– Tej Francis
Email: tejfrancis@gmail.com
Fujian, China
Chinese bishop in hiding after refusal to register with Communist authorities
(CNA) A Catholic bishop in China is reportedly on the run from state authorities after refusing to register with the state-sponsored Church. Bishop Vincenzo Guo Xijin is believed to be in hiding in the diocese of Mindong after leaving the residence of the local state-sponsored bishop. Bishop Guo is considered a leader in the Chinese underground Catholic Church, which refuses to submit to the state-sponsored Church which is in turn under the authority of the Chinese Communist Party.
Priests in China are required to register with the government in order to be able to minister openly. In the process of doing so, they are expected to acknowledge the government’s policy of “sinicization.”
According to Asia News, on November 9, Guo was placed under the supervision of two state security officials and visited daily in an attempt to force him to sign an act of registration with the state.
MEXICO CITY
Mob enters Managua cathedral, attacks hunger strikers, damages property
(NCR) Nicaraguan church authorities have reclaimed control of Immaculate Conception Cathedral in the national capital, Managua, after a pro-government mob burst into the building, which was hosting a group of mothers holding a hunger strike to demand the release of the political-prisoner children.
The Archdiocese of Managua said in a Nov. 19 statement that the mothers inside the church were taken to another location by the Red Cross and accompanied by the cathedral rector. Worship and pastoral activities were to resume Nov. 21 at the cathedral. The mob entered the cathedral Nov. 18, damaging property, attacking hunger strikers inside the building and jostling a priest and nun.
An Archdiocese of Managua statement issued Nov. 18 after the incident said Lopez and Sister Arelys Guzman, the cathedral administrator, “are fine, but had to leave the church to protect themselves.”
Washington D.C.,
Lebanon on the brink: Syrian crisis threatens ‘last safe haven’ for Christians
(CNA) A new report claims that the Syrian refugee crisis is severely burdening Lebanon’s limited resources and threatens its pluralism, requiring immediate international assistance. “Lebanon is the last safe haven for Christians in the Middle East, and it is at a crossroads,” Toufic Baaklini, president of the group In Defense of Christians, stated on Tuesday upon release of the report “Displaced Syrians in Lebanon,” at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
The advocacy group In Defense of Christians (IDC) released the report on Tuesday with the Maronite Foundation, and presented it to Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites and All the East. The report was also presented to the White House and State Department, IDC said in a press release.
Since the Syrian civil war began in 2011, a continuing exodus of Syrians into neighbouring Lebanon has substantially impacted the country’s labour force, contributed to scarcity in resources such as water and electricity, and increased the demand for public benefits such as health and education.
Follow
