander Lukashenko who has refused to step down after a disputed election. Police in Belarus’s capital detained more than 100 people who assembled for a protest march Saturday after detaining hundreds since Thursday.