world news
Ten “Unofficial” Chinese Priests Disappear in Hebei Province

China –Local authorities have detained at least 10 priests from the underground Catholic community of Baoding in Hebei province since January 2022.
“While Beijing attempts to make believe that the Chinese Catholic Church is thriving, especially after the inkling of the 2018 Sino-Vatican agreement, the truth is, underground Catholics in China continue to suffer. Their leaders are subject to patriotic education and coerced into joining the official church. Those who fail to comply will become victims of enforced disappearance like the case of the ten priests in Baoding. The Vatican needs to intervene and stand up for justice,” said Gina Goh, ICC’s Regional Manager for Southeast Asia.
Other priests and Catholics in Baoding are searching for the missing priests and asking for prayers, according to Asia News. Many family members of the missing priests have turned to their village policemen for information in vain.
The priests left behind are afraid that they might soon be taken away.
Baoding diocese’s bishop, James Su Zhimin, was arrested in 1997 for refusing the state-sanctioned organization and was not seen again until 2003 in a hospital. After leaving the hospital, he has not been seen again, and some speculate that he has now passed away.
The list of disappeared priests is as follows:
Fr. Chen Hechao, taken away last January.
Fr. Ji Fuhou, Fr. Ma Ligang, Fr. Yang Guanglin, and Fr. Shang Mancang were taken away in March and April.
Fr. Yang Jianwei and Fr. Zhang Chunguang, both disappeared on April 29 around 4 pm in Xushui village in Baoding.
Fr. Zhang Zhenquan and Fr. Yin Shuangxi also disappeared on April 29 from Xushui village in the afternoon.
Fr. Zhang Shouxin, also disappeared on April 30 in Baoding.
As the oldest and largest underground Catholic community, Baoding is no stranger to persecution. Father Yang Jianwei was taken away from a driving test site in 2016. In November 2020, two priests and more than a dozen seminarians and nuns from the same community were forcibly taken away by government officials.
While most of them have been released, some continue to be targets of the government because they refuse to join the official church controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. They often need to go through weeks, if not months, of political indoctrination sessions during their detention. They are also prohibited from contacting their loved ones.
Sources:persecution
world news
Iraqi Christians Create Syriac TV Channel

Iraq —After years of persecution and destruction, the Christian in community in Iraq takes a step forward as they start a new television channel conducted entirely in Syriac, the traditional language of Christians in the area.
The public TV channel may indicate a step forward in the wider acceptance of Christians across Iraq.
Syriac is an ancient language derived from the language of Aramaic which is most known as the language that Jesus spoke while He was here on Earth. Historically, Syriac has been used by Christians in schools and in church services.
Twenty years ago, there were 1.5 million Christians in the country. According to the United States’ yearly report on International Religious Freedom, this number is down to just 150,000 Christians in 2023 due to multiple wars and unrest. Many people sought to find safer places to reside, leaving the remaining Iraqi Christians secluded in the Northern portion of the country.
The creation of a Syriac television channel may be helpful to more than just Christians in Iraq. As many countries in the Middle East continue to be ravaged by persecution and violence, the creation of a Christian-specific television channel may encourage other neighboring countries to allow for similar avenues of accepting religious diversity.
The conditions for Christians in Iraq have improved in the last few years. The historic visit from the Pope and his meeting with Iraq’s former Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, established the National Day of Tolerance and Coexistence in Iraq. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) quoted one Iraqi resident experiencing this occasion as saying, “I can’t describe my happiness, it’s a historic event that won’t be repeated.”
After the visit from the Pope in 2021, NPR quoted a 59-year-old Iraqi schoolteacher saying, “It will attract people to the country. They will hear about it in Italy and France and elsewhere, that a senior cleric went to Iraq, and was protected, and came to no harm.”
As Iraq continues to demonstrate its acceptance of other religions, there is an increase in hope for the centuries-old Christan population to return to their home country – the home of Abraham, the home of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Sources:persecution
world news
നൈജീരിയയിൽ അജപാലന ശുശ്രൂഷക്കു ശേഷം മടങ്ങിയ വൈദികനെ കൊലപ്പെടുത്തി

