The violence took place on April 19 in the Christian village of Birganj in the area of Christ the King Catholic Church in the Birganj area of ​​the Dinajpur Diocese in the northern part of the country.

Nearly 200 Muslims were reportedly involved in the attack and used local homemade weapons such as axes, iron rods, and bamboo sticks in an attempt to steal land from Indigenous Christians and Hindus.

Indigenous peoples in Bangladesh are made up of ethnic groups that are culturally and historically distinct from the Bengali majority in the country, and many happen to be Christian, Hindu, or Buddhist.

“Six Indigenous were seriously injured in the attack and one was pierced by an arrow. The injured are undergoing treatment in the hospital,” Pius Murmu, a 45-year-old Catholic injured in the attack, told EWTN News.

Murmu said that almost 50-60 families live in Birganj and that they have been using the land there for more than a century. In addition, more than 200 landless Indigenous families in the area use the cemetery to bury their dead and live around it.

Indigenous Christian families in Birganj say they have been living on the land there for several generations.

Saiful Islam, police officer in charge of the local Birganj police station, told EWTN News that there has been a long-standing dispute with members of the Indigenous community over a small parcel (93 decimals, which is .01 acres) of state-owned land. Rezaul Islam, son of Abdul Quader of the nearby village of Ghoraband, claims to own the land.

According to the police officer: "On April 19, at noon, about 200 people led by Islam and his uncle Azad attacked the temple and graveyard with the intention of taking the land. They attacked the temple with sticks, rods, and sharp weapons and cut down 10-12 trees in the graveyard. A house was also vandalized during this time.”

He added that when members of the Indigenous community resisted, they were beaten up and injured.

Saiful Islam also said that after the police received information, they went to the spot and dispersed the attackers. Additional police were deployed to control the situation. The vandalized property and other evidence were seized.

When asked about his involvement in the attack, Rezaul Islam said: “I bought 41 decimals of the land in 1999 and another 48 decimals in 2023 from someone else. The remaining land belongs to the graveyard.” But he denied the allegations that he attacked Indigenous people, saying: “We are not involved in this attack. I do not know who or what carried out this attack.”

Christians account for less than half a percent of the population of Bangladesh and religious minorities are only 8% of more than 180 million people in the Muslim-majority south Asian nation of Bangladesh.

Father Antony Sen, convener of the Justice and Peace Commission of Dinajpur Diocese, said he believes minorities are often made victims of violence because of injustice and the lack of will on the part of government officials to address it.

“Such incidents will be resolved only when the government of the country is humane and solves every incident fairly. The government must solve the problem of these Indigenous people with land,” Sen told EWTN News.

He said the problem is not only with privately-owned land but also that Church lands are also threatened as local influential people make attempts to occupy it. Sen said they will soon hold discussions with government officials to try to resolve the situation.

The attack in Birganj is not the only example of violence against Indigenous people and religious minorities in Bangladesh; most of it is centered on land grabbing.

In 2001, a bomb attack took place during Sunday Mass at Most Holy Redeemer Church in the southern district of Gopalganj, killing 10 and injuring over 50 Catholics.

On Jan. 24, 2015, a group of Muslims armed with homemade weapons and firearms attempted to forcibly cultivate tribal lands in Dinajpur.

On Nov. 6, 2016, in the Gobindganj area of Gaibandha district, tribal homes were set on fire and three Christians were killed.

The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council (BHBCUC) annual report in 2025, on violence against religious and ethnic minorities, recorded over 1,000 cases of human rights violations.

The interreligious forum’s findings were based on media reports from July 2023 to June 2024. During this period, 45 members of minority communities were murdered and there were 10 attempted murders and 36 death threats.

A native of Pangasinan, Peralta grew up with a deep love for Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Manaoag, affectionately called by devotees “Apo Baket,” a local term that literally means “Old Lady” but conveys deep reverence for the Blessed Mother as a venerable matriarch.

After marrying her husband, a serviceman in the United States Navy, Peralta relocated to California, where they began raising their family. Despite the distance from her homeland, Peralta said her Marian devotion remained central to her life, especially during moments of suffering.

Her faith was put to the test when doctors diagnosed her with malignant tumors in her thyroid. During that difficult period, she turned constantly to prayer before a replica of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Manaoag enshrined at her parish church in San Diego.

“There was no single day that I didn’t pray to Our Lady of Manaoag and to Our Lord Jesus, who is really our healer,” Peralta recalled.

After undergoing a series of medical tests, she said her physician was surprised when a subsequent biopsy showed no trace of cancer.

According to Peralta, she initially kept both her diagnosis and her healing private. But her story eventually came to light when a fellow Filipino-American parishioner approached her one day after Mass saying she had dreamt of the Blessed Mother inviting her to visit her shrine in Manaoag.

The parishioner shared that she had purchased a plane ticket to the Philippines for the visit. Peralta, who had also quietly arranged a trip with her husband to give thanks for her healing, was struck by the unexpected confirmation.

News of her recovery quickly spread within the close-knit Filipino Catholic community in San Diego, and she soon found herself sharing her testimony with fellow Marian devotees.

On April 22, Peralta and her husband will be among the millions of pilgrims in Pangasinan marking the centenary of the canonical coronation of the image of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Manaoag, enshrined at the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag.

A canonical coronation is a formal act of the pope typically expressed through a papal decree or bull that bestows the pontifical right to “crown” a specific, highly venerated image of Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary, or St. Joseph.

A devotion rooted in centuries of faith

The devotion to the Lady of Manaoag traces its origins to a reported apparition in 1605 when a farmer is said to have seen the Blessed Mother holding the Child Jesus atop a tree located on the present-day site of the basilica.

According to long-standing tradition, the farmer heard a voice calling him by name. Following the sound, he saw a radiant cloud resting on a leafy tree. From there, the Blessed Mother identified herself as the Lady of the Rosary and asked that a shrine be built in that place so that the faithful could come to seek her maternal protection.

Word of the apparition spread quickly among neighboring communities, drawing pilgrims to the site. Over time, the area came to be known as “Manaoag,” a term derived from the local expression “Dimad Virgen ya Mantataoag,” meaning “to the place where the Virgin calls.”

Missionary activity in the region was first undertaken by Augustinian missionaries who accompanied Ferdinand Magellanʼs expedition. Later, administration of the mission was entrusted to the Order of Preachers (Dominicans), whose members eventually built the church dedicated to the Blessed Mother.

The centuries-old ivory image of the Virgin Mary housed in the basilica has since become one of the most beloved Marian images in the Philippines. Devotees widely attribute to her powerful intercession countless testimonies of healing, protection, and answered prayers.

The image was solemnly crowned in April 1926 by Archbishop Guglielmo Piani, then the apostolic delegate of Pope Pius XI to the Philippines, in recognition of the deep and enduring devotion of the faithful.

Centennial celebration of faith

The centenary celebration marks a historic milestone for Filipino Catholics and Marian devotees worldwide.

Father Felix Legaspi III, OP, basilica rector, said in a statement that the celebration commemorates a century of faith and grace experienced by pilgrims who continue to entrust their lives to the Blessed Mother.

“This historic celebration marks 100 years of faith, devotion, and grace for countless pilgrims and devotees who frequent the shrine of the Blessed Mother, asking for her unwavering help and intercession,” he said.

A series of novena Masses is being held in preparation for the April 22 commemorative liturgy marking 100 years since the 1926 canonical coronation.

The solemn pontifical Mass will be presided over by Archbishop Charles John Brown, apostolic nuncio to the Philippines, and concelebrated with Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas. Cardinal Jose Advincula, archbishop of Manila, will be the homilist. National and local dignitaries are also expected to attend the celebration.

A devotion shared across oceans

Devotion to the Lady of Manaoag continues to flourish not only in the Philippines but also among Filipino communities abroad.

Peralta is one of many Filipino-American devotees who helped establish associations in the U.S. dedicated to Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Manaoag, including the Devotees of Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag-San Diego.

The group gathers annually to celebrate the Blessed Mother’s feast in May at San Rafael Parish in San Diego as well as during October, the month traditionally dedicated to the holy rosary.

This year, many Filipino-American pilgrims have traveled to Manaoag to join people from across the Philippines and around the world to honor “the lady who calls.”

For Peralta, returning to the shrine is more than a pilgrimage — it is an act of gratitude.

Her story, like those of countless others, reflects a faith rooted in trust and sustained by prayer — a devotion that continues to draw generations of believers to the shrine where, according to tradition, the Virgin Mary once called her people to come.

The Diocese of Broken Bay announced April 14 that it has appointed London-based Níall McLaughlin Architects to design the new cathedral and surrounding campus at Waitara, on Sydneyʼs upper north shore. The diocese describes the project as the first Roman Catholic cathedral in Australia in more than a century to be master-planned from inception as a complete, integrated complex.

The announcement was the final major project decision taken under Archbishop Anthony Randazzo before his expected relocation to Rome.

Pope Leo XIV named Randazzo, 59, prefect of the Vaticanʼs Dicastery for Legislative Texts on March 25, the feast of the Annunciation, also granting him the personal title of archbishop. He continues to serve as apostolic administrator of Broken Bay until the move.

“While my responsibilities have expanded to serve the universal Church in Rome, my commitment to this vision is unwavering,” Randazzo said in a statement issued through the diocese. “The appointment of Níall McLaughlin Architects signals we are moving ahead with confidence to create a community legacy for generations to come.”

The 7.7-hectare Cathedral Precinct Project will succeed the dioceseʼs current cathedral, Our Lady of the Rosary, which was designated as the bishopʼs seat in February 2008 after succeeding the smaller Corpus Christi Church at St. Ives.

The new precinct will rise on the same Yardley Avenue site and integrate the existing St. Leoʼs Catholic College campus, a pastoral center, parish hall, a new home for the diocesan charity CatholicCare, residences for the bishop and clergy, and diocesan offices.

Erected as a diocese in April 1986 by Pope John Paul II, Broken Bay this year marks its 40th anniversary and serves around 250,000 Catholics across 26 parishes spanning Sydneyʼs North Shore, the Northern Beaches, and the upper Central Coast — a territory of 2,763 square kilometers (1,067 square miles).

A ‘virtuous circle’ of faith and education

In its own communications, the diocese has framed the project around what it calls a “virtuous circle” of Catholic life — the integration of liturgy, formation, and education on a single site, from baptism through secondary schooling.

The architectural concept draws on the natural setting of the Hawkesbury River, which unites the dioceseʼs parishes, and on the local sandstone bluffs of the surrounding bushland.

Renderings released by the practice show twin slender sandstone-clad spires rising above a public forecourt, with a timber-framed entrance portal centered on a cross. Inside, an exposed lattice of cross-braced timber members vaults the length of the nave, with raw sandstone walls and geometric stained glass.

The diocese said the design draws explicitly on the spirit of Laudato Si', the 2015 encyclical of Pope Francis on care for creation, prioritizing sustainable timber and stone and preserving the existing Blue Gum High Forest on the site as a public amenity.

A practice known for sacred architecture

Níall McLaughlin Architects, established in 1990, was selected following an invited international design process. Its founder, the Irish-born and London-based Níall McLaughlin, received the Royal Institute of British Architects' Royal Gold Medal in January — one of the disciplineʼs highest international honors, awarded annually in recognition of a lifetime contribution to architecture.

The practice has built several sacred and contemplative spaces, including the Bishop Edward King Chapel for Ripon College in Oxford, a 2013 Stirling Prize finalist; the New Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge; and the Auckland Castle Faith Museum in northern England.

In February the firm was announced as winner of the international competition to design the Museum of Jesus' Baptism at Bethany Beyond the Jordan, the UNESCO World Heritage site on the east bank of the River Jordan traditionally identified as the place of Christʼs baptism. That museum is targeted to open in 2030 to mark the bimillennial of the baptism of Jesus.

