Martyrs make religion: Scientist discovers

he content of religions and popular tales is often similar, but only religions have martyrs, according to a newly published analysis by British Columbia evolutionary anthropologist, Joe Henrich.
“Nobody takes a day off to worship Superman or gives money to the Superman Foundation,” Henrich, an evolutionary anthropologist at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, [...]

Hopes rise for East-West common Easter

With the Julian and Gregorian calendars coinciding in 2010 and 2011 resulting in Easter on the same date in East and West, an international ecumenical seminar has reaffirmed the hope that all Christians will be able to celebrate Easter on the same day every year.

Indian church leaders demand arrests

Church leaders in Orissa have asked the state chief minister to arrest the perpetrators of last year’s anti-Christian violence in order to help resettle victims in their villages.

Indonesian legislator pressured to convert

Newly elected West Sumatra legislator, Dominikus Supriyanto, will take his seat despite threats from a Muslim group telling him to stand down or convert to Islam.
“I am not afraid of their threats. I won the seat because I was elected by local people - not only Catholics and Protestants but also Muslims,” said Dominikus Supriyanto, [...]

Hong Kong bishops reburied in Cathedral crypt

Five bishops who served and died in Hong Kong have been exhumed and reburied in a newly constructed crypt at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral.

Philippines outrage over bishop, farmer hosing

Church leaders have expressed outrage after firemen turned on water hoses to disperse protesters, including Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo of Manila, at a rally outside Congress.

China’s Catholic moment

Not since late antiquity has the world seen a migration of peoples like the great urbanisation of China now in progress. By 2025, migrants will make up two-fifths of China’s billion-strong urban population, a fifth of all the Chinese, according to the McKinsey Global Institute.

Jesuit Refugee Service Thailand

JRS has been working in Asia and the Pacific since 1980, when the plight of the Indochinese boat people inspired Fr Pedro Arrupe to found the JRS. It responded to the crisis by working in the camps in Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia and the Philippines.

A friar’s legacy

Folks in Urdaneta, Pangasinan, witnessed the launch of the Urdaneta Park and Monument in recognition of the contribution of Agustinian friar Andres de Urdaneta, who was a seafaring genius and spiritual guidance in the Philippines during the 15th century.

Catholic Charismatic Renewal

Parish Based Fellowship of San Roque Church in Cordova, Cebu, in the Philippines, which took place last month.

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