നൈജീരിയയിൽ അജപാലന ശുശ്രൂഷക്കു ശേഷം മടങ്ങിയ വൈദികൻ വെടിയേറ്റു കൊല്ലപ്പെട്ടു. ജൂൺ ഏഴാം തീയതി ബെനിൻ സിറ്റി അതിരൂപതയിലെ വൈദികനായ ഫാ. ചാൾസ് ഒനോംഹോലെ ഇഗെച്ചി ആണ് അജ്ഞാതരുടെ വെടിയേറ്റ് മരണമടഞ്ഞത്. ആ ഗസ്റ്റിൽ പൗരോഹിത്യ സ്ഥാനാരോഹണത്തിന്റെ ഒന്നാം വാർഷികം ആഘോഷിക്കാനിരിക്കെയാണ് യുവ വൈദികൻ കൊല്ലപ്പെട്ടത്.
എഡോ സ്റ്റേറ്റിലെ ഇക്പോബ ഹില്ലിലെ ബൗണ്ടറി സ്ട്രീറ്റിനു സമീപമാണ് വൈദികന്റെ മൃതദേഹം കണ്ടെത്തിയതെന്ന് ബെനിൻ സിറ്റി ആർച്ചുബിഷപ്പ് അഗസ്റ്റിൻ ഒബിയോറ അകുബെസെ വെളിപ്പെടുത്തി. കൊല്ലപ്പെട്ട വൈദികന്റെ ആത്മാവിന് ദൈവം നിത്യശാന്തി നല്കട്ടെയെന്നും തുടർന്നും രൂപതയിലെ ജനത്തെ നയിക്കാൻ ദൈവത്തിന്റെ പ്രത്യേക ഇടപെടലുണ്ടാകട്ടെ എന്നും രൂപത പുറത്തിറക്കിയ പ്രസ്താവനയിൽ പറയുന്നു.
ബെനിൻ സിറ്റിയിലെ സെന്റ് മൈക്കിൾ കോളേജിലെ വൈസ് പ്രിൻസിപ്പലാണ് കൊല്ലപ്പെട്ട വൈദികൻ. ആഫ്രിക്കയിലെ ഏറ്റവും ജനസാന്ദ്രതയുള്ള രാജ്യത്ത് പുരോഹിതരെ ലക്ഷ്യം വച്ചുള്ള അക്രമപ്രവർത്തനങ്ങളുടെ പരമ്പരയിലെ ഏറ്റവും പുതിയ കുറ്റകൃത്യമാണിത്. മുൻപും വൈദികർക്കു നേരെ നൈജീരിയയിൽ ആക്രമണങ്ങൾ നടന്നിട്ടുണ്ട്. ഈ മാസം രണ്ടാം തീയതി ന്നെവി രൂപതയിൽ നിന്നുള്ള ഒരു വൈദികനെ തട്ടികൊണ്ടു പോയെങ്കിലും ആക്രമികൾ വിട്ടയച്ചിരുന്നു.
Sources:azchavattomonline
world news
Fulani Militants Murder 300+ Christians and Destroy 28 Churches since mid-May

Nigeria —Fulani militants murdered more than 300 Christians, including two pastors, and destroyed 28 churches since mid-May in Plateau State, Nigeria. The Islamic extremists also displaced 30,000 Christians and destroyed 2,000 homes in recent attacks, according to local sources.
The Christian population in Nigeria faces a growing persecution threat since Boko Haram’s insurgency in the 2010s. The insurgency and its splinter group Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), primarily operate in northeastern Nigeria, while Fulani militants operate in the central and southern regions. Fulani militants execute a “comparable strategy to Boko Haram and ISWAP and demonstrate a clear intent to target Christians and potent symbols of Christian identity,” according to a report by the UK All Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief (APPG).
In 2022, Nigeria ranked first in the number of Christians killed, assaulted, or abused and ranked second in the number of Christians displaced, and churches attacked, according to the Open Doors 2023 World Watch List report. The report also noted that “[2022] has also seen violence spill over into the Christian-majority south of the nation,” and that “Nigeria’s government continues to deny this is religious persecution.” International Christian Concern (ICC) has previously reported on the numerous murders committed by Fulani militants earlier in 2023 and 2022.
Sources:persecution
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