McLaughlin spoke about the Broken Bay project on April 14 at the Rothwell Public Lecture series at the University of Sydney. “We are delighted to work on this significant project to help create an enduring spiritual, civic, and cultural precinct that places the faithful at its center,” he said.

The Australian firm Hayball has been appointed as executive architect on the project. Funding will be drawn from a combination of institutional capital and a dedicated philanthropic appeal, and the diocese said design work will now move into approval pathways that will determine the construction timeline.

“A decade into Xi Jinping’s Sinicization campaign and nearly eight years since the 2018 Holy See-China agreement, Catholics in China face escalating repression that violates their religious freedoms,” Yalkun Uluyol, a China researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in an April 15 report. “Pope Leo XIV should urgently review the agreement and press Beijing to end the persecution and intimidation of underground churches, clergy, and worshippers.”

Human Rights Watch said it conducted interviews with “nine people outside the country who had firsthand knowledge of Catholicism in China” for its report, who said the 2018 Vatican-China agreement has “provided an overarching structure for the authorities to pressure underground Catholics.”

Witnesses in the report said Catholics in China felt the agreement left them with “no other choice but to join the official church” and that those who have remained in the underground Church “felt betrayed by the Vatican.”

Human Rights Watch also highlighted the Chinese government’s persecution of Catholic bishops and clergy, citing instances of detention and forced disappearance as well as China’s move to ban Catholic priests from teaching or evangelizing online.

“Catholic clergy released from detention continue to face harassment,” the report said. “One person said in January that a priest he knew was barred from having bank accounts, SIM cards, and a passport, and thus has ‘no means of survival and can barely make ends meet for even a day or two.'”

“The Vatican’s agreement and policy regarding the Catholic Church in China in recent years has been disastrous,” Nina Shea, Hudson Institute senior fellow,  told EWTN News. “Faithful Catholic bishops are subjected by the government to being disappeared, detained indefinitely without due process, sidelined but ‘recognized’ or being actively threatened with detention if they resist swearing fealty to only the Chinese Communist Party and not Rome.”

Shea, who also serves as director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom, urged Pope Leo XIV to lead a global prayer vigil for Chinese bishops who have been forcibly disappeared or detained.

“Pope Benedict XVI designated May 24 as the World Day of Prayer for the Church in China but it’s been virtually forgotten in the last few years and never robustly embraced by the Vatican, which probably sees it as implicit criticism of the CCP, something it is loath to do,” she said.

Celebrating the chrism Mass on Holy Thursday at the Minor Basilica and Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, commonly known as Manila Cathedral, Advincula quoted a recent study, saying: “About 18% reported that they are psychologically distressed,” meaning “almost one in every five priests is undergoing a mental difficulty or emotional burden.”

He reminded clergy to acknowledge their human vulnerabilities and weaknesses, calling on the faithful to support clergy through prayer and understanding.

According to data from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), as of 2025, there are more than 10,000 priests serving 73.6 million Catholics. The Philippines is Asiaʼs largest Catholic country.

Lay faithful support for the clergy

Advincula urged lay Catholics to stand with priests as they carry out their ministry.

“To be faithful, we need your understanding and your prayers,” he said.

Advincula thanked communities for their continued support, despite what he described as the “obvious limitations” of clergy, which include challenges such as limited resources and the need for more active engagement from the laity.

The cardinal thanked priests and the faithful for their shared responsibility in continuing the Churchʼs life and mission.

He said human connections are essential to restoring hope and sustaining missionary work.

Pope Leo XIVʼs April prayer intention

Advinculaʼs remarks coincided with the Holy Fatherʼs April prayer intention, which is “for priests in crisis.”

“Let us pray for priests going through moments of crisis in their vocation, that they may find the accompaniment they need and that communities may support them with understanding and prayer,” Pope Leo XIV said.

Echoing the popeʼs words, Advincula urged Catholics to pray for priests, especially those facing loneliness, doubt, and exhaustion.

“When a pastor faces some kind of weariness at any time, the Church is not supposed to judge but rather to walk beside him,” he said.

A parish priestʼs struggle with addiction

EWTN News spoke with two priests who have faced mental health challenges and described how they overcame them.

Father Mark (a pseudonym used to protect his identity), a 52-year-old parish priest in the southern Philippines, serves a parish with more than 40,000 Catholics. He has been there for the last five years.

Over the years, Father Mark felt exhausted by pastoral duties. He gradually developed loneliness and distress, which affected his mental well-being. Over time, he began to consume alcohol more frequently and eventually became addicted.

As his health conditions and addictions affected his personal life and pastoral duty, his religious superiors made him take a break from pastoral care and placed him in a Church-run rehabilitation center near Manila for a year.

After a year of medication along with prayer, social connections, and discernment, he is free of addiction and back to pastoral work in a different parish in the central Philippines.

He said he learned a valuable lesson from his imperfections, especially about balancing personal care — physical, spiritual, and emotional.

A rural missionaryʼs ordeal

Father Marcilino, a 47-year-old priest, used to be a rural missionary in the northern part of the country.

He used to minister to 70,000 Catholics across eight chapels and one parish, alongside two younger priests.

“At some point, I got disinterested in my pastoral work and lost zeal for it,” he said.

“I did not have any vices as such. I felt a kind of spiritual dryness in my priestly life,” he said.

When his priest companions noticed his mental distress and lack of participation in community prayers and mealtime presence, they encouraged him to take a few months' break from pastoral responsibility with the knowledge of their superiors.

His superiors sent him for a three-month refresher course on psycho-spiritual enrichment.

After spending three months in the program, he returned to the parish with renewed zeal as a person and pastor.

“I have realized that priests like me face pastoral exhaustion or compassion fatigue caused by many factors,” he said. “It is necessary that we take precautions and efforts to monitor our mental well-being as we are interested in rendering our pastoral service to others with hope and compassion,” he added.

He thanked his superiors and those who continually support him in his missionary endeavors.

“My struggles with mental health issues taught me a valuable lesson that I am not a superhuman being,” he said. “I need to be aware of my limitations, especially worry, anxiety, stress, and depression to some extent.”

“We are all works in progress and rely on Godʼs grace to carry out our pastoral work for the common good,” he said.

Mental health in the Philippines

An estimated 7 million to 12.5 million Filipinos suffer from mental health conditions, according to research published in the Lancet Regional Health.

The National Capital Region Police Office reported on March 25 that suicide cases in Metro Manila more than doubled in the first three months of 2026, with many cases stemming from emotional distress, financial pressure, anxiety, depression, and relationship issues.

Meanwhile, the country does not have adequate mental health professionals, and the government is making efforts to strengthen mental health services, such as increasing funding for mental health programs and training more professionals to meet the growing demand.

Everyone must take care of their mental health amid the many challenges of life and work, Christopher Lim, a professional psychologist, told EWTN News.

Over the years, Lim has counseled several people, including priests and religious sisters, who have faced mental health challenges.

One piece of advice he gives is that anyone can develop mental health concerns at any time, regardless of their current mental well-being.

“Timely professional help is key to mental health,” Lim said.

“It was Father Francis who recommended that all the charitable and welfare programs of the archdiocese be named under ‘Sathwanam’ (Compassion). His aim was to provide the best treatment with the least expense, and he worked hard for that,” said Archbishop Andrews Thazhath of Thrissur, inaugurating the memorial at the Jubilee Mission Medical College (JMMC) that Alappatt established at the archdiocesan hospital in the heart of Thrissur.

Alappatt, who died of complications from diabetes at the age of 72 on April 8, was a singular figure in the Catholic Church in India: He was ordained in 1995 at the age of 41 after joining the seminary to fulfill a childhood dream, having already earned a medical degree from Kozhikode Medical College.

‘Half priest’

“Even when he was a medical student, he was called ‘padi achan’ (half priest) for his lifestyle, and I was also touched by him,” recounted Dr. Susheela Jacob, who was a professor at Kozhikode Medical College when Alappatt was a medical student in the 1980s, during the memorial.

“Scenes of trade in blood around the hospital prompted him to launch a blood donation campaign with batchmates [classmates], and he founded the Kerala Blood Donors Forum as a medical student,” Jacob recalled.

“I was regularly in touch with him, and when he started the medical college, he invited me, and I gladly joined in 2005,” said Jacob, a pathologist who is presently lab director at the JMMC Hospital. She spoke to EWTN News on April 14.

After his ordination, Alappatt transformed even remote parishes into centers of blood donation awareness and paved the way for the Kerala state government to record the blood group of each student in school certificates.

As director of Jubilee Mission Hospital, he expanded it into a medical college — approved by the central government — in 2004 and doubled the hospitalʼs beds to more than 1,500, making it one of the largest hospitals in Kerala. The facility is known for subsidized treatment for the poor and free medicines for snakebite victims.

Interreligious tributes

“Father Alappatt had a special doctorate in human relations. He knew how to move people,” said K. Rajan, a Hindu and minister in the Kerala state government, at the memorial. “Whenever he invited me for a program, I could not decline.”

“Father Francis was my classmate in school and surprised me [in the late] 1990s coming back to me as a priest. Then he turned my guru (teacher) in life,” said T.S. Pattabhiraman, a leading Hindu businessman of Thrissur.

“He became a family friend and had a unique marketing strategy [to get financial support]. Whenever I went to invite him for a family marriage or other functions, he would seek support for his free dialysis, treatment for snakebite victims. Whenever he needed help, he would call me. I could never say ‘no’ to him,” recalled Pattabhiraman, who is one of the trustees of the interreligious forum Alappatt founded to promote religious harmony.

Popular for his pioneering blood donation movement in Kerala — as well as his interreligious and health awareness programs, in addition to his role as founding director of the Catholic medical college — Alappatt was named chairman of the Indian Red Cross Society.

“In honor of Father Alappattʼs compassion for those affected by kidney disease, I am happy to announce today that Jubilee Mission has decided to set up a renal transplant center, and it will be called the Father Francis Alappatt Memorial Renal Transplant Centre,” announced Auxiliary Bishop Tony Neelankavil at the memorial, evoking thunderous applause.

Free dialysis and parish support

“Father Alappatt introduced and motivated parishes and families to support free dialysis as part of parish feasts and family celebrations like marriage or baptism. We got support for more than 12,000 free dialysis [treatments] in 2025,” Father Reny Mundankurian, the JMMC Hospital director, told EWTN News.

After leaving Jubilee Hospital in 2010, Alappatt served as vicar general of the Archdiocese of Thrissur and also helped improve smaller diocesan hospitals and health care initiatives in the archdiocese.

A prolific writer, he authored 50 books on health, social harmony, the environment, and human relations. A dozen of these were written after he became seriously ill, restricting his movement.

‘He showed God to the world’

“Father Alappatt showed God to the world through his loving service,” said Major Archbishop Raphael Thattil, head of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, in his homily during the April 10 funeral service at the Basilica of Our Lady of Dolours parish in the heart of Thrissur.

“He never worked in mission centers, but he showed with his life how life can be turned into missionary work,” said Thattil about his fellow parishioner, as both of them hail from the Dolours Basilica parish, which is celebrating its centenary year.

True to his commitment to health care, Alappatt donated his eyes, and after the funeral service — attended by half a dozen bishops — his body was not taken to the cemetery but placed in the JMMC mobile ambulance to be transported to the hospitalʼs anatomy department.

“I support the smoke-free and vape-free policies in church premises for the good of all,” Maria Christina Jomen, a parishioner of St. John the Baptist Parish in Jimenez, Misamis Occidental, told EWTN News. “Having a healthy environment is a responsibility for all, especially in places of worship.”

