Cardinale Zuppi prays at a cemetery in San Girolamo della Certosa. / Archdiocese of Bologna
Vatican City, Oct 28, 2021 / 07:12 am (CNA).
This year, the Vatican has decided once again to grant a plenary indulgence to Catholics who visit a cemeter… […]
The Palazzo del Sant’Uffizio, the seat of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. / Jim McIntosh via Wikimedia (CC BY 2.0).
Vatican City, Oct 28, 2021 / 06:00 am (CNA).
The Vatican’s doctrinal congregation has recalled Pope Franc… […]
Palazzo Madama, the seat of the Senate of the Italian Republic in Rome. / FrDr via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Vatican City, Oct 28, 2021 / 05:00 am (CNA).
A bill to introduce “anti-homophobia” legislation in Italy, harshly criticized by pro-famil… […]
Cardinal Leonardo Sandri (front row, sixth from left) with Syrian Catholic Church leaders. / orientchurch.va.
Damascus, Syria, Oct 28, 2021 / 04:05 am (CNA).
Pope Francis has donated $170,000 to the Catholic Church in Syria for its charitable wo… […]
A candle of St. Jude / Francesca Pollio/CNA
Denver Newsroom, Oct 27, 2021 / 19:00 pm (CNA).
On Oct. 28, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of Saint Jude, also known as Thaddeus, one of Jesus’ 12 apostles. He is believed to have written the… […]
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signs a state budget in Lansing, Mich., Sept. 29, 2021. / Photo courtesy of the Office of Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
Lansing, Mich., Oct 27, 2021 / 17:01 pm (CNA).
The Michigan Catholic Conference has welcomed … […]
Inaugural intercollegiate Catholic Student Summit at Victoria Park in Irving, Texas, Oct. 8, 2021. / Zack Weiss
Washington D.C., Oct 27, 2021 / 16:20 pm (CNA).
Catholic students from multiple Texas universities recently gathered for an evening o… […]
Sudanese carry a man injured during clashes as part of protests against a military coup that overthrew the transition to civilian rule, on Oct. 25, 2021 in the capital Khartoum. – Sudan’s top general declared a state of emergency Monday as soldiers rounded up civilian leaders, with three people killed as soldiers put down furious protests decrying a coup. / -/AFP via Getty Images
El Obeid, Sudan, Oct 27, 2021 / 15:19 pm (CNA).
The international community must to put pressure on Sudan’s military to show respect and value for human life, a Catholic bishop in the country said Tuesday, shortly after a coup.
Sudan’s military launched a coup against the country’s transitional government Oct. 25. Civilian rule was dissolved and General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan became head of state. Protesters have been fired on, with 10 reportedly killed.
Bishop Yunan Tombe Trille Andali of El Obeid told ACI Africa Oct. 26 that the coup is a retrogression that brings Sudan “back to the military junta rule.”
“We hear of the death of the people who express their feelings towards the coup against civilian governments,” Bishop Tombe Trille said after multiple protesters were reportedly killed.
“The international community should put their pressure on the junta to value the life of their citizens,” he said.
Bishop Tombe Trille also urged the international community “to assist the military junta to respect and abide with the norms, release the detained civil ministers and dialogue with them to hand back the power to civil government.”
“The message of the scripture remains to be the strength of the people of God in the light of any situation,” the bishop, who is also president of the Sudanese bishops’ conference, commented.
He added, “The Church in Sudan has (never) remained silent under the Cross of Christ despite some changes which took place in Sudan; the attitude of the rulers towards the Church never changed.”
Sudan had been under the military dictatorship of Omar al-Bashir since 1989, but pro-democracy protests led to his overthrow in April 2019 and the installation of a transitional government which had both civilian and military elements.
There was a failed coup in September, but this week Burhan, who was chair of the power-sharing Sovereignty Council, has detained civilian government and political party leaders.
The coup has been widely condemned, with the US and the World Bank withholding aid, and the African Union suspending Sudan from the bloc.
Sudan was listed by the US Department of State as a Country of Particular Concern for its religious freedom record from 1999 to 2019.
In December 2019, it was moved to the Special Watch List “due to significant steps taken by the civilian-led transitional government to address the previous regime’s ‘systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.’”
At least 90 percent of Sudan’s population is Muslim, though Islam was disestablished in 2020.
2020 March for Life, Washington, D.C., Jan. 24, 2020 / Peter Zelasko/CNA
Washington D.C., Oct 27, 2021 / 12:18 pm (CNA).
The theme for the upcoming March for Life will be “Equality Begins in the Womb,” event organizers announced at a press confe… […]
St Paul’s Cathedral in Wenzhou. / 三猎 via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Manila, Philippines, Oct 27, 2021 / 11:05 am (CNA).
Chinese authorities have kidnapped Catholic Bishop Shao Zhumin of Wenzhou, according to a report by AsiaNews on Tuesday, Oct. 26.
The report said the 58-year-old prelate was taken by authorities “on vacation,” adding that it was not the first time the bishop was taken away. He has been arrested several times since he was appointed to the diocese in 2016.
“Pray that the Lord will give [Bishop Shao] confidence and courage, that he will not be disheartened by what has happened,” read a statement from Catholics in the diocese quoted by the AsiaNews report.
“Pray also that he remains healthy and refreshed, under the guidance of Christ, so that he will come back to us as soon as possible to pasture his flock,” it added.
The Vatican confirmed Bishop Shao to lead the diocese in September 2016, following the death of his predecessor, Bishop Vincent Zhu Weifang, who was imprisoned for 16 years. At the time of his predecessor’s death, Zhumin was arrested by police and taken “on a trip,” according to the pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need. He was then detained by authorities several times after that.
In April and of May 2017, Bishop Shao was arrested; after the second arrest, he was detained for seven months. In 2018, he was reportedly arrested again and subjected to indoctrination.
Born in 1963, Bishop Shao Zhumin was ordained a priest in 1989. In 2011, he was appointed coadjutor bishop of Yongjia.
His appointment was, however, not accepted by the Bishops’ Conference of the Catholic Church in China and the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association.
Detentions of underground clergy in China are common, as a means of pressuring them to join the state-run Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association.
The “abductions” of religious leaders usually take place on the eve of important Catholic events, such as Christmas, Easter, the Feast of the Assumption, and All Souls’ Day and All Saints’ Day, said AsiaNews. In recent years, authorities have blocked the entrance to the Wenzhou cemetery ahead of All Souls’ Day to prevent Catholics from gathering.
In Zhejiang, the percentage of Christians exceeds 10%, according to AsiaNews, and the faithful “are very zealous.”
Earlier in 2021, Bishop Joseph Zhang Weizhu of Xinxiang disappeared for months after Chinese officials detained him along with other clergy and seminarians opposed to joining the state-run church.
© Catholic World Report