A mob in Pakistan lynched a Muslim cleric for allegedly defaming Prophet Muhammad on the 25th death anniversary of Catholic Bishop John Joseph who killed himself while protesting the controversial blasphemy law.

Nigar Alam, 40, was beaten to death last Sunday after he made a speech during a political rally in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. He reportedly said that he respected a local administrator as much as Prophet Muhammad, enraging a crowd in Sawal Dher village of Mardan.

Muslim cleric Nigar Alam (center) was killed by a mob for alleged blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad in Mardan of Pakistan on May 6. (Photo: Screengrab)

The police initially managed to bring Alam to safety in a nearby shop, but the crowd forcibly dragged him out after breaking the door and beat him to death.

Blasphemy is a serious criminal offense in the Muslim-majority nation. Pakistan law confers a death sentence for insulting Prophet Muhammad. From 1985 to 2022, at least 86 people were killed for alleged blasphemy-related crimes. Hundreds have been accused and some were sentenced to death for blasphemy, but no one has been executed.

Officials of the Chinese Communist Party visited Shanghai diocese on Monday to study the local Church’s progress on the implementation of socialist policies, a month after China installed a new bishop there without Vatican approval.

Shanghai’s newly installed Bishop Joseph Shen Bin welcomed three officials of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in the diocese. They also jointly unveiled a studio the diocese built, a report on the Shanghai diocesan website said. 

Young Chinese Catholics attend the Christmas Eve mass at a Catholic church in Beijing on December 24, 2015 (Photo by WANG ZHAO / AFP)

Bishop Shen briefed the three member team on the current situation of Shanghai diocese and efforts to implement the CCP's sinicization policy that aims to impose strict rules on societies and institutions based on the core values of socialism.

Shen was appointed bishop of Haimen, with both government recognition and a papal mandate in 2010. The state-controlled Church appointed him bishop of Shanghai on April 4, apparently violating the Vatican-China agreement of 2018 on the appointment of bishops.

Families of victims of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's controversial war on drugs claim they are being harassed by state operatives in order to cover up how their loved ones died. The claims come amid an International Criminal Court probe into thousands of deaths attributed to Duterte's anti-drug campaign.

41 year old Lourdes de Juan, widow of Constantino de Juan, said members of the National Bureau of Investigation were putting pressure on her after an independent forensic pathologist examined her husband’s remains.

This photo taken on June 17, 2022 shows forensic pathologist pointing at a scapula with a bullet hole during a post mortem medical examination of an exhumed drug war victim, at the University of the Philippines Manila, in Manila. (Photo: AFP)

A state report claimed de Juan died of natural causes. However, an independent pathological test revealed he was killed due to ‘three bullet wounds’ in the head. Another widow said someone who claimed to be a police officer warned her against saying anything against Duterte.

In March, the ICC rejected government appeal to suspend a probe into Duterte’s war on drugs, Official figures put the death toll at 6,500 but rights groups claim the tally is much higher, with some estimates putting the toll at more than 30,000.

Kalay Diocese in Myanmar has organized a pilgrimage program involving visits to churches and praying for peace in the conflict-stricken Southeast Asian nation. Priests and nuns were joined by hundreds of young people during the visits to seven churches in the diocese that covers parts of Chin state and Sagaing region last Saturday.

Kalay is one of the worst affected dioceses along with Kayah, Pekhon, Hakha, and Mandalay among the 16 dioceses in the country.

Youth join priests and nuns in the Kalay diocese on a pilgrimage to seven churches to pray for peace in Myanmar on May 6. (Photo: RVA Tedim service)

Besides, Catholics in parishes across the country have been reciting the rosary in May, the Marian month, to seek Mary’s intervention to bring peace to the troubled nation. In the evenings, dozens of parishioners go to the Marian grottos to say the rosary and make prayers for peace.

Since the military coup in February 2021, churches, church-run institutes, and Christian villages in the Christian-majority areas have come under constant military attacks as rebel groups and newly emerged resistance forces battle against the military. 