The church, some 755.89 kilometers (469.69 miles) south of Manila, is among the parishes implementing the smoke-free policy in response to health initiatives from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in collaboration with local governments.

On April 2, the executive secretary of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Health Care, Camillian Father Dan Vicente Cancino Jr., issued a statement directing parishes nationwide to adhere to smoking bans as a sign of respect for sacred spaces. The Department of Health later circulated a video message from Cancino on its platforms.

Cancino said tobacco use leads to preventable disease, premature death, and suffering, and called on all parishes to strictly enforce smoke-free and vape-free policies. The bishops' conference has voiced alarm at the prevalence of smoking and vaping among Filipinos, particularly among the young.

“This initiative is in accordance with our existing laws, and the move is also out of respect for the sacred and concern for community health,” the priest said, noting that smoking in public places such as churches endangers both individual and community health.

“These habits pose serious threats to both individuals and the community. I hope that all our parishes and communities strictly enforce smoke-free and vape-free policies in accordance with existing laws,” Cancino said.

“We understand it is not easy. But with Godʼs grace, liberation is possible. We can do it,” he added.

A long-standing precedent

The National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, Parañaque City, Manila, has enforced a no-smoking policy on its premises since 2015, partly in response to Pope Francis' encyclical on care for creation, Laudato Si'.

Other parishes have moved in step with municipal anti-smoking ordinances in cities including Baguio, Davao, Balanga, and Iloilo, pairing health-conscious campaigns with what Church officials describe as “green” initiatives to protect public health and the environment.

Smoking and vaping in the Philippines

According to the World Health Organizationʼs 2025 Global Report on Trends in Prevalence of Tobacco Use, roughly 1 in 5 Filipino adults — about 19.7% of those aged 15 and over — currently smoke, with the rate among men (35.6%) more than eight times higher than among women (4.2%).

The 2021 Philippines Global Adult Tobacco Survey, conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority and the Department of Health with WHO support, similarly found that 18.5% of Filipino adults currently smoke tobacco. WHO estimates that smoking causes roughly 88,000 deaths in the Philippines each year.

Data from the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology indicate that 4.8% of Filipinos aged 10 to 19 smoked in 2023, up from 2.3% in 2021.

The World Health Organization has reported that, globally, children aged 13 to 15 are using e-cigarettes at higher rates than adults. The Philippine Department of Health has urged the public to reject vaping products, warning they are not a safer alternative to cigarettes and citing the rising trend of nicotine use among young Filipinos.

“We Christians in Bangladesh run many educational institutions,” Archbishop Bejoy N. DʼCruze, OMI, of Dhaka said. “Along with academic subjects, we focus on morals, values, and good character. When we hear about online classes, we become worried about where this system will take our students.”

The archbishop made the remarks while exchanging Easter greetings with Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, secretary-general of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, on Easter Sunday. He said Catholic school principals and headmasters remain deeply concerned about the impact of online learning on children.

The proposal comes as Bangladesh faces energy shortages linked to global instability in the Middle East. To reduce electricity consumption and ease pressure on infrastructure, the government is considering partial online learning in selected educational institutions. However, Catholic leaders say the experience of online education during the COVID-19 pandemic revealed serious limits, especially for students' academic and moral formation.

Students and parents voice concerns

Students say online classes make it harder to understand lessons and stay focused.

“I have difficulty understanding lessons when classes are online,” said Sonnet Gomes, a student at a missionary school in Dhaka. “I want to go to school and take classes physically.”

Referring to her experience during the COVID-19 lockdowns, Gomes said online learning created both academic and health-related problems. “When we had online classes during corona, it was not good for us. Now there is no health risk. If needed, we can reduce class hours instead of moving everything online,” she said.

Parents, especially Catholic parents, also strongly oppose online classes. They worry about screen addiction, lack of supervision, and the financial burden placed on families.

“I donʼt want online classes,” said Priyanka Gomes, a Catholic mother in Dhaka. “During corona, I was forced to buy my son a smartphone. With online classes, children stay on their phones all day. They play games, use social media, and become addicted.”

Teachers: ‘Online classes are not effective’

Catholic teachers echo these concerns and say online learning often leads to poor attendance and weak engagement.

“If the government orders online classes, we will obey,” said Cornelius DʼCruze, vice principal of Heed International School in Dhaka. “But honestly, online classes are not effective. Many students skip classes. Parents go to work, and children spend most of the time on their phones.”

According to the Catholic Directory of Bangladesh, the Catholic Church in the country runs one university, 17 colleges, 60 high schools, and nearly 300 primary and technical schools. Well-known institutions such as Notre Dame College, Holy Cross College, St. Gregoryʼs High School, and St. Joseph Higher Secondary School are among the countryʼs most respected academic centers.

Government says proposal still under review

Government officials say the move toward online or blended learning is necessary under current conditions.

The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education recently organized a seminar at the International Mother Language Institute in Dhaka to discuss how to continue education during the energy crisis.

Education Minister A.N.M. Ehsanul Hoque Milon and State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj attended the seminar. Students, teachers, and guardians from various institutions in the Dhaka metropolitan area shared their views on the proposal.

The education minister said online classes would not be introduced nationwide at once but would begin on an experimental basis in selected institutions.

“Various crises in world history have opened new possibilities,” Milon said. “Education must continue in new ways. We should not see everything as a threat. We can also see opportunities.”

The government is considering a hybrid system combining physical and online classes in selected schools and colleges, including Viqarunnisa Noon School and College and Ideal School and College in Motijheel.

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar announced on Easter Sunday, April 5, that the government had constituted a committee to examine the March 25 judgment of the Federal Constitutional Court validating the marriage of 13-year-old Maria Shahbaz to 30-year-old Shaheryar Ahmad.

Bishop Samson Shukardin of Hyderabad, president of the Pakistan Catholic Bishops’ Conference (PCBC), voiced skepticism about the initiative.

“These issues often subside by the time such committees make their reports public. The process is deliberately delayed so that people forget,” he told EWTN News.

“This is fundamentally a religious freedom issue. Consent is often coerced from minors. We await a genuine response from the government. Many Muslim clerics support us but have avoided joining public protests,” he added.

A father’s account

According to Maria’s father, Shehbaz Masih, his daughter was abducted, forcibly converted to Islam, and married without consent.

A certificate issued by the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) submitted by the family states that Maria was 13 at the time of the marriage — below the legal minimum age of 18. The family has since taken refuge in a shelter and was unavailable for comment.

The case dates back to July 2025, when Masih, a resident of Lahore, reported that his daughter had been abducted by a Muslim man after stepping out to a nearby shop.

Dismissing a petition filed by the father seeking custody, the court ruled that the marriage was valid under “Muhammadan law” and that the husband held lawful guardianship.

Protests and backlash

The judgment triggered widespread reaction on social media, along with protests, press conferences, and conventions across the country. At least three Catholic bishops, along with the PCBC, issued statements urging authorities to review the ruling.

The backlash prompted government engagement with the concerns of the country’s Christian minority, estimated at 1.37% (3.28 million people).

Addressing an interfaith Easter gathering in Lahore, Tarar assured Christian leaders of his support, saying the committee’s recommendations would be submitted to the Ministry of Law and Justice within a week.

Legal dimensions

Meanwhile, Punjab Minister for Minorities Affairs Ramesh Singh Arora said his department was forming a parallel committee to examine the legal dimensions of the case.

Mary James Gill, a Christian lawyer, former lawmaker, and executive director of the Center for Law and Justice who serves on the committee, welcomed the move as a “genuine concern to find a way forward.”

“It is highly encouraging that a state representative personally took up the issue. However, we are still in a consultative process,” she told EWTN News, noting shortcomings in both the lower courts and within the affected community.

“The petition was filed under Section 491 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which pertains to habeas corpus, and not to determining the exact age of the girl — a question that remains disputed,” Gill said.

“Regrettably, no such verification was carried out in the lower courts. In cases where documentation is ambiguous, magistrates and sessions judges tend to rely on in-person statements, consent, and their own observations.”

She noted that the Christian Marriage Act of 1872 governs the solemnization of marriages involving one or more Christians.

“Similarly, the personal laws of both Christianity and Islam in Pakistan remain silent on the age of conversion. Church leaders need to revisit and update these frameworks. At the same time, parents must place greater emphasis on the ideological and moral formation of their children,” she added.

In an April 6 letter to the law ministry, Anthony Naveed, deputy speaker of the Sindh Assembly, urged the federal government to address “serious legal gaps” exposed by the ruling and called for uniform amendments aligning provincial laws with Balochistan’s legislation, which explicitly invalidates child marriages.

A pattern of abuse

For decades, rights advocates have called for stronger legal and administrative measures to prevent the abduction and forced religious conversion of girls from minority communities.

At least 515 cases of abduction and forced conversion of minority girls and women were reported between 2021 and 2025, according to the Center for Social Justice. Hindu girls accounted for 69% (353 cases), followed by Christian girls at 31% (160 cases). Most victims were under 18, with cases concentrated in Sindh and Punjab.

Shukardin said courts in the Muslim-majority country are not consistently applying laws prohibiting marriage under 18.

“The Church is not in favor of marriages involving conversion under such circumstances. We demand safety for our daughters and will continue to raise our voice for underage brides of any religion,” he said.

The crash occurred in the early hours of April 5 in Mariamabad in Punjab’s Wazirabad district, where around 200 Catholics had gathered for a predawn Easter service. Irfan Bashir, a 17-year-old laborer, died of a head injury on April 6.

Officials said the suspect, identified as Muhammad Bilal, remains at large. The vehicle involved in the incident and the driver’s assistant are in police custody, and a case has been registered.

“We are conducting daily raids to arrest the driver,” said Muhammad Ahmad, the assistant sub-inspector who filed the case, attributing the incident to overspeeding.

He added that the vehicle was empty and heading to a poultry farm and claimed the procession was held without prior police notification.

At least 14 injured remain hospitalized in two hospitals in nearby Gujranwala, some in serious condition. Doctors said most victims suffered fractures and trauma caused by the impact and the ensuing panic.

The Punjab government set up a medical camp at the local Catholic church on April 6 to assist victims in Mariamabad, a village of about 100 families comprising both Christians and Muslims.

Disputed claims

Church representatives and community members have disputed police claims that authorities were not informed in advance. Organizers insist prior notice had been given, raising concerns over coordination failures.

Father Shahrukh Nathaniel, who led the sunrise service, said road processions have now been suspended following the tragedy.

“We have asked the government to install speed breakers [in some countries called speed bumps] and barriers outside the church, which is located on a main road,” he told EWTN News. “The faithful usually gather outside after Mass, which increases the risk.”

He said authorities have promised financial compensation for the victims and praised the establishment of a medical camp amid shortages in government hospitals, while urging the swift arrest of the driver.

‘It was the worst Easter’

Among the injured is the father of Mark Mathew, a ninth-grade student who was setting off fireworks at the front of the procession when the truck struck. His father, a furniture maker, suffered a fractured leg and is bedridden, while his mother sustained injuries to her knee and eye.

“I feel lucky to be alive,” Mark said. “It was the worst Easter, visiting injured relatives and friends in hospitals.”

Rights advocates say the case highlights broader concerns over the safety of minority religious gatherings in Pakistan.

Capuchin friar condemns ‘Christianophobia’

In an April 8 statement, Capuchin Father Lazar Aslam, convener of the Justice, Peace, and Ecology Commission, “vehemently condemned this irresponsible and heinous act,” describing it as a “clear Christianophobia-driven hate crime.”

“This was not a mere traffic accident; it was a targeted assault on innocent worshippers at the most sacred moment of their liturgical calendar,” he said. “The driver’s failure to stop or render aid, and his decision to flee the scene, further underscores the malicious nature of this crime.”

