Asia – Pacific

Thiruvananthapuram, India, Aug 16, 2018 / 04:24 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- After at least 73 people were killed in floods caused by monsoon rains in India’s Kerala state, Caritas India and local Catholic groups are assisting victims of the torrent with relief materials.

More than 85,000 people in the southern Indian state have been displaced by the flooding since Aug. 9, which has also caused landslides.

“The Catholic Church is already out in the field through … Caritas India,” read an Aug. 15 statement from the Indian bishops’ conference.

“Our local Bishops, Clergy, Religious Sisters and lay volunteers are also involved in relief and succour operations. In different dioceses, Church authorities have opened church schools and other institutions to the displaced people, and are distributing food, clothes and other relief materials. Many parishes, schools and other Church institutions have become the centres of aid and assistance to people in need.”

Caritas India is also providing blankets, mosquito nets, and hygiene kits. It has set up health camps to treat those affected and to prevent the outbreak of disease.

The Indian bishops stated, “We share the anguish of the people affected by this huge natural disaster and we wish to express our closeness to them.”

They expressed appreciation for the quick and efficient relief work undertaken by the local and State Government authorities. We also appreciate the strong and immediate support being provided by the Union government in the relief operations.”

“The solidarity manifested and the help being provided cutting across political divides and religious or class belongingness is exemplary … The Catholic Church condoles the death of our brothers and sisters who were caught unaware as nature’s fury took hold of large parts of Kerala. We express our solidarity with the injured and the suffering.”

The bishops also indicated their “ardent desire to work with the Government and all like-minded agencies to provide relief and help in all possible ways to the suffering people.”

They then stated that after the flood waters have resided, “it would be desirable to analyse the causes of the floods, and take urgent steps to preserve our environment and prevent further ecological damage to our Common Home, Mother Earth, destruction often brought about by our human actions.”

“We pray for all those affected and also for all who are actively or through contributions helping the people in dire distress.”

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Adelaide, Australia, Aug 14, 2018 / 10:17 am (CNA/EWTN News).- An Australian court ruled Tuesday that Archbishop Philip Wilson, who was convicted in May of failing to report allegations of child sexual abuse disclosed to him in the 1970s, will serve his 12-month sentence under house arrest.

Archbishop Wilson, 67, resigned as Archbishop of Adelaide July 30.

The prelate will be eligible for parole after six months, and will be serving his sentence at the home of a relative in New South Wales, wearing a tracking device.

The archbishop’s lawers have said they will appeal the conviction.

The Archdiocese of Adelaide stated Aug. 14 that Bishop Gregory O’Kelly of Port Pirie, who is serving as apostolic administrator of Adelaide, is “keeping Archbishop Wilson in his prayers as he formally commences this stage in his life, while also remembering the victims and survivors of abuse in the Church.”

Archbishop Wilson was convicted May 22 of concealing abuse committed by a fellow parish priest in New South Wales in the 1970s.

The victims of the scandal, Peter Creigh and another altar boy who is unnamed for legal reasons, said they both had told Wilson of their abusive experience with Fr. James Fletcher.

The archbishop has maintained his innocence throughout the process, saying he had no recollection of the accusations, and insisting that if he had been notified of the scandal, he would have offered pastoral care to the victims and their families, and reported the event to his superiors.

He was sentenced July 3 to a 12-month sentence.

Archbishop Wilson submitted his resignation to Pope Francis July 20, after having said initially he would only do so if his appeal failed.

He said he changed his mind because “there is just too much pain and distress being caused by my maintaining the office of Archbishop of Adelaide, especially to the victims of Fr. Fletcher,” and he had become “increasingly worried at the growing level of hurt” his conviction had caused.

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Manila, Philippines, Aug 14, 2018 / 09:33 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Catholic parishes and assistance centers are ready to help victims of storms and major floods in the Manila area, said Cardinal Luis Tagle of Manila over the weekend.

