APEC leaders denounce terrorism
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMThe Asia-Pacific leaders said "economic growth, prosperity, and opportunity are among the most powerful tools to address the root causes of terrorism and radicalization."
Religious Pluralism at Pan Kho Buddhist Temple in Indonesia
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMDespite a number of threats to Buddhist monuments in Indonesia in recent years, including a plan in 2014 by the Islamic State terrorist group (formerly known as ISIS) to destroy the 1,200-year-old Borobudur Temple in Central Java, the degree of religious tolerance at Klenteng Pan Kho...
In the Philippines, indigenous festival draws tourists, criticism
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMThe city of Davao in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao has taken on an air of celebration as it stages its annual "Kadayawan Festival." Held every third week of August, the weeklong festival highlights the culture and tradition of the indigenous mountain peoples...
We are starting to destroy ourselves
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMHeat waves in Pakistan, toxic floods in Vietnam, crippling haze in Malaysia and torrential rain in Myanmar. In just the past few weeks alone, South and Southeast Asia have been wracked with extreme weather events ...
Bangladesh religious leaders condemn slaying of blogger
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMThe killing of a fourth blogger this year, allegedly by Islamic militants, has drawn condemnation from religious leaders in Bangladesh. Niladri Chatterjee was hacked to death in his home in Dhaka on Friday. The 40-year old blogger who used the pen name...
China set for first public ordination of bishop since 2012
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMWhen Father Joseph Zhang Yinlin is ordained bishop of Anyang in Henan province on August 4, he will become the first publicly ordained Chinese bishop in three years and the first since the Vatican and China restarted its dialogue in June 2014.
Indonesian environmentalists: the Pope's encyclical, 'huge' step in defense of water and agriculture
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMSister Alphonsa Triatmi, a bio activist, urges the Indonesian Church to organize courses and seminars on “Laudato sì". The female religious battles against "evil and destructive" lifestyles. The encyclical gives "great support" for the struggle in defense of nature.
For Buddhist environmentalist, ‘Laudato si’’ gives hope for our common home
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMThe Encyclical on environmental protection should inspire all new political projects. The planet’s development must go hand in hand with curbing unbridled economic development. By the end of the century, there will be 250 million "climate refugees".
Myanmar Buddhists launch fresh anti-Rohingya protests
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMAround 500 people, backed by dozens of monks, gathered under heavy rain in the state capital Sittwe. They kept chanting slogans. The protest disbanded voluntarily after two hours. However, no violence was reported. A protest leader said...
Indonesia the most religiously harmonious country: politician
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMWith six faiths officially recognized by the government, Indonesia can be considered the most religiously harmonious country in the world, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said in his opening speech at the Asian Conference of Religions for Peace, in Bandung on Wednesday.
In India, a devastating harvest season for northern farmers puts lives at risk
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMDevinder Bhardwaj was hoping for a bumper crop on his modest four-acre (1.6 hectare) plot of land. The profits from selling his wheat in the market, he hoped, would provide a much-needed injection to his family’s savings. But this year, unseasonal rains and hailstorms washed away his plans.
Holy See recognizes two Laos martyrdoms
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMDuring a private audience on Tuesday, Pope Francis advanced the causes of canonization of 12 potential saints, two of whom were martyred by communist revolutionaries in Laos in 1960. The May 5 audience with Cardinal Angelo Amato also formally approved the canonization of ...
Religious not perfect but trying: Phil theologian
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AM“If we become perfect then we should leave because we are already perfect. But this is a lifelong goal,” Fr. Timoner...
International assistance dispatched to Nepal following quake
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMInternational aid groups and governments escalated efforts to dispatch rescuers and supplies to earthquake-hit Nepal on Sunday, but severed communications and landslides in the Himalayan nation posed formidable challenges to the relief effort.
In Bangladesh Rohingya refugee camps, fear and hope greet relocation agenda
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMFor Dil Mohammad and his family, a cramped refugee camp on the edge of southeastern Bangladesh has become a reluctant home for almost a quarter-century. The 61-year-old Muslim Rohingya refugee brought his family ...