He added that “the persistent silence and minimization of such incidents are as painful as the violence itself,” warning that genuine interfaith dialogue cannot exist without truth and safety.

“Until the lives of Christians are treated with equal dignity and those responsible are held accountable, empty words of peace will remain insufficient to heal the wounds of the community,” he said.

Aslam called for immediate justice for the victims and urged authorities to ensure comprehensive medical treatment for impoverished families most severely affected by the tragedy.

In September 2025, a Catholic pilgrim was killed and a teenager injured when gunmen attacked a van carrying devotees to the country’s largest Marian shrine in Mariamabad. The group was traveling through the Sheikhupura district to attend the annual Sept. 8 feast of the Nativity of Mary, which draws thousands each year.

Archbishop Khalid Rehmat, OFM Cap, 57, was installed as head of the Archdiocese of Lahore on March 28 in a ceremony that acknowledged a period of “particular difficulties and challenges” following the removal of Archbishop Sebastian Shaw, OFM, in August 2024 — an unprecedented development in the country’s Catholic history.

During the liturgy, Vicar General Father Asif Sardar read the Urdu translation of the papal bull, which referenced the trials faced by Pakistan’s largest Catholic diocese, home to an estimated 577,000 faithful.

“We devote all our energies to the governance of the ship of the Church, which for different reasons is sometimes assailed by waves, requiring the guidance of both ourselves and the devoted pastors appointed by us. For this reason, we have turned our attention to the metropolitan see of Lahore,” he said, quoting Pope Leo XIV.

The remarks were widely interpreted as an indirect reference to Shaw, who was appointed apostolic vicar of Quetta and installed at St. Mary’s Catholic Church on March 24. Prior to that, he had been residing at the Franciscan Friars Minor house in Karachi while on what Church authorities described as a sabbatical.

Allegations against Shaw

Shaw has faced multiple allegations in recent years, including claims of financial mismanagement and misconduct involving Church funds and properties, circulated in media reports and on social media.

In 2017, he drew criticism for allowing a political address by Maryam Nawaz, now chief minister of Punjab, at Sacred Heart Cathedral during an election campaign.

Further controversy emerged in 2021 when a Christian activist shared on social media photographs and documents alleging irregular land transactions linked to Shaw. He declined to comment on the claims when contacted by EWTN News.

In 2022, additional allegations regarding personal conduct surfaced from a suspended priest, though archdiocesan officials dismissed them as unfounded.

Several Catholics, including a former Caritas Pakistan official, had previously submitted complaints to the Vatican concerning alleged abuse of authority and financial impropriety.

‘Things seem to have settled down’

Archbishop Benny Mario Travas of Karachi, who served as apostolic administrator of Lahore during the transition, drew light laughter from the congregation when he remarked that “things seem to have settled down,” noting a decline in complaints reaching the apostolic nunciature.

Archbishop Germano Penemote, the apostolic nuncio to Pakistan, thanked Travas for his stewardship during what he described as a turbulent period.

“The Church in Lahore is invited to experience this moment as a true resurrection — to emerge from chaos into new life, stepping out from the shadows into the radiant light of the risen Lord,” he said, addressing the faithful on the eve of Palm Sunday.

Catholic lay leaders say the path forward will require structural and cultural renewal.

Shahid Rehmat, executive director of the Youth Development Foundation, emphasized the need for greater accountability and transparency within Church leadership.

“The internet has changed the world. Young people are no longer dependent on, nor can they be controlled by, Church leaders,” he told EWTN News, urging authorities to make public the findings of any inquiry into Shaw’s tenure.

“Transparency will help restore trust among the faithful and strengthen the credibility of the new leadership. Christian activists — many formed within Church institutions — have often been labeled disloyal. Recognizing their role could support the Church’s mission for justice and peace,” he added.

Rehmat, a former diocesan coordinator of Catholic Youth Ministry of the Lahore Archdiocese, also expressed cautious optimism about the new archbishop’s leadership.

“He is well known in Quetta and has the potential to make the Church more accessible and outward-looking, while strengthening its struggling commissions,” he said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government’s backing off from the amendment to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act was promptly welcomed by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI).

The CBCI had mailed a protest letter on March 31 to Amit Shah, the home minister of India, who handles the sensitive subject of foreign donations, calling for the “referral of the bill to a Parliamentary Standing Committee for wider consultation.”

The bill provides for setting up a government authority to seize properties bought or developed on foreign funds if the government license is canceled or not renewed.

The CBCI letter argued that it was essential “to ensure that administrative lapses do not lead to disproportionate penalties such as asset seizure.”

With the Christian heartland of southern Kerala going to the polls on April 9 to choose its new assembly, ruling communists and opposition leaders joined senior bishops holding news conferences dubbing the amendment as “draconian, barbaric, and undemocratic.”

The Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council held an emergency online meeting March 31 and sent a powerful letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing “deep concern regarding certain provisions” within the proposed amendment.

“The amendments, as presently understood, may create possibilities for misuse of authority, which could adversely impact many voluntary organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and auxiliary institutions — including places of worship — that have been established over decades for public service, irrespective of caste or religion,” the Kerala bishops cautioned.

More than 18% of Kerala’s 37 million residents are Christians.

The bishops asked Modi to refer the amendment bill “to the appropriate Parliamentary Subject Committee for further study, stakeholder consultation, and detailed discussion.”

“We are relieved now that the bill has been postponed and it will certainly provide an opportunity to address our concerns,” Father Thomas Tharayil, the deputy secretary of the Kerala bishops, told EWTN News on April 2 from Kochi.

Contribution act licenses of several dioceses, congregations, and charitable organizations have been “canceled without any proper reason,” Tharayil said.

Since the BJP came into power in 2014, thousands of licenses of church and Christian social action groups have been canceled or not renewed along with those of secular advocacy groups, including international nonprofits like Amnesty International, Bread for the World, and Greenpeace.

The FCRA Online dashboard of the government gives details of the curbing of the license with nearly two-thirds of around 50,000 accounts either canceled or not renewed.

The BJP government in 2020, meanwhile, made it mandatory that all licensees  open a designated “FCRA Account” only at the main New Delhi branch of the government-controlled State Bank of India.

An online campaign to revise the controversial bill has drawn thousands of signatures. The campaign argues that foreign donations “play a crucial role in supporting development projects in India, with billions of dollars in aid helping to alleviate poverty, support education, and improve public health.”

About 200 Catholics gathered April 3 at the Jesus Worker Center in the Zirani area of Gazipur to watch fellow parishioners dramatize the 14 stations, from the condemnation of Jesus to his burial and resurrection.

The participants — young men, women, and elderly Catholics who work in nearby factories — performed the reenactment at the center, which serves roughly 1,700 Catholics scattered across the surrounding industrial zone.

Binodh Bless Mardy, 28, is one of them. An Indigenous Catholic, Mardy has worked at E.O.S. Textile Mills Limited for about eight years. He tries to join the Christian community in his free time and took part in the Good Friday reenactment as a narrator.

“Since I don’t get much time off during Easter and my home is far away, I try to attend all the Easter Sunday events here instead of going to my village,” Mardy told EWTN News.

Mardy’s home village is about 250 miles away, in Dinajpur Diocese in northern Bangladesh.

He said he is not always able to attend Mass during Holy Week before Easter. “When I get time off, I don’t always get to Mass. And when I try to get time off, I can’t always manage it. So I pray at home,” he said.

A center for Catholic workers

The Jesus Worker Center was established in 2009 by the Archdiocese of Dhaka for the spiritual care of Catholics working in the area’s garment factories and other private industries. About 1,700 Catholics live in different neighborhoods under the center’s pastoral reach.

Father Biswajit Bormon, assistant parish priest at the center, said he and three other priests provide spiritual care to Catholic workers across a 20-square-kilometer (about 7.7-square-mile) area.

“Laborers come here from different parts of Bangladesh and work in different companies. Most of them do not get Sunday off, so we give them more time on Fridays,” Bormon said.

During Lent, the priests visit at least seven subcenter locations to offer Mass and hear confessions. They celebrate as many of the Holy Week liturgies as possible across the area.

“Where seven or eight families can gather in a place, the priests go and celebrate the Mass and take care of them spiritually. And those who are around the center come to the center. The Way of the Living Cross is staged by those around the center,” Bormon said.

‘The joy of celebrating with family’

Milon Kormokar has worked in the Zirani area for about 15 years and currently works for Rahimafrooz, a Bangladeshi industrial company. He lives in a rented house with his wife and two children.

Kormokar does not go home for Easter. His home parish is the cathedral parish of the Diocese of Rajshahi, about 190 miles from Zirani — a six- to seven-hour bus journey.

His company gives one day of personal leave, but that is not enough to travel home, so he celebrates Easter at the center instead.

“There are many of us Christians here; we celebrate Easter Sunday with them, but the joy of celebrating with our families is not available with others,” Kormokar said.

“Priests work very hard to take care of us spiritually. They often go door to door to check on the families, pray, and hear confessions,” Kormokar told EWTN News.

Beyond spiritual care

The center’s mission extends beyond sacraments. The priests also assist Catholics who are sick and help arrange accommodation for new arrivals in the area. A day care center at the Jesus Worker Center allows Catholic parents to leave their children in care while they work.

Bangladesh’s roughly 600,000 Christians make up less than 1% of the country’s approximately 178 million people. The Catholic community, with about 400,000 members, is the single-largest Christian group and includes a large proportion from the country’s Indigenous communities.

Both Mardy and Kormokar said they believe the Church should advocate the government to declare at least two days of public holiday around Easter so that Christians who work far from home can travel to spend the feast with their families.

Bishop Socrates Mesiona, chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, said the Church monitors families of overseas workers in parishes nationwide.

This effort enables parishes to provide migrant families with pastoral care and material help, along with government agencies, he said.

Meanwhile, parishes and Church institutions are praying the “Oratio Imperata” (Latin for “Obligatory Prayer”) for peace in the Middle East in all their Masses and prayer gatherings.

In a message, Bishop Broderick Soncuaco Pabillo, the apostolic vicar of Taytay in Palawan, said migrants and others must trust more in God as the world faces oil crises amid the war in the Middle East.

He urged OFWs not to lose hope in God and support the needs of families in the Philippines.

“It is worrisome that OFWs in the Middle East and their safety and jobs are at risk. The remittances they send to their families will be greatly affected,” he said. “The price of oil and essential commodities is increasing. Let us not lose hope, because we will face this scenario with prayer and faith.”

Another bishop, Ruperto Cruz Santos of Antipolo, urged OFWs to care for their safety with precautions, avoiding risky areas and staying informed about local situations.

“Let us remain vigilant in prayer and steadfast in hope. May our voices rise to heaven, pleading for an end to violence and the coming of lasting peace,” he said.

He advised OFWs in the Middle East to stay indoors and in workplaces, avoid unnecessary travel, and follow instructions from embassy officials and government officials.

Given the current war situation, numerous OFWs face uncertainty, displacement, and separation from their families.

About 2.4 million Filipinos reside in the Middle East, mainly in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait. They work in construction, health care, and domestic services and are at high risk following the conflicts, which may lead to job loss, reduced income, and increased vulnerability to exploitation.

Nearly 1 million Filipinos live in the UAE, while Saudi Arabia has over 813,000; in Qatar, 250,000; and in Kuwait, over 106,000.

The Middle East remains a critical source of remittances for the Philippines, with a large concentration of workers in the Gulf region.

“Since the oil boom in the 1970s, Filipinos have been working there doing various skilled and semi-skilled jobs,” Jeremaiah M. Opiniano, executive director of the Institute for Migration and Development Issues, told EWTN News.

“Like during the pandemic and other episodes of conflict (e.g., Israel and Palestine), naturally affected Filipinos seek shelter. They try to tell their loved ones back home not to worry, but both parties are worried,” he added.