“To our brother… […]

Canberra, Australia, Aug 13, 2018 / 06:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A former tax official has said Australia should revoke the non-profit tax status of the Catholic Church in the country, due to widespread clerical sex abuse, which was detailed in an extens… […]

Yinchuan, China, Aug 10, 2018 / 04:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Officials in an autonomous region of northwest mainland China intended to demolish a mosque on Friday, but were met by hundreds of protesters. The move comes amid a nation-wide effort to clamp down on free religious expression.

Due to the protests, the local government has agreed not to demolish the mosque, but does insist on remodelling it in a more Chinese, and less Arabic, style, according to Nectar Gan of the South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong daily.

Officials had said Aug. 3 that the mosque would be demolished, on the grounds that it has not been granted the proper planning and construction permits. Protesters gathered in the mosque Aug. 9-10 to prevent its destruction.

Construction of the mosque had taken two years, and was not stopped by government officials.

The Weizhou Grand Mosque is located in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, more than 100 miles south of Yinchuan. Ningxia is a region set up for the Hui people, a Muslim ethnoreligious group.

The US Commission on International Religion wrote in its 2018 report that last year China “advanced its so-called ‘sinicization’ of religion, a far-reaching strategy to control, govern, and manipulate all aspects of faith into a socialist mold infused with ‘Chinese characteristics.’”

Christians, Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, and Falun Gong practitioners have all been affected.

Earlier this year, widespread rumors suggested that the Vatican and the Chinese government were on the verge of regularizing the status of the Church in China and ending the split between the state-sponsored Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, whose leaders include illicitly-consecrated bishops, and the underground Church.

In Ningxia, sinicization has meant the removal from buildings of Islamic icons and Arabic signs, the South China Morning Post reported, as well as the removal of domes from mosques.

After scrapping the plan to demolish Weizhou mosque, officials first called for its domes to be replaced with pagodas, then for the removal of eight of its nine domes. Both have been rejected by the Hui.

Many mosques in Ningxia had been built in a Chinese style, but were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution of Mao Zedong. They have increasingly been replaced by more Arabic-looking buildings.

In neighboring Gansu province, local officials in Linxia banned children in January from attending religious events during winter break. Many Hui also live in Gansu.

In July, AFP reported that Communist Party officials in Linxia had banned children under 16 from religious activity or study. They have also restricted the number of students over 16 allowed to study at mosques and the certification process for new imams. Mosques have been instructed to display the Chinese flag and not to transmit calls to prayer.

“They want to secularise Muslims, to cut off Islam at the roots,” an imam told AFP. “These days, children are not allowed to believe in religion: only in Communism and the party.”

The AP reported in May about the existence of re-education camps for Muslims in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The region, which borders Gansu’s west, is home to the Uyghurs, another Muslim ethnoreligious group.

According to the AP, authorities in Xinjiang “have ensnared tens, possibly hundreds of thousands of Muslim Chinese – and even foreign citizens – in mass internment camps.”

A UN human rights committee heard Aug. 10 that these camps hold more than 1 million Uyghurs.

In August 2014 officials in Karamay, a city of Xinjiang, banned “youths with long beards” and anyone wearing headscarves, veils, burqas, or clothes with the crescent moon and star symbol from using public transit. That May, universities across the region banned fasting during Ramadan.

Chinese president Xi Jinping announced in October 2017 that he wants to tighten Beijing’s strict government controls on religion. At the National Congress of the Communist Party, he said religions not sufficiently conformed to communist ideals pose a threat to the country’s government, and therefore must become more “Chinese-oriented.”

In March 2018 the Chinese Communist Party became directly responsible for government oversight of religion.

Catholics and other Christians have had their church buildings demolished in numerous Chinese provinces in recent years, including Shandong, Henan, Zhejiang, and Shaanxi.

On March, Bishop Vincent Guo Xijin, who ministers to the underground Church, loyal to Rome and not the state, was detained for refusing to concelebrate a Chrism Mass with an illicitly consecrated, state-backed bishop. He was then released but forbidden from celebrating his own Chrism Mass.

