Pope calls for freedom of worship for Catholics in China
Vatican CityReuters Pope Francis called on Wednesday for freedom of worship for Catholics in China, a religious minority that has faced historic harassment and persecution in the communist country, causing friction between the Vatican and Beijing. Francis invoked prayers during his weekly audience that the Gospel “may be preached in its fullness, beauty and [in] […]
For 25th year, US State Department reports on threats, triumphs in religious freedom
United StatesRNS US State Department officials continued to point to religious freedom atrocities in Russia, China and Afghanistan as they released their annual report on threats to religious liberties across the globe. “Far too many governments continue to freely target faith community members within their borders,” said Rashad Hussain, ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, at […]
Church schism: Communities torn as Ukraine turns its back on Moscow-linked church
MAX HUNDER, of Reuters, reports on the impact on communities as authorities crackdown on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church…
Essay: Repression of women points to worsening religious freedom trends abroad
NURY TURKEL, co-founder of the Uyghur Human Rights Project and chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, and Rabbi ABRAHAM COOPER, director of global social action for the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and vice chair of USCIRF, say that denying religious freedom and women’s rights go hand-in-hand…
Iran, 27 other countries critiqued by US watchdog for religious freedom violations
United StatesRNS A watchdog for global religious freedom has used its new annual report to call out the Iranian Government for targeting women’s rights protesters during demonstrations last year. The report also points out the country’s “decades-long campaign” against religious minorities. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom criticised Iran for repressing the religious rights […]
Essay: Elder Hu Shigen’s release is welcome, but more importantly it reminds us that we must stand up to the CCP
ELLIS HEASLEY, of UK-based religious freedom advocacy CSW, says celebrations around Elder Hu Shigen’s release are tempered by the knowledge of the CCP’s “continuing injustice and cruelty towards religious leaders”…
Essay: The struggle of those who have fled Afghanistan does not end across the border
ELLIS HEASLEY, of UK-based religious freedom advocacy CSW, looks at the dangers facing Afghan Christians who have been forced to flee to neighbouring nations…
Essay: Advocates and builders, advancing religious freedom together
CHRIS SEIPLE, president emeritus of the Institute for Global Engagement, says – in an article first published on Religion News Service, that the two camps in US religious freedom diplomacy need to work as one…
Essay: Remembering Christians in Indigenous communities this Christmas
ELLIS HEASLEY, of UK-based religious freedom advocacy CSW, urges Christians to remember – and pray for – Indigenous communities around the world this Christmas…
Essay: State Department blacklists are only one tool to foster international religious freedom
KNOX THAMES, US State Department special adviser on religious minorities in the Obama and Trump administrations, looks, in an article first published on Religion News Service, at whether such designations help…