Plight of OPWs

The Philippines heavily depends on the Middle East for oil. The government has declared a state of national energy emergency following a rise in domestic fuel prices, which has impacted industries, transportation, logistics, trade, and agriculture. Moreover, workers and consumers face challenges in the crisis.

Christina Reys, 52, a mother of four adults from the Bicol region, is distressed because her son Rolando, a seafarer, is stuck in the Persian Gulf along with his crew, as their ship carrying oil cannot sail due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

“The ship cannot pass. We are worried for Rolando and his crew. We are seeking divine guidance and protection amid the war,” she told EWTN News.

Since the onset of the war, the crew has remained on the ship, clinging to the hope of returning home.

According to Reys, the local parish is assisting her and her family with material and spiritual guidance, providing food, shelter, and emotional support to help them cope with the challenges they face during this difficult time.

The safety and livelihood of over 2 million Filipinos in the Middle East are at risk as well.

Repatriation

The government has begun repatriating Filipinos in high-risk areas like Iraq and Syria. As of March 30, as many as 3,347 OFWs from the Middle East returned to the Philippines via chartered flights, according to the Department of Migrant Workers, who said the repatriation efforts will continue for an unforeseen time.

Once an OFW has returned home, the government provides financial aid, medical assistance, and travel fares to the individual’s home province.

If this crisis in the Middle East escalates and jobs are affected, there may be some job displacements and possibly disruptions in sending remittances, said Opiniano, who is also a professor at the Dominican-run University of Santo Tomas.

Stakeholders wishing to assist OFWs in the Middle East can do so by maintaining regular communication, helping their families save for emergencies, participating in repatriation efforts if desired, and continuing to pray.

All the more, families back home may want to maximize their memberships with the Social Security System, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG Fund should the family need resources, besides temporary aid from charity organizations and others, Opiniano explained.

Dalit Christians account for more than two-thirds of India’s approximately 35 million Christians, and the ruling has generated widespread concern in the community.

“The Supreme Court’s judgment on Dalit Christians is very much misleading to the general public, because it is an individual case and doesn’t come on our ground,” the Commission for Scheduled Castes of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) said in a March 31 statement.

On March 24, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court ruled in Chinthada Anand v. State of Andhra Pradesh that a person cannot simultaneously profess a religion other than Hinduism, Sikhism, or Buddhism and claim membership in a Scheduled Caste.

The case involved a Christian pastor born into the Madiga community, a Scheduled Caste in Andhra Pradesh, who sought protection under the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act after alleging he was assaulted with caste-based slurs. The court upheld a lower-court ruling quashing his complaint, finding that his conversion to Christianity resulted in the loss of his Scheduled Caste status.

Father Bijoy Kumar Nayak, secretary of the CBCI Commission for Dalits, told EWTN News that “this is not a verdict on our decades-old demand. The court made this observation while dismissing the appeal of a convert pastor who sought protection under the Atrocities Against Dalits.”

“We have been fighting for the last 75 years … for the constitutional rights that were denied by the presidential order of 1950. Our case is in the honorable Supreme Court … the appeal of the cause based on the constitutional rights,” the commission said.

Despite the ruling, the commission expressed confidence in an eventual resolution. “We have hope in God as well as in judiciary that the justice will be done to the Dalit Christians,” the commission’s statement said.

What is at stake

“Dalit,” literally meaning “trampled upon,” refers to communities at the bottom of India’s traditional caste hierarchy, historically treated as “untouchables” and relegated to menial jobs such as scavenging while living in segregation from upper castes.

In 1950, the Indian government issued a presidential order designating Hindu Dalits as “Scheduled Castes,” making them eligible for free education, a 15% quota in government jobs, and reserved seats in legislatures. Those protections were extended to Sikh Dalits in 1956 and Buddhist Dalits in 1990 but have been denied to Muslim and Christian Dalits.

Christian and civil rights groups have challenged the constitutionality of this exclusion. A petition filed in the Supreme Court in 2004 demanding an end to discrimination against Dalit Christians remains pending before a three-judge bench.

Franklin Caesar Thomas, the Dalit Catholic lawyer who filed the 2004 petition, told EWTN News from southern Tamil Nadu state that the latest ruling has no bearing on the broader constitutional challenge.

“This order has created a lot of confusion and fear among the people. But it does not have any legal impact,” Caesar Thomas said.

He noted that past inquiry commissions, including the Justice Ranganath Misra Commission, “have clearly stated that conversion to Christianity does not end caste discrimination in society.”

Government commission still pending

However, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party government that came to power in 2014 demanded a fresh inquiry during the continued court hearing. A new commission under Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, a former chief justice of India, was established in October 2022 to study the social status of converts. The commission has yet to submit its report, with the latest deadline set for April 10.

The concern generated by the Supreme Court’s remarks was evident in Indian Currents, a Catholic sociopolitical weekly, which published several critical articles about the verdict.

“The recent judgment of the Supreme Court to continue the marginalization of those in the peripheries based on their religious identity is revelatory in itself,” the magazine’s editorial said.

A decades-long struggle

Since 1990, when Buddhists were included in the Scheduled Caste category, the Catholic Church in India has waged vigorous campaigns for the same recognition for Christian Dalits, with Aug. 10 observed annually as a “black day” with protests across the country. Thousands of demonstrators have been brought to New Delhi each year, led by bishops, to press the demand.

During a 2013 march to Parliament, police in New Delhi sprayed dirty water from water cannons on protesting priests in cassocks and other Dalit Christian demonstrators — images that Dalit Christian advocates say illustrate the institutional bias against their cause.

The CBCI’s biennial assembly in Bangalore in February 2026 reiterated the Church’s position.

“The denial of rights to Dalit Christians continues for decades as an indirect form of discrimination, despite numerous appeals for equality and justice. We express our concerns about the denial of rights to the minorities, as such acts weaken the democratic fabric of our society,” the assembly’s statement said.

“Maundy Thursday is a very joyful day for our priests. It is the day of the priesthood and the day of the institution of the holy Eucharist,” said Monsignor Gabriel Corraya of the Archdiocese of Dhaka in an interview with EWTN News. “On this day, Jesus shared the Last Supper with his 12 disciples and entrusted them with his priestly life and ministry.”

Corraya, 69, said Holy Thursday holds special spiritual importance because it calls priests back to the origins of their vocation. The day, he explained, renews not only memories but also commitments.

“For us priests, Maundy Thursday is very important,” he said. “On this day, we renew our priestly promises before our bishop. It reminds us that we are participants in the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ.”

He said the ritual washing of the feet, a defining feature of Holy Thursday liturgies, reveals the heart of priestly service. Recalling Jesus kneeling before his disciples, Corraya said the act remains a lasting lesson in humility and action.

“Jesus came into the world to serve,” he said. “By washing the feet of his disciples, he showed that service must be proven not only through words but through actions. Though he was a teacher and master, he washed their feet. To me, no act of service is small. Washing feet is perhaps one of the most human things we can do.”

‘A blessed year’

This year marks a milestone in Corraya’s own priestly journey. On Jan. 24, he was elevated to the rank of monsignor, an honor conferred by Pope Leo XIV. He describes the title not as personal distinction but as an acknowledgment of service.

Ordained a priest in Dhaka in 1986, he was among a group of deacons ordained during the pontificate of St. John Paul II. In 2026, he marks 40 years of priesthood.

“This is truly a blessed year in my life,” he said. “The greatest gift I have received is the priesthood itself. The monsignorship is simply a recognition of that service. As I wear this attire, I pray not for the garment, but that God may clothe my heart with humility, faith, and love.”

Forming bishops

For many years, Corraya served as rector of the major seminary in Dhaka, forming generations of priests in Bangladesh. Several of his former students have since become bishops, a source of gratitude rather than pride, he said.

“I always loved seeing one of my students ordained as a priest,” he said. “When one of my students, Sebastian Tudu, became bishop of the Diocese of Dinajpur, I was very happy. Even today, though he is a bishop, he treats me with great respect as his former rector.”

Corraya currently serves as parish priest of Golla Parish and vice president of Caritas Bangladesh. In those roles, he sees both the wide reach of priestly ministry and its growing challenges in a rapidly changing society.

“There are many areas of service in this country, and priests are involved in many responsibilities,” he said. “One major challenge today is the identity of the priest. People’s way of thinking has changed. Often what we expect does not happen. Living our priesthood faithfully in the modern era can involve suffering.”

He added that priests must also examine themselves honestly. “Many times, we priests are unable to give full witness to the ideal of Jesus,” he said. “Christians come to Jesus when they see that ideal lived. His service speaks louder than words.”

Social media, he said, has become both a challenge and an opportunity. “This is the era of social media,” he said. “If priests do not update themselves, it becomes difficult. Sometimes the distance between priests and the faithful grows, and this is a challenge we must address.”

To respond, senior priests gathered in Dhaka on March 25 to reflect on adapting to contemporary realities. “We discussed how we can update ourselves with the times, and that effort is ongoing,” he said.

A minority Church

Although Catholics remain a small minority in Bangladesh, Corraya said priests generally enjoy peaceful coexistence with members of other religions. “We have good relationships with people of other faiths,” he said. “Occasionally, isolated extremist incidents cause concern, but overall we share a bond of harmony.”

Bangladesh faces a modest shortage of priests, especially as new parishes open and missionary needs expand. “Fewer young people are entering seminaries,” he said. “We are addressing this by appointing vocation promoters to encourage young people to consider the priesthood.”

As the Church observes Holy Thursday — often called Priests’ Day — Corraya offered a message to clergy worldwide: “Priests are part of God’s great plan. Priesthood is a precious gift from God. My prayer is that all priests may remain healthy and walk closely with the faithful entrusted to them.”

The Bangladesh Christian Association organized the demonstration in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka, calling on Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to add Easter to the government’s official holiday calendar.

Easter Sunday falls on April 5 this year. Bangladesh’s roughly 600,000 Christians — less than 1% of the country’s approximately 170 million people — currently receive only one public holiday for a Christian feast: Christmas Day.

Catholic bishops support the demand

The Catholic Church in Bangladesh has also voiced support for the campaign.

Archbishop Bejoy N. D’Cruze, OMI, of Dhaka, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh, expressed his solidarity with the demand for a holiday on Easter in an interview with EWTN News on March 30.

“Since we do not have a government holiday on Easter Sunday, we cannot all celebrate this day together. Many cannot go to the villages, and we cannot all observe the religious customs that are in place before Easter,” D’Cruze told EWTN News.

“I also demand from the government to declare a public holiday on Easter so that we Christians can celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ together in family, social, and religious ways,” the archbishop added.

‘A heavy heart’

Bangladesh Christian Association President Nirmal Rozario said the demand for the holiday is long-standing.

“We have come here with a heavy heart and are standing in front of the Press Club. Easter Sunday is very important to us after Christmas. Jesus is the only person in the history of the world who has risen after death. We are demanding a public holiday on this important and significant day, Easter Sunday,” Rozario said.

He added that the Christian community “has made considerable contributions to the formation of Bangladesh” in the areas of education, health services, and development, and questioned why the government has not granted the holiday.

Rozario called on Rahman to add Easter Sunday to the government holiday calendar beginning next year and to grant a holiday for this year through an executive order.

Unequal holiday allocations

Muslims, who make up roughly 91% of the population according to the 2022 census, receive multiple public holidays for their major religious celebrations, including several days for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. Hindus, who constitute about 8% of the population, have two days off for their main religious festival, Durga Puja.

Christians, however, have only one public holiday — Christmas Day.

Manju Maria Palma, secretary of The Christian Cooperative Credit Union Ltd. in Dhaka, a 48,000-member organization, was present at the human chain.