Church leaders and advocacy groups have urged the leaders of 11 Southeast Asian nations who attended the ASEAN summit in Indonesia to put in place concrete steps to combat human trafficking in the region.

The responses came after remarks by Indonesian President Joko Widodo during the summit held in Labuan Bajo, in Christian-majority Flores Island that "eradicating human trafficking was one of the aims of Indonesia.”

Indonesian President Joko Widodo speaks at the ASEAN summit in Labuan Bajo on the Catholic majority island of Flores on May 10. (Photo -- Cabinet Secretariat)

Father Chrisanctus Paschalis Saturnus, an activist who works for migrant workers urged the regional body of nations to discuss the steps to make sure the role of each country "because so far crimes have been repeating."

The US government’s Trafficking in Persons report in 2022, listed the majority of Southeast Asian countries either in Tier 2 Watch List or Tier 3.Indonesia was downgraded to Tier 2, because the country’s anti-trafficking legislation is inconsistent with international law.

Ahead of the national election, opposition parties in Cambodia are struggling to compete amid various challenges including lack of funds and ongoing suppression by the ruling government of long-reigning Prime Minister Hun Sen.

This week, another political party, Cambodian Reform Party, has withdrawn from the upcoming national election to be held on July 23. The party cited a lack of funds and an unfair political situation, for the decision. The move came after speculation its senior leaders could face further court cases.

Supporters of the Candlelight Party shout slogans from a vehicle during a rally for the commune elections in Phnom Penh on June 3, 2022. (Photo: AFP)

Another opposition party, the League for Democracy, also said it will participate in the polls. Long-ruling Cambodia People’s Party is aiming to secure another easy win despite outcry from pro-democracy activists and threats of sanctions among Western countries.

The Hun Sen government has continued to purge the main opposition, Candlelight Party, whose senior leaders face a slew of politically motivated charges. Besides, media outlets and dissidents face state censure and litigation for reporting and remarks deemed critical of the government.

A gathering of Asian theologians urged Catholics in the region to renew their commitment to evangelization by focusing on emerging regional realities such as migration and environment while protecting Asian heritage and values.

Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taek of Seoul last Friday called on Catholics to prioritize pastoral care for migrants and support the poor who suffer due to climate change.

Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taek of Soeul delivers his keynote speech during the meeting of theologians held in the South Korean capital on April 29-May 7. (Photo: Seoul Archdiocese)

Archbishop Chung was a keynote speaker at the week-long meeting of Asian Catholic theologians that ended last Sunday in the South Korean capital. It was organized by the Office of Theological Concerns of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences. About 20 people, mostly theologians, attended the gathering.

Indonesian Bishop Adrianus Sunarko, the commission chairman, spoke on his views on a church’s mission based on agape -- unconditional love -- and self-sacrificing love in the joy of the Gospel. He urged that the paradigm of Agape based on Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium” should be at the very heart of the Gospel proclamation in Asia.

A Christian group in Hong Kong that receives state funding for the welfare of sexual minorities is among several organizations accused of engaging in “brainwashing” LGBTQ individuals to “straighten” them under the guise of one-on-one counseling.

The New Creation Association has allegedly engaged in the sexual orientation change effort, a practice globally condemned as discriminatory, dangerous, and traumatic. A social worker, Alvin Cheung alleged that he had contacted the group in 2005 as a college student and was brainwashed by the group as he was told his same-sex orientation was unnatural.

Participants hold a large rainbow flag as they take part in the annual pride parade at Victoria Park in Hong Kong on Nov 17, 2018. Some fear Beijing's crackdown on opposition endangers progress towards LGBTQ equality in Hong Kong (Photo: AFP)

New Creation Association and other groups are funded by the government to promote the rights of sexual minorities as per the 2003 annual Equal Opportunities Sexual Orientation Funding Scheme. The scheme supports projects such as workshops, counseling programs, and drama performances run by community organizations.

New Creation Association is accused of engaging in conversion therapy to change sexual orientation. In 2020, the United Nations called for an international ban on the practice.

A spokesperson said the group “did not know what conversion therapy was,” and that it offered counseling for "holistic development."