Authorities blow up Evangelical megachurch in Linfen   A renowned Evangelical mega-church in Linfen Shanxi province, northern China's coal district, was demolished last week. The Golden Lampstand church was built a decade ago and cost a total of 17m yuan (£1.9m) at the time. This was the second church to [...]

CHINA Catholics protest after demolition of Shaanxi church   Nearly 100 Catholics gathered in front of the local government office in Shaanxi province to protest against the destruction of their church in Zhifang village. Protesters shouted "Give back my church" and "Freedom of belief." Without consultation with the parish, the [...]

IRAQ "For the New Phase of Iraq, let us move to the Path of Hope together"   On Christmas, the angels sang: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2/14). This is a title for a real and long-term project, achieved by [...]

SYRIA Bishop miraculously avoids death as bomb lands in his bedroom   A bishop narrowly avoided death when a bomb landed on his bed during a bombardment of Syria’s capital Damascus. Maronite Archbishop Samir Nassar’s life was only saved because he interrupted his afternoon nap to use the bathroom In [...]

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO Police attack congregation with tear gas during Mass   As protests against the continued rule of President Joseph Kabila intensified, police invaded Catholic churches and fired tear gas during Mass on Sunday 7 Jan. One witness at St Michael’s Church in central Kinshasa said police disrupted [...]

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO "The world knows what is happening, but is keeping quiet"   On 31 December 2017, a march organized to protest against the continuing leadership of Joseph Kabila as president of the country turned into a riot. The result was a dozen or so deaths and [...]