“Christ was resurrected on this day. This day is very important. If this public holiday is given, not only the Christian community will benefit but also our brothers and sisters of other religions will understand the significance of this day,” Palma said.

Lawmaker expresses hope

EWTN News contacted at least three members of Parliament, including Abdul Aziz, a member of Parliament from the Natore-4 constituency, which includes a historic Christian settlement.

Aziz told EWTN News: “Since we respect all religious ceremonies, including Christian activities, and since Christians have expressed their demands, our government will definitely consider the matter.”

He also expressed hope that the government will soon discuss the issue of a holiday on Easter Sunday.

After the government of recently elected Prime Minister Tarique Rahman of Bangladesh announced on March 14 that it would offer a monthly allowance for priests, the Bangladesh Catholic Bishops’ Conference has officially decided to decline it, according to Crux.

“We humbly decline to accept the proposed allowance for priests,” said Archbishop Bejoy D’Cruze of Dhaka, president of the conference.

The allowance is meant for all clergy, no matter the religion or denomination, and is the first in the country of 180 million inhabitants — only about 600,000 of whom are Christian.

The bishops said they were grateful for the government’s effort but that they prefer to rely on the generosity of the faithful to continue their spiritual and pastoral work.

Seoul archbishop delivers Easter message urging Christians to ‘defend life amid war’

In an Easter message, Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taick, who leads the Archdiocese of Seoul in South Korea, urged Christians to “defend life amid war, suffering, and moral uncertainty,” calling the faithful to make concrete, life-giving choices rooted in the hope of the Resurrection.

LiCAS news reported that Chung quoted from the Gospel of Luke as well as from Pope Leo XIV and urged the faithful “‘to remember all who suffer, pray for them, and stand in solidarity,’ especially those facing threats to life amid war and violence.”

Chung called for “the faithful to become witnesses of the Resurrection” and highlighted the upcoming World Youth Day in Seoul in 2027, saying it “will be a time of grace for us to newly experience the joy of the Resurrection.”

Young Catholics in Central Java trained in Laudato Si’

Young Catholics recently gathered in Yogyakarta, Central Java, from various cities, including Surabaya, Jakarta, Cilacap, Surakarta, Semarang, Malang, and Yogyakarta for a three-day training aimed at “forming a new generation of ecological advocates grounded in faith,” according to LiCAS news.

The training was provided by the Laudato Si’ Movement Indonesia in collaboration with the Catholic Atma Jaya University Yogyakarta as part of a broader effort to teach young people how to be ecologically aware and responsible while also deeply grounded in their Catholic faith.

Indonesian becomes 57th language of Holy See’s official news platform

Vatican News has announced that Indonesian will become the 57th language by which news will be available on Vatican News, the news portal of the Holy See. The decision, made on March 25 with a Memorandum of Understanding agreement between representatives of Indonesia and the Holy See’s Dicastery for Communication, will mean “more people will be able to receive the pope’s message in their own language.”

Angola opens registration for 2027 World Youth Day in South Korea

Angola, where Pope Leo will visit April 18–21, has officially launched the registration process for participation in World Youth Day (WYD) 2027 scheduled to take place in Seoul, South Korea, with Church leaders urging young people to approach the international gathering as a profound spiritual experience rather than a simple opportunity for travel, ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, reported Thursday.

Speaking during the unveiling of the official registration website on Tuesday, March 24, Francisco Bernardo, a member of the national organizing committee, underscored that participation in WYD is fundamentally an experience of faith.

Second church built in Mosul after ISIS

In Iraq’s Christian heartland of Qaraqosh, the recent consecration of St. Ephrem Syriac Catholic Church and its altar has become more than a liturgical milestone, according to ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News.

Syriac Catholic Archbishop Benedictus Younan Hano of Mosul said opening the church in a time of war is itself an answer to destruction, a declaration that Christians remain committed to building rather than tearing down.

Celebrated on the feast of the Annunciation, March 25, the dedication of the second church to be built after ISIS occupation also carried a message of perseverance for Iraq’s Christians, who continue to affirm their roots and presence in their historic homeland. Pope Leo XIV sent his blessing for the occasion, encouraging the faithful to remain steadfast in faith and hope as they rebuild their churches, their country, and their future.

Freedom restrictions in Christian area in Syria

In Damascus, Syria, a sit-in at Bab Touma drew Syrians from different religious and social backgrounds who said they were pushing back against measures they see as an assault on public freedoms and the country’s plural character.

ACI MENA reported that protesters insisted their action was not about alcohol, despite public speculation, but about what they described as an expanding pattern of interference in personal life and an overreach of authority during Syria’s transitional period.

Their slogans rejected sectarian sorting of neighborhoods and warned against imposing a single social model on a historically diverse society. Church leaders were largely absent from the protest, though the Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Bosra, Hauran, and Jabal al-Arab issued a statement cautioning that such decisions risk undermining citizenship, social cohesion, and the long-standing unity of Damascus.

The Diocese of Joypurhat was established March 25, carved out of territories belonging to the dioceses of Rajshahi and Dinajpur and made a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Dhaka. The announcement was made by Archbishop Kevin Randall, apostolic nuncio to Bangladesh.

Father Paul Gomes, 63, a priest of the Diocese of Rajshahi and rector of the Holy Spirit Major Seminary in Banani, Dhaka, has been appointed the diocese’s first bishop.

Gomes was born in the Diocese of Rajshahi on Sept. 3, 1962. He studied philosophy and theology at the Holy Spirit Major Seminary and earned a bachelor of arts degree from Notre Dame College in Dhaka. He later completed a master’s degree and licentiate in dogmatic theology at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines. He was ordained a priest on Dec. 29, 1992, and has served in pastoral and academic roles across the Rajshahi Diocese ever since, including as vicar general and rector of the Good Shepherd Cathedral in Rajshahi before returning to seminary leadership.

Speaking to Radio Veritas after the announcement, Gomes said he would work to strengthen the faith, education, moral and social values, and overall development of the faithful in the new diocese.

“There is no infrastructure here except for the parishes. I have to build a new bishop’s house and other infrastructure, and I hope to complete it with everyone’s cooperation,” Gomes said.

‘An Easter gift from Pope Leo XIV’

The new Joypurhat Diocese has 10 parishes and two quasi-parishes, serving approximately 23,000 Catholics, the majority of whom belong to Indigenous communities.

“I think the new bishop and the diocese are an Easter gift from Pope Leo XIV to us. I hope the new bishop will carry out his pastoral work properly with our laypeople,” said Hilarius Mardy, a father of two.

Mardy told EWTN News that lay Catholics would provide every kind of support within their means to the new bishop, but he added that the development of the diocese would require cooperation from Catholics across Bangladesh, not only within the new diocese.

Questions over Indigenous representation

With the erection of Joypurhat, Bangladesh now has nine Catholic dioceses. Less than 1% of Bangladesh’s approximately 180 million people are Christian; the country’s roughly 400,000 Catholics include a large proportion from Indigenous communities.

However, the appointment has prompted some differences of opinion. A 55-year-old Catholic who asked not to be named said an Indigenous bishop would have encouraged more Indigenous people to enter religious life.

“I think the bishop who has been appointed is qualified, but was there no qualified Indigenous priest? If not, then it is a failure of the Church,” the Catholic said.

Although Gomes has been formally appointed, his episcopal consecration is scheduled for June 5 in Joypurhat, Chancellor Father Premu T. Rozario of the Diocese of Rajshahi told EWTN News. Since no bishop’s house yet exists, the installation will take place at a local parish church near the city of Joypurhat.

“I am very sad to hear about the death of Harish Rana, first victim of euthanasia in the country,” Archbishop Raphy Manjaly, the chairman of the doctrinal commission of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, told EWTN News March 26.

“Catholic Church considers life sacred from conception to natural death. No one has the right to take the life of other human being,” said Manjaly, archbishop of Agra, a city in northern Uttar Pradesh state known for the Taj Mahal.

“It is strange and a contradiction that the medical science that is supposed to support life assisted to take away life,” lamented Manjaly, referring to the March 11 order of the Supreme Court that “the medical treatment, including clinically assisted nutrition and hydration (CANH) being administered to the applicant, shall be withdrawn/withheld.”

Rana, an engineering student, had been in a vegetative state since 2013 following a fall from the balcony of his fourth-floor accommodation.

“The Church is shocked and appalled by this verdict,” Manjaly said. A previous Supreme Court bench, led by the chief justice of India, had rejected the same family’s demand for euthanasia.

Calls for palliative care

Acknowledging that “it is difficult for the family and I do not condemn them,” the prelate said: “What is required is more and more compassionate institutions to offer palliative care to terminally ill patients. [The] Church has several institutions. There are many people of goodwill also doing it.”

He cited the 2011 verdict of India’s apex court in a similar case — a plea for mercy killing for Aruna Shanbaug, a nurse in a comatose condition for 37 years after a brutal assault in a Mumbai hospital while on duty. In that ruling, the Supreme Court said: “Right to life guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution does not include the right to die.”

Shanbaug was 25 in November 1973 when a sweeper at the hospital where she worked sexually assaulted her and strangled her with a dog chain, interrupting the flow of oxygen to her brain and inducing the coma.

The mercy killing plea “to die with dignity” was then opposed by the attorney general of India — the highest law officer in the government — as well as the staff of King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital in Mumbai, where Shanbaug had been leading a “persistent vegetative life” under their care. She died of pneumonia in 2015.

“The whole country must learn the meaning of dedication and sacrifice from the KEM hospital staff. In her 37 years [of comatose existence], Aruna has not developed a single bed sore,” the Supreme Court said at the time.

Pro-life activists raise alarm

“A deep sense of unease is spreading across sections of Indian society following recent developments that could redefine the meaning of life and dignity in the country,” Sunny Kattukaran, one of the country’s prominent lay pro-life activists, told EWTN News.

“India has upheld life as sacred for ages — protected not only by law but also by deeply rooted cultural and spiritual values. Yet today, there are growing concerns that evolving legal interpretations and scientific advancements are moving faster than the ethical boundaries that once guided them,” said Kattukaran, who leads Christian Movement of India with pro-life activities.

With the media glorifying the decision of the Rana family to donate his corneas and heart valves for transplant, Kattukaran cautioned that “more and more such euthanasia demands will come up now.”

Several news outlets hailed the Rana family’s organ donation in headlines like “First euthanasia case sparks organ donation push” that have gone viral on social media.

“The Church welcomes organ donation, which is a noble gesture. But nobody should be put to death for harvesting organs,” Manjaly cautioned.

“Government and all those who have a duty to prevent abuses and crimes in this field need to be ever vigilant, including the media,” he added.

In a March 23 message, Archbishop Joseph Arshad of Islamabad-Rawalpindi praised the army “for their sacrifices in defending the country’s borders, saying the nation will always remember the bravery and dedication of its soldiers.”

“The country remains secure due to their unmatched sacrifices, allowing citizens to live in freedom,” he added.

The statement coincided with Pakistan National Day and came a week after Kabul accused Islamabad of striking a drug rehabilitation hospital in the Afghan capital, killing and injuring patients undergoing treatment.

Pakistan declared “open war” with Afghanistan at the end of February after months of escalating border clashes. Airstrikes by Pakistan targeted suspected militants, while Afghanistan’s Taliban reportedly responded with drone attacks.

Both sides have traded blame for the violence, with Islamabad accusing Kabul of sheltering “anti-Pakistan terrorists,” particularly Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, which it holds responsible for attacks including a recent suicide bombing at a mosque in the capital.

Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said a temporary ceasefire — from March 19–24 — was arranged at the request of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey to ease tensions.

Catholic bishops call for dialogue

Bishop Samson Shukardin of Hyderabad, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Pakistan, supported the ceasefire.