Blind children defy 'bad karma' to perform in Thai orchestra
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMDeftly feeling their way along the bumps of the braille score, the young players of Thailand's first blind orchestra memorize scales, defying both their impairment and ingrained negative attitudes towards disability.
Climate fears force big changes on small South Asian farms
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AM'The change in climate was going on for quite some time. Paddies needed more water and we are mostly dependent on rains for water, which we were not getting. It was difficult to figure out solutions to this changing...
India's sons must learn to respect India's daughters
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMWhen a 23-year-old medical student was brutally gang raped on a bus in Delhi in December 2012, it sparked outrage across India and around the world. Large crowds, buttressed particularly by the youth, took to the streets and demanded justice for the female victim...
Indian government apologizes for denying visas to Vatican officials
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMThe Indian government has apologized to a top Catholic Church official in the country for refusing visas to two Vatican officials traveling to address a meeting of the India’s Latin rite bishops. "(A) senior officer from the Ministry of External Affairs called me up ...
KL archbishop says 'Allah' can still be used in Mass, Malay bibles
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMThe Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur told Christians on Tuesday that the country’s “Allah” ban was only limited to a Catholic newsweekly and that the word can still be used in Malay bibles and during worship sessions.
What Pope Francis learned from homeless girl: 'Cry with the suffering!'
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AM“Why is God allowing such things to happen, even if it is not the fault of the children? And why are there only very few people helping us?” she asked. Her comments followed an affecting testimony from a former homeless boy, 14-year-old Jun Chura,...
Manila Center For Street Kids Gets Surprise Visit From Pope Francis
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMSome 300 children at a Manila center for street kids got the surprise of their lives on Friday when Pope Francis showed up at their door. The pontiff snuck in a visit to the Anak-Tnk Foundation in Manila's Intramuros district after celebrating Mass at ...
Pope Francis: Marian Prayer at the Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMPope Francis arrived at the Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu, Wednesday, where he greeted over 500,000 faithful who had gathered to hear him speak about the importance of the shrine during the almost three decades long civil war. The shrine in the northwest ...
Pope Francis in Sri Lanka: encounter, encouragement, prayer
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMPope Francis arrived in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Tuesday morning, at the beginning of a week-long visit to Asia that will see him in both Sri Lanka and the Philippines. The Holy Father arrived to pomp and circumstance: traditional dancers, a children’s choir ...
Upcoming papal voyage highlights Pope's concern for Asia
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMAt a press conference in the Vatican on Wednesday, Father Federico Lombardi, SJ, the head of the Holy See Press Office, spoke about the significance of Pope Francis’ upcoming Apostolic Voyage to Sri Lanka and the Philippines, and gave details of the trip.
New Christian Church to be built in Turkey - No discrimination
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMThe Turkish government has authorized the construction of a new Syriac Christian Church. Quoting official sources, the Andaolu Agency reported that the church will be built in the Yeşilköy quarter on the outskirts of Istanbul, on the Sea of Marmara.
Pope writes Christmas letter to Middle East’s persecuted Christians
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMPope Francis has written a Christmas letter to the Christians of the Middle East to express his closeness to them at a time of “afflictions and tribulations” due to “the continuing hostilities in the region, but especially because of the work of a newer and disturbing terrorist organization.”
Hindu revellers ignore outcry over mass animal slaughter in Nepal
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMSword-wielding Hindu devotees will transform a remote corner of Nepal into the world's largest abattoir this weekend when they slaughter hundreds of thousands of animals in defiance of a growing chorus of protests.
Learning to govern religion democratically in Indonesia
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMAnnouncements by Indonesia’s Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin and Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo that they plan to change the way that the government regulates religious affairs is a promising sign that the administration ...
Japan's 'inside-outside' culture guarantees a bleak future
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMJapan is a dangerous place. The country is prone to volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis and typhoons. The earthquake and tsunami that three years ago took more than 18,000 lives brought that fact to the attention of the world. But, smaller quakes are a daily occurrence.