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Mataram, Indonesia, Aug 10, 2018 / 03:18 am (CNA/EWTN News).- With hundreds dead and thousands left homeless by a major earthquake in Indonesia last weekend, Catholic Relief Services is working to bring shelter and necessities to survivors.

“Our priority now is to get as much information from the field as possible for us to make decisions on what support we can provide to the affected population,” said Yenni Suryani, who is leading Catholic Relief Services’ emergency response in the country.

On Sunday, a 6.9-magnitude earthquake tore through the north of the country. Estimated death tolls have ranged from 250 with 350, with officials stressing that the numbers may continue to climb.

In addition, more than 1,400 were injured and some 270,000 were displaced, according to government officials.

A Red Cross representative told CNN that aid workers are having trouble reaching those in need of assistance in mountainous areas, due to landslides and debris blocking roads.

A search and relief official told state-run Antara news agency that survivors are dealing with trauma, and some are scared to be indoors following the earthquake.

Caroline Brennan, emergency communications director for Catholic Relief Services, told CNA that the agency’s humanitarian response efforts are already underway.

“CRS and its local Church partners are currently carrying out initial assessments in North Lombok District,” the area most affected by the earthquake, she explained.

So far, assessments into three villages in the region show that nearly 90 percent of houses are either severely damaged or totally destroyed, and more than 90 percent of the population is displaced or sleeping outside in tents, she said.

In addition, electricity and communications systems remain down.

“From the initial assessment in these three villages, the CRS team identified immediate needs that include food items, shelter kits, clean water,” Brennan said.

“The team also reported that people in these three villages are resorting to ready-to-eat and instant foods as they are not yet able to get fresh food from the markets, which are still closed.”

Suryani, who is based in Jakarta, said that as Catholic Relief Services continues conducting its initial assessments, it is reporting its findings to the local government.

The agency will then work with local partners to address the greatest needs, especially for those who have lost their homes and are sleeping out in the open.  

“CRS plans to support partners to provide emergency shelter kits,” which include tarps, blankets, and sleeping mats, for the affected population, she told CNA.

But while immediate relief efforts are already underway, full recovery for the people affected by the earthquake will be a slower process, Suryani said.

“Given the scale of the impacts of the disaster, the recovery will take time,” she said, and this will require not only rebuilding physical infrastructure, but “most importantly psychological recovery because people lost their loved ones, assets and livelihood.”

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Sơn Tây, Vietnam, Aug 8, 2018 / 12:11 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Heavy rains have caused flooding in northern and north-central Vietnam, and officials of the local Church are encouraging aid for those affected.

Fr Paul Nguyễn Quốc Anh, director of Caritas in the Diocese of Hưng Hóa, has challenged laity and religious to buy food, water, and medicine for the flood and landside victims, “for Catholics and non-Catholics,” AsiaNews reported.

Continuous rains from July 23 – Aug. 6 have led to flooding around Sơn Tây which has killed at least 28 people. Eleven people are missing, buildings, roads and bridges have collapsed, and agriculture has been severely affected.

Hà Văn Huyên, the leader of a village in the Yên Bái province, recalled the devastating moment of a flash flood.

“At first I saw that the flow of water was very small,” he told AsiaNews. “Then, the water started flowing in waves. Five minutes later, the water rose more and more. When I saw the danger, I screamed for people to escape. After only an hour, this huge flood appeared, about ten metres high and wiped out many houses.”

Also damaged in the flood was the Sùng Đô chapel in the Nghĩa Lộ District. The church’s pastor, Father Joseph Nguyễn Trọng Dưỡng, described the damages to his parishioners, which is largely made up of H’Mông people.

“About 20 families have lost their homes and their rice paddies. The family of Mr Cứ A Chu, who has 13 children, lost home, rice field and gardens. People have little rice left to eat and unclean spring water to drink.”

On July 27, Auxiliary Bishop Alsphonse Nguyễn Hữu Long of Hưng Hóa visited the small mountain community of Sùng and the missionary area in Tả Phời. The areas are notably poor and remote. The bishop encouraged the residents to persevere during this difficult time.

