Myanmar sentences Australian adviser, Suu Kyi to 3 years
Sean Turnell, an Australian economist and former adviser to Suu Kyi, was detained since the coup in February last year
The diocese covers a land area of 10,258.5 square kilometers, the diocesan territory includes Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa deanery and two districts. Anuradhapura is one of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka, famous for its well preserved ruins of the Great Sri Lankan Civilization. It is regarded as...
The diocesan territory of 1,110 square kilometres is among the four sub-divisions of Darjeeling district in West Bengal state. This area is known as the Terai plains. Siliguri is the main urban center, and a main city in West Bengal, but the diocese took the name of the smaller town of Bagdogra,...
Recent Events
Nagasaki basilica immortalizes 26 martyrs of Japan
The minor basilica of the Twenty-Six Holy Martyrs of Japan in Nagasaki beholds the sacrifices of Catholic martyrs of the late 16th century who sacrificed their lives for faith. The church stands on a hill where 26 Catholics – Japanese, European, and Indian – were crucified like Jesus for refusing to renounce their faith in 1597. The martyrdom came to global spotlight on June 8, 1862, when Pope Pius XI declared the martyrs as saints. The next year, two French MEP missionaries – Father Furet and Father Petitjean – started construction of the church to honor the martyrs.
Nagasaki cathedral, a testimony of persecution and atomic bombing
The Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Urakami of Nagasaki is a witness of persecution of Christians from 17th to 19th centuries and deadly atomic bombing during the Second World War. This European-style, red-brick church continues to preserve some relics that survived the atomic bombing. Urakami cathedral, also known as St. Mary’s Cathedral, was almost destroyed when the atomic bomb was dropped on Aug. 9, 1945. The church stood about 500 meters from the hypocenter of atomic explosion. The devastation shattered and charred stone-made statues of saints, which were later preserved as relics along with the surviving head of Virgin Mary statue and one of the church’s original bells.
Japan’s oldest Catholic Church stands tests of time
The Sacred Heart Cathedral in Yamate of Yokohama is the oldest Catholic Church built in 1862 by missionaries from Paris Foreign Missions Society (MEP), shortly after the Buddhist-majority nation lifted a ban on preaching of Christianity. The first church was constructed in a different spot but was moved to the current location in 1906. The church was completely devasted in the Great Kanto earthquake in 1923. Czech architect Jan Josef Svagr designed the present church in Neo-Gothic style, and it was completed in 1933.
Kyoto cathedral lives the memory of brave Japanese martyrs
Asian Catholics who wish to learn about persecution and martyrdom of Japanese Catholics for faith can visit the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis Xavier in Kwaramachi of Kyoto. The church is named after St. Francis Xavier, the first Catholic missionary to reach the shores of Japan on July 15, 1549. The saint is credited for introducing Christianity in Japan. Kyoto cathedral is one of several churches under the patronage of the Jesuit saint.
St. Pedro Calungsod, Filipino lay martyr and patron of catechists
This Filipino layman martyr saint could be rightly called the patron of infant baptism because it was after the baptism of an infant through his instrumentality that on 2nd April 1672 Pedro was martyred along with his companion missionary Fr. Diego San Vitores who baptised the infant. This infant was of a mother who got converted to Catholicism.
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St. Lorenzo Ruiz, Filipino layman who became a martyr in Japan
Lorenzo Ruiz, also called Saint Lorenzo of Manila, is a Filipino saint venerated in the Catholic Church. A Chinese-Filipino, he became his country's protomartyr after his execution in Japan by the Tokugawa Shogunate during its persecution of Japanese Christians in the 17th century.
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St. Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong and companions laid the foundation of Korean Catholic Church
Andrew Kim Taegon was the first Korea-born Catholic priest ordained by the French Bishop Jean-Joseph-Jean-Baptiste Ferréol at Shanghai in 1844.
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Never again to martial law
Forgiveness comes with genuine remorse and rectification, unlikely under the new Marcos regime
Indonesian prelate invites Pope to Papua
Archbishop Petrus Canisius Mandagi of Merauke in South Papua province says he is seeking “the voice of peace”
Catholic students condemn Indonesian police brutality
Widespread protests reported after police shot an 18-year-old in the Christian-dominated East Nusa Tenggara province
Cambodia resumes trials of senior opposition figures
Kem Sokha denies involvement with ‘color revolutionary’ strategies used in Serbia and the former Yugoslavia
Indian bishops slam timing of Kerala anti-drug drive
They say Sunday launch of campaign on Oct 2 infringes on Christians' religious rights
Thailand legalizes abortion up to 20th week
Move comes despite country recording falling birth and fertility rates
Facebook must compensate Rohingyas over hate speech
Victims' associations and rights advocates like Amnesty International say Facebook's algorithms ramped up hatred
