CNA Staff, Nov 15, 2020 / 05:01 pm MT (CNA).- Government restrictions on religion are at their highest since tracking began in 2007, the Pew Research Center has said in its new report, finding that 56 countries reached “high” or “very high” levels of restrictions on religion in 2018. “In …

by Courtney Mares Rome Newsroom, Nov 13, 2020 / 10:00 am MT (CNA).- The Chinese government’s latest five-year plan proposal contains a birth policy with an emphasis on eugenics, a China scholar said this week. China, known for its decades-long one-child policy, is now looking to counter its aging population …

CNA Staff, Nov 4, 2020 / 05:57 pm MT (CNA).- Due to pressure from the Chinese government, eight Catholic nuns have reportedly been forced to leave their convent in the northern province of Shanxi. Their current whereabouts have not been reported. “Officials declared us ‘dangerous persons’ and repeatedly harassed us,” …

by JD Flynn Washington D.C., Sep 28, 2020 / 04:40 pm MT (CNA).- Ahead of a visit to the Vatican this week, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he plans to discuss human rights abuses in China, and urge Vatican officials to speak out about Chinese religious persecution. “We’ve …

CNA Staff, Sep 19, 2020 / 04:56 pm MT (CNA).- The Chinese government continues to imprison Catholic clergy – including bishops – who refuse to support the Communist Party, according to a new report out of the province of Jiangxi. According to UCA News, priests in the Diocese of Yujiang …

CNA Staff, Sep 15, 2020 / 01:15 pm MT (CNA).- Religious freedom must be the result of any renewed Vatican agreement with China, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom emphasized on Tuesday, noting that underground Catholics in the country remained “persecuted.” On Monday, Sept. 14, the Vatican’s Secretary of …

by Hannah Brockhaus Vatican City, Sep 14, 2020 / 08:00 am MT (CNA).- The Vatican expects to renew its interim deal with China on the appointment of bishops, as part of efforts to “normalize” the life of the Catholic Church in China, Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said Monday. …

by Ed Condon Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 1, 2020 / 02:10 pm MT (CNA).- The leader of the Diocese of Hong Kong has instructed priests to avoid politics in homilies and admonishing them for “offensive” and “provocative” preaching. The warning comes amid a crackdown on free expression in Hong Kong, …

CNA Staff, Aug 10, 2020 / 11:30 am MT (CNA).- Chinese authorities arrested pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong and imposed new sanctions on American lawmakers August 10, as part of an apparent crackdown on civil liberties in Hong Kong. Prominent democracy activists were arrested and charged for violating Hong Kong’s …

by Courtney Mares Rome Newsroom, Aug 10, 2020 / 07:30 am MT (CNA).- The Chinese government’s treatment of Uyghurs is “one of the most egregious human tragedies since the Holocaust,” two Asian cardinals and 74 other religious leaders wrote in a statement released August 8. Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, archbishop …