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Sydney, Australia, Aug 7, 2018 / 10:15 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A group of trade unions in Australia last month passed a motion saying that they will lobby to restrict the right of religious organizations to make hiring decisions based on adherence to Chur… […]

Jinan, China, Aug 4, 2018 / 12:00 am (CNA).- A Catholic church in Jinan province, China, has been demolished by government agents, the latest in a series of church demolitions in China.

About 40 police and government workers entered Liangwang Catholic… […]

Naypyitaw, Burma, Aug 3, 2018 / 03:49 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Rohingya, a long-suffering Muslim minority in Burma, are allegedly peacefully returning to their country from Bangladesh, where thousands fled last year after a surge of violence against them last year that the United Nations said might qualify as genocide.

At least, that is the story that the Burmese government would like the world to believe.

But a recent government-sponsored trip to Burma by New York Times journalist Hannah Beech and photographer Adam Dean revealed numerous holes in the official narrative of the Burmese government.

Burma is also known as Myanmar, a name which the U.S. government and many democracy activists oppose, because they say it was illegally imposed on the country by its military dictatorship.

While the Burmese government told journalists on the trip that the groups of people they were seeing were Rohingya peacefully returning to Burma after their exodus, hushed conversations with locals revealed that that was not the case.

“The men at one of the country’s three repatriation centers shook their heads when asked if they had peacefully come back to Myanmar from Bangladesh,” Beech wrote.

“They said they had not been repatriated at all. In fact, they said, they had never even left this waterlogged stretch of marsh and mountain in Myanmar, and had been swept up in the government’s broad repression of the Rohingya minority.”

“One day, last year, three of the men said, soldiers had arrested them in their village in northern Rakhine State. Five and a half months later, they were released and charged with illegal immigration,” Beech reported.

Until they were driven out by violence and the burning of their villages, the Rohingya had mostly occupied Burma’s Rakhine state. Conversations with locals in the area revealed more cracks in the government’s storyline, which maintains that the Rohingya are terrorists who burned their own villages to create a ruse.

“…a girl, who would be in danger if her name were revealed, said she missed a Muslim friend who had lived a few houses down. ‘The Rakhine burned their houses down,’ she said, referring to civilians from the Buddhist ethnic group that gives Rakhine State its name. ‘My friend is gone forever,’” Beech reported.

“A man corrected her quickly. ‘You’re supposed to say the reverse,’ he admonished. ‘You should say they burned their own houses down.’”

Another boy confirmed to the Times journalists that he had seen government forces burning Rohingya villages.

“Who would burn down their own houses?” the boy told the journalists. ‘That’s stupid.”

Despite widespread use of the word Rohingya in the international community, the term is controversial within Burma. The Burmese government refuses to use the term, and considers them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. They have been denied citizenship and numerous other rights since a controversial law was enacted in 1982.

Last year the Rohingya faced a sharp increase in state-sponsored violence in their homeland, which reached levels that led the United Nations to declare the crisis “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.”

More than 600,000 Rohingya have fled across the border to Bangladesh, and are living in refugee camps, many of which are located in a swampy sort of “buffer zone” along the border between the two countries.

When asked, government officials were not able to provide the New York Times journalists an official death count, broken down by ethnicity, from the surges of violence last year.

In a 2017 trip to Bangladesh, Pope Francis met with a group of Rohingya and offered them his prayers and condolences for what they had endured.

“In the name of all who have persecuted you and persecute you, that have done you harm, above all, the world’s indifference, I ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness,” the Pope said in a Dec. 1, 2017 meeting with Rohingya.

After greeting them individually and hearing brief explanations of their stories, Pope Francis told them that “we are very close to you.”

Although there’s “little we can do because your tragedy is very hard and great,” he told them “we give you space in the heart.”

He explained that according to the Judeo-Christian tradition, God created man in his image and likeness.

“All of us are in this image, also these brothers and sisters, they too are in the image of God,” he said.

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