Police blame Maoists, villagers for Indian sister's murder

Nov 22, 2011 - 02:42 am .- Police claim that villagers and Maoist activists killed Sister Valsha John, an Indian religious sister whose death has been linked to her work with native tribes in opposition to coal mining interests.

Priest sees hopeful future for Vietnam’s Christians

Nov 15, 2011 - 04:01 am .- An official with the Vietnamese bishops’ conference foresees a confident future for the Christian community in Vietnam. He cites the “flourishing” of priestly vocations and the government’s “signs of openness.”

British monarch can now marry a Catholic but cannot be one

Oct 28, 2011 - 12:41 pm .- The centuries-old law barring the British monarch from marrying a Catholic has been scrapped but not the rule forbidding them from being a Catholic.

Baby found alive two days after earthquake in Turkey

Oct 26, 2011 - 04:58 pm .- A 14-day-old baby was found alive amid the rubble of her home 46 hours after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey.

X Factor star gives credit for success to Catholic mom

Oct 25, 2011 - 06:24 pm .- Even though he is only 17 years old, Emmanuel Kelly has taken Australia by storm this fall with his X Factor performances. But he says all of his success could not have happened without his Catholic mom, Moira Kelly.

Growing Islamist violence threatens Church in Indonesia

Oct 7, 2011 - 07:39 pm .- The President of the Bishops Conference of Indonesia says the rise of radical Islam is resulting in increasing problems for the local Catholic Church.

Indian bishop tells Catholics to remain peaceful despite church attack

Sep 6, 2011 - 02:14 pm .- Masked vandals attacked and desecrated a Catholic church in the Indian state of Kerala on September 4, according to a local bishop who has encouraged the faithful not to retaliate.

Divine Mercy congress inspires quake-stricken New Zealand

Sep 2, 2011 - 01:50 am .- Catholics in Christchurch, New Zealand drew inspiration from a recent Divine Mercy Congress as they work to rebuild from a series of devastating earthquakes that have hit the country in the last year.

Kerala parishes create incentives for larger families

Sep 1, 2011 - 01:21 am .- Catholic parishes in Kerala have created incentives for Catholics to have larger families because of concerns that the Catholic population has started to decline.

Franciscans translate Bible into colloquial Japanese

Aug 26, 2011 - 06:06 pm .- After 55 years of work, the people of Japan will soon have a translation of the Bible in colloquial Japanese thanks to the work of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum of Tokyo.

Indian archbishop urges peace on anniversary of anti-Christian violence

Aug 24, 2011 - 02:03 am .- On the third anniversary of the outbreak of massive anti-Christian violence in Orissa state, a local Catholic archbishop has appealed for “peace and tranquility” and the defense of Christians’ rights.

Dialogue on Philippines reproductive health bill fades, protests renew

Aug 19, 2011 - 03:07 am .- Catholics are again planning protests and rallies against the proposed reproductive health bill. Catholic Church leaders say there are only “very slim” chances of further dialogue with the bill’s backer, President Benigno Aquino, who has made it a priority.

Release Fr. Ly immediately, US religious freedom commission urges Vietnam

Jul 29, 2011 - 06:03 am .- The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has condemned the Vietnamese government’s latest arrest of religious freedom advocate Fr. Nguyen Van Ly.

Bangalore's own 'Mother Teresa' can remain after visa extension

Jul 29, 2011 - 02:16 am .- A British Catholic religious sister, compared to Mother Teresa for her three decades of work with leprosy victims, says she'll remain in India indefinitely now that her visa troubles are resolved.

Pro-democracy Vietnamese priest jailed again

Jul 27, 2011 - 02:02 am .- Authorities re-arrested Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly, one of Vietnam's most outspoken dissidents, at a home for retired priests on July 25.

Author laments Chinese response to recent excommunications

Jul 26, 2011 - 05:52 am .- An expert on Chinese Christianity says the country's religious authorities are threatening the Catholic Church's basic identity by defying a series of excommunications and planning more illicit ordinations.

Chinese government will ordain more bishops, leader says

Jul 24, 2011 - 05:54 pm .- China’s state-backed Patriotic Catholic Association will ordain more bishops without papal approval when “conditions are right,” a top leader in the organization said.

Catholics keeping kids away from bombs in Laos

Jul 23, 2011 - 06:18 pm .- “Let’s go find some bombs to play with” is really not what you want to hear from little kids.

India's Christian outcasts plan massive hunger strike for equal rights

Jul 22, 2011 - 06:00 am .- Thousands of Dalit Christians and Muslims known as the “untouchables” or “slumdogs” of India will gather in the streets of New Delhi to protest for equal societal rights.

Mother of six priests and four religious sisters mourned in India

Jul 21, 2011 - 04:36 pm .- Elizabeth Anikuzhikattil, a Catholic mother whose 15 children included five priests, a bishop, and four religious sisters, died at the age of 94 on July 14.