“We call for peace and an end to war. Together with Pope Leo XIV, we urge both sides to sit and dialogue. At the same time, we stand in unity with the nation and all government departments, including the army,” he told EWTN News.

“Our loyalties lie with the progress of the country and the safety of our borders. We call for unity. Except on political issues, the Church must comment on military matters to guide the community along the right path. The state is also keen to hear the perspectives of religious leaders.”

Activist urges balanced approach

Luke Victor, a Christian advocate and human rights activist, endorsed the bishops’ call for unity but emphasized the need for a balanced approach.

“We appreciate defensive actions of our military but denounce overreach into politics. Likewise, we condemn enforced disappearances and election manipulation. Truth, justice, and human rights must remain our first priority,” he said.

Pakistan’s military has long been accused of intruding into civilian affairs, having directly ruled the country for nearly half of its 78-year history while continuing to wield significant influence behind the scenes.

Relations soured since 2021

Relations between Islamabad and Kabul have soured since Pakistan initially welcomed the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021 as the “logical conclusion” of the U.S. withdrawal. The Pakistani government now accuses Taliban authorities of sheltering militants, a charge Kabul denies.

Pakistan was ranked the most terrorism-affected country in the Global Terrorism Index 2026, recording 1,139 deaths, 1,595 injuries, and 1,045 attacks in 2025 — a nearly 6% rise in fatalities and a sharp increase in hostage-taking cases.

Afghan Christians face risk

In November 2023, Victor joined politicians in filing a Supreme Court petition challenging a caretaker government directive to deport all “illegal immigrants,” a policy seen as targeting Pakistan’s estimated 4.4 million Afghan residents. The court disposed of the petition in January 2025.

“Many Afghan converts to Christianity had served with U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan. They could not openly declare their faith because of potential stigma or reprisals from their Muslim families,” Victor said.

“Afghan Christians should have been placed under the care of Church authorities as refugees. Their forced deportation to the Taliban was a death sentence. While praising the military, Church leaders must also demand protection for such minority groups.”

On a recent Sunday at Tejgaon Church in Dhaka, Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) missionary Brother Lucio Beninati invited parishioners to join Potho Shishu Sheba Sangathon, a volunteer-run ministry he founded nearly 20 years ago to accompany children who sleep in rail stations, bus terminals, and city sidewalks. His appeal moved dozens. In the weeks that followed, more than 50 Catholics submitted their names to begin weekly service.

“You can almost see children lying on the sidewalks everywhere in Dhaka,” said Catholic volunteer Mukta Rozario, who joined the ministry for the first time this Lent. “I always wished I could do something for them. Today, I finally played with them, talked with them, and felt so much joy. I hope to return every week.”

The ministry works with some of the most vulnerable children in Bangladesh — girls and boys who have fled violence at home, been abandoned by parents, or migrated alone to the city in search of work. With no guardians, many end up sleeping beside train tracks or market stalls, surviving through begging, carrying loads, or becoming entangled in petty crime, drug trafficking, or exploitation.

Teacher Maria Baroi, another new volunteer, said her time with the children transformed her Lenten journey. “These are not ‘street children’ to me. They are children living in helplessness,” she said. “If even one of them returns to a stable life because someone cared, that is a blessing.”

Volunteers gather at railway stations — especially Dhaka’s Kamalapur — to offer informal lessons, games, art activities, storytelling, and emotional support. They also provide basic health care, accompany sick children to hospitals, and help reunite those who want to return home. If returning home is not possible, the team arranges shelter in orphanages or rehabilitation centers.

“In the eyes of society, these children are often rejected,” said volunteer Samuel Mondol. “But serving them is pure joy. This is selfless service, and I want to continue it long after Lent.”

A mission rooted in love

Beninati, a 70-year-old Italian missionary, has spent decades working with abandoned children. Before coming to Bangladesh, he served seven years in Brazil, where he first learned street-child outreach. He later spent 24 years in Bangladesh before relocating again in 2022. From Jan. 6 to March 3 this year, he returned to Dhaka to strengthen the volunteer network.

“When parents abandon them, there is no one left to care,” he said. “But love can change a life. Good behavior, compassion, and accompaniment — these are the tools that bring a child back to normal life. Without love, no one can return.”

The organization operates without foreign funding. Every cost — from medical emergencies to sports equipment to educational materials — is covered by the volunteers themselves.

One of the most moving testimonies involves Tamim, a young Muslim who once worked as a porter at Kamalapur Railway Station. He lost contact with his family and suffered a severe accident while getting off a train, leading to the amputation of one leg. Volunteers helped him receive treatment at the Center for Rehabilitation of the Paralyzed, where he also received a prosthetic limb and enrolled in mobile phone repair training. Last year, he played with his team in the National Wheelchair Basketball Championship — and they won.

“If it weren’t for Brother Lucio and the other volunteers, I would still be sleeping at the station,” Tamim said.

Another child, Muslim Rakib, fled home at age 8 after being beaten by his stepmother. Now 10, he regularly meets volunteers at the station. “Here we play and draw,” he said. “We get medicine. As long as they are here, we feel safe.” He hopes to go home soon.

A ministry for all religions

Although the ministry was founded by a Catholic missionary, nearly 90% of its volunteers are Muslim. The service has become a bridge of harmony in a country where Christians are a small minority.

Muslim volunteer Shafiqul Islam said the interreligious unity is one of the group’s greatest strengths. “Serving these children feels like serving God,” he said. “Here we are Muslims, Hindus, and Christians. We respect each other’s faith and work together for the welfare of children. Our harmony has grown through this service.”

Catholic teacher Bridget Corraya, who joined the ministry 20 years ago, said her motivation comes from her own story. “I grew up in an orphanage run by the Congregation of Our Lady of the Missions [RNDM Sisters],” she said. “I received so much love. Serving street children is how I repay that gift.”

Transforming Lent through service

For many Catholics in Dhaka, this Lent has taken on new meaning through their encounters with the children. Playing, teaching, and simply listening have become acts of penance, charity, and spiritual renewal.

“Lent is not only about sacrifice or fasting,” Beninati reminded the faithful. “It is also about serving — especially those who have no one.”

As more volunteers join the mission, the ministry hopes to expand its work across Dhaka. But its heart remains simple: one encounter at a time, one child at a time, offering dignity to those the world often overlooks.

The four Catholic brothers were among more than 150 Christians arrested by police days after twin suicide attacks on St. John’s Catholic Church and Christ Church on March 15, 2015, which killed at least 19 people and injured hundreds. The attacks were claimed by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, an offshoot of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.

The bombings sparked mob violence that mistakenly killed two Muslim men, who were later identified and detained through raids and video evidence.

Masih, now 28, said the trauma of prison changed him forever.

“They hurled abuses at us, beat us with strips cut from vehicle tires, and in jail we were given old dried roti [flat bread],” he told EWTN News. “Water from the greasy toilet taps was served for drinking. Family meetings were allowed only after a month. It was a hellhole on earth.”

He and his brother Sadaqat Perwaiz — popularly known as Monty — were released after six months in Central Jail Lahore. One brother, however, remained among 42 Christians and one Muslim charged in the lynching case.

Devastation beyond prison

The protracted court proceedings devastated the family’s four-decade-old milk business, saddled them with mounting debts, and forced the sale of their 680-square-foot home.

Their worries deepened after two Christian inmates, Inderyas Masih, 36, and Usman Shaukat, 29, died in custody under suspicious circumstances during the trial. Police claimed tuberculosis and a heart attack, respectively, while families and the British Pakistani Christian Association reported bruises and unexplained injuries.

In January 2020, an anti-terrorism court acquitted the remaining 39 accused after blood money (Diyat) of 25 million rupees ($89,800) was paid to the victims’ families by Pastor Anwar Fazal, a prominent Christian televangelist.

Under the Qisas and Diyat Ordinance 1990, introduced during Gen. Ziaul Haq’s Islamization process, courts calculate compensation based on the financial capacity of the convict and the victim’s heirs, with a minimum value linked to 30,630 grams of silver.

Monty died of a heart attack in 2022, leaving behind two children aged 10 and 14. His faded poster still hangs in front of the family’s closed milk shop.

“He was a stout man, known for his strong community ties and friendly nature in our neighborhood. Prison left him very lean and weakened by an infection that caused his legs to swell beneath the knees and bleed,” Masih said.

Today, Sunil Masih sells vegetables from a wooden cart in front of the same shop, now leased to a real estate dealer. He hopes to marry once his new business stabilizes.

‘The gift of a hero’

On March 15, police guarded churches in Youhanabad, which houses more than 150,000 Christians, as the community observed the 11th bombing anniversary.

At St. John’s, parishioners lit candles and placed flowers beneath a banner honoring Akash Bashir, the 20-year-old security volunteer who died preventing a suicide bomber from entering the church during that Sunday Mass.

“Salute and gratitude to the martyrs of Youhanabad,” read the banner near the Marian grotto. In January 2022, the Vatican recognized Bashir as a servant of God, making him the first Pakistani Catholic on the path to canonization.

Father Akram Javed, parish priest of St. John’s, thanked police for security.

“A group of 30 local volunteers carry on Akash’s mission, protecting the church and worshippers. The bombings were a terrible tragedy, but in that darkness, we received the gift of a hero,” he told EWTN News.

‘The bombing was a national tragedy’

Pentecostal politician Aslam Pervaiz Sahotra, who spent five years in prison, sees the anniversary as a moment of reflection for Pakistan’s 3.3 million Christians, many of whom continue to face discrimination, economic hardship, and lingering trauma.

“The bombing was a national tragedy from which the authorities learnt nothing. We continue to suffer losses due to terrorism, with sporadic attacks targeting minority communities and security forces,” said the 65-year-old head of the Massiha Millat Party (Christian Nation Party).

He alleged prison authorities tried to manipulate him, introducing Muslim prisoners to persuade him to stay passive.

“Despite back pain from four displaced vertebrae, my time in prison strengthened my faith and resolve for activism. The trend of arresting Christians for alleged blasphemy to appease angry crowds will continue unless investigations are conducted on merit,” he added.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, in its 2025 annual report, said religious freedom in Pakistan continued to deteriorate, recommending it be designated a “country of particular concern,” citing blasphemy-related prosecutions, mob violence, and forced conversions targeting Christians and other minorities, and a growing climate of fear and impunity.

“Bangladesh is an underdeveloped country and due to financial reasons, many people in this country do not go to the doctor at the primary stage of any health issue, only when the problem becomes big — and this is the case with tuberculosis patients,” said Italian Sister Roberta Pignone, 55, a member of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate, popularly known as the PIME sisters.

Sister Roberta has been serving tuberculosis (TB) patients at the Damien Hospital in the Khulna Diocese, in the coastal area of Bangladesh, for about 25 years. People in the coastal area constantly struggle with natural disasters and salinity to survive, and they often avoid seeking care for minor illnesses.

“On behalf of the hospital, we distribute awareness leaflets in various public places, and if someone has symptoms of TB, we bring their samples and test them. It is seen that about 90% have tuberculosis and they are not aware,” Sister Roberta told EWTN News.

In this hospital, patients are provided with free accommodation and food, and if someone can afford it, they pay some expenses to the hospital.

Social stigma and late diagnosis

Sister Roberta said that although the Bangladesh government maintains there are not a lot of tuberculosis patients in the country, many cases still go undetected. She also noted that many doctors fail to recognize tuberculosis symptoms in patients because the disease is not given priority by the government.

Sister Roberta’s friends and relatives from her home country, Italy, and from other countries provide financial support for the hospital’s operations.

“I have not had any financial problems yet; I am continuing God’s work in some way or another. As long as my community keeps me here, I will work happily,” Sister Roberta added.

The Maria Bambina Sisters of Rajshahi Diocese run the Tuberculosis Shelter, which was established by the PIME Missionary Fathers in 1989. Initially, the shelter was run with funding from the PIME Fathers, but now it is operated entirely by the sisters.

Sister Augustina Tudu, 70, has been serving tuberculosis patients at this shelter for about 22 years. Initially, various groups of sisters and fathers would go to villages and bring tuberculosis patients for treatment, but now the patients themselves come for treatment with the help of parish priests and sisters.

Medicine, food, and shelter

In Bangladesh, tuberculosis and leprosy are still not given importance in the early stages. In many cases, these diseases, which are viewed differently by society, are not disclosed, Sister Augustina said.

“We used to provide free accommodation and food to tuberculosis patients, but now we are not able to do that anymore due to the economic crisis,” Sister Augustina told EWTN News. “After the PIME Fathers left this hospital, we are going through a lot of financial crises; in that case, we have to take some money from the patients.”

The TB shelter not only provides medicines but also nutritious food to the patients, “because TB is a disease that requires not only medicines but also nutritious food, and these patients are poor and they cannot eat that kind of food at home,” Sister Augustina added.

Most of the Christian patients from the northern dioceses of Rajshahi and Dinajpur come to this TB shelter for treatment. Of the nearly 150,000 Catholics in these two dioceses, most are from the Indigenous community and are financially poor.

“The Indigenous are naturally in financial crisis and lead an ignorant life, as a result of which TB or tuberculosis is more common among them. We are doing what we can, but due to the financial crisis, we are not able to help them completely,” Sister Augustina said.

According to the National TB Control Programme of the Bangladesh Health Department, 278,607 tuberculosis patients were identified in the country from January to October 2025.

The country’s goal is to eliminate tuberculosis by 2035. Its data indicates that deaths from tuberculosis have been reduced by 90% since 2015.

After the World Health Organization declared tuberculosis a global emergency in 1993, the health department has been working with nongovernmental organizations to control the disease. Tuberculosis diagnosis, treatment, and medicines are all provided free of charge. Still, the tuberculosis situation in the country has not improved.

“We protest this move. We have urged the government to repeal this law. Copies of our [Western Regional Bishops’ Council] statement have been sent to the chief minister and governor of the state,” Archbishop Elias Gonsalves of Nagpur, chairman of the Western Regional Bishops’ Council, told EWTN News on March 23.

“Far from safeguarding religious freedom, this law, in its present form, effectively undermines the very right it claims to protect, i.e., the freedom to choose and profess one’s religion, as guaranteed under Articles 19, 21, and 25 of the Constitution of India,” the Western Regional Bishops’ Council said in its March 19 statement.

Expressing “deep disappointment and strong protest” against the bill, the bishops’ council said sections of the legislation “amount to a direct and unjustified interference in the legitimate religious practices of the Catholic Church, particularly its Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults program. It is equally disheartening that the ruling party has passed this bill [on March 16] without adequate consultation with the communities most affected by it.”

A threat to conscience

The statement pointed out that sections of the legislation “mandate that any individual intending to convert must submit a notice 60 days in advance to the competent authority. ... This provision intrudes deeply into the personal domain of conscience and belief, opening the door to scrutiny, suspicion, and harassment.”

“This section, like most sections in the bill, is manifestly arbitrary and violative of individual’s right to privacy protected by Article 21 [under Fundamental Rights],” the statement cautioned.

Given the serious concern, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India distributed the statement to media across the country.

Laity and civil society

“We are very disappointed that the Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Bill was passed in haste and rammed through the Assembly owing to the brute majority of the BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] government,” said Dolphy D’Souza, spokesperson of the Bombay Catholic Sabha — a lay forum of the Archdiocese of Bombay.

“One of our demands was to give opportunity to discuss the provisions of the bill, some of which are draconian, which has the propensity to be misused against minorities, women, and interfaith marriages, as is evident from states where this law has been implemented,” D’Souza said in a March 21 statement.

“This law will be a tool used to harass minorities, women, and interfaith marriages and those who want to convert out of their personal choice voluntarily. While the bill is titled Freedom of Religion Act, it curtails this fundamental right,” D’Souza told EWTN News.

“This bill also criminalizes all charitable works including imparting education under the vague terms of ‘allurement.’ It will give unbridled power to [Hindu] vigilante groups and ‘suo motu’ powers to police to harass and intimidate citizens, encouraging violence and attacks,” he cautioned.

A week before the legislation was passed, a coalition of 35 civil rights, social action, Muslim, and Christian groups had condemned the bill as a “threat to constitutional freedom.”

“Article 25 guarantees the freedom to profess, practice, and propagate religion, which includes the right to adopt and change one’s faith,” the groups asserted.

“The political agenda behind this legislation is to polarize and divide communities on religious lines,” said Irfan Engineer, who heads the Center for Study of Society and Secularism, one of the groups that signed the statement.

Hindu nationalists, Engineer said, are using the propaganda of “love jihad” — marriage for the purpose of conversion — to defend the legislation. He pointed out, however, that “the committee appointed by the state government studied 152 interreligious marriages and found no conversion motive.”

The 2026 USCIRF annual report about conditions related to religious freedom in 2025 urged the U.S. government to designate India as a “country of particular concern” for allegedly “engaging in and tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations.”

The report also called for targeted sanctions on India’s external intelligence agency RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS, translated “National Volunteer Corps”), known as the fountainhead of Hindu nationalism.

“We have taken note of the latest report… We categorically reject its motivated and biased characterization of India. For several years now, USCIRF has persisted in presenting a distorted and selective picture of India,” Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, said March 16.

“Instead of persisting with selective criticism of India, USCIRF would do well to reflect on the disturbing incidents of vandalism and attacks on Hindu temples in the United States, selective targeting of India, and growing intolerance and intimidation of members of the Indian diaspora in the United States, which merit serious attention,” Jaiswal said.

Jesuit Father Cedric Prakash, who is based in western Gujarat state, reacted to the government’s rejection of the USCIRF report, telling EWTN News on March 17: “The Indian government is in its normal denial mode. Politicians of the ruling regime and their caged parrot bureaucrats have mainstreamed the art of lying.”

He pointed out: “What USCIRF has stated and has been doing so all these years are incontrovertible facts. There is sufficient documented evidence to prove their charges.”

Despite the government denial, the ecumenical United Christian Forum (UCF), which has been documenting atrocities against Christians, has recorded a steady increase in the number of atrocities against Christians since the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came into power in 2014, recording 834 in 2024 compared with fewer than 140 in 2014.

“It is not hidden that the splinter groups of RSS are involved in creating an atmosphere of hatred against religious minorities, especially Muslims and Christians,” A.C. Michael, a Catholic and UCF coordinator, told EWTN News.

Following widespread violence against Christians, the UCF wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in early 2026. “In 2024, the UCF recorded a total of 834 incidents of violence against Christians, revealing a disturbing trend in religious persecution. As of November 2025, a staggering 706 incidents targeting Christians …. have been recorded by the UCF,” the letter said.

As incidents of anti-Christmas violence started pouring in, Archbishop Andrews Thazhath, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), sent a video appeal on Christmas Eve to Modi and chief ministers across the country “to ensure strict enforcement of the law and provide proactive protection to Christian communities.”

“Today, it is with deep pain and concern that I speak over the disturbing rise in attacks on Christians in several parts of our country. During this holy Christmas season, we are pained to hear about it,” Thazhath said in his video message.

The Feb. 3–10 biennial assembly of over 200 bishops in India at Bangalore also reiterated this concern in its final statement: “As many innocent individuals are incarcerated based on unfounded allegations of forceful religious conversions, we strongly demand the repealing of legislations which are inconsistent with religious freedom and right to privacy.”

“All persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practice, and propagate religion,” the CBCI asserted, quoting Article 25 of the constitution.

However, hundreds have been arrested, including nuns and priests, under the draconian anti-conversion laws.

On March 16, the Supreme Court of India quashed a conversion case against a youth for praying inside his house with his friend. The young man was imprisoned for days in 2023 in northern Uttar Pradesh state, according to Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF India). Later, the man’s father was also charged with conversion, and the family petitioned various courts for three years, eventually ending up at the Supreme Court, where the case was dropped.

“The so-called Freedom of Religion Acts popularly known as ‘anti-conversion laws’ adopted in most of BJP-ruled states are being implemented under pressure from RSS in the name of forceful conversions. Till today there has not been a single conviction in any court of law in India,” Michael said.

According to Michael, the “call for a ban on the activities of RSS is nothing new” — India’s first home minister, Sardar Patel, as well as Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Narasimha Rao all banned RSS “citing dangerous activities and acts of violence, including arson, robbery, and murder.”

Prakash, who has spoken up consistently for victims of the 2002 attack on Muslims following the torching of a train carrying Hindu pilgrims, said: “On every global parameter, India has reached an abysmal low. The government is so rankled that it even tries to defend the likes of the RSS speaks volumes.”

“The least the government should do is in all humility and honesty to accept the truth and take corrective measures immediately,” he urged.

The updated text states: “We acknowledge and declare God, the Father; Jesus Christ, the Son; and Holy Spirit, as our Creator and Sustainer of the entire universe and the source of our powers and authorities, delegated to the people and all persons within the geographical jurisdiction of Papua New Guinea.”

One year later, Catholic bishops say the amendment has so far had little practical effect on Church life, while raising longer-term questions about religious freedom and Church-state relations.

Limited practical impact so far

Bishop Donald F. Lippert, OFM Cap, of the Diocese of Mendi told EWTN News that the Catholic Church continues its core mission regardless of constitutional language, focusing on “making our people and hence the country more ‘Christian’” through pastoral ministry and its extensive work in education, health care, and social services.

The Pittsburgh-born bishop said concerns raised at the time of the amendment’s passage sparked debate within Papua New Guinea’s Christian communities about whether the change was necessary, given that the constitution already referenced Christian principles. Some also expressed concern that the amendment could, over time, allow the state to take a more active role in religious affairs or complicate protections for religious liberty.

So far, Lippert said, he has not observed concrete changes affecting parish life in his diocese. He suggested the amendment has functioned more as a symbolic affirmation than as a practical guide for governance.

He also said the Church must continue engaging public authorities prudently while maintaining its prophetic voice on pressing social issues, including violence linked to sorcery accusations, tribal conflict, and child protection.

Questions over alignment between constitutional change and public policy

Since taking office in 2019, Marape has framed his leadership around the vision of “Taking Back PNG: Making PNG the Richest Black Christian Nation in the World.”

Yet observers say recent government actions sit uneasily alongside that pledge. They point to the removal of blanket tax exemptions for churches, a move widely seen as an effort to expand state revenue by taxing religious institutions, highlighting that government priorities can be shaped more by fiscal and political concerns than by constitutional religious language.

The ambition to become the “richest” nation appears to take precedence over the commitment to remain a “Christian” one, with fiscal policy treating churches less as partners in nation building and more as a taxable base, despite their central role in providing education, health care, and social services across the country.

Additionally, some have expressed concern that leadership positions across the legislature, executive, and judiciary, as well as within the national public service, are disproportionately held by members of the Seventh-day Adventist faith, raising questions about denominational balance and the perception of neutrality in public institutions, particularly in the context of the 2025 constitutional amendment.

Catholic leaders warn of long-term risks to religious freedom

Bishop Rozario Menezes, SMM, of the Diocese of Lae told EWTN News the Catholic Church opposed the amendment not because it rejects Papua New Guinea’s Christian identity but because it judged the change “unnecessary and problematic.”

He explained that the Church has “always proclaimed Christ and served the spiritual and social development of our country since before independence” and argued that the constitution already provided “a strong moral and Christian foundation.”

“There was no constitutional vacuum that required such an amendment,” he said.

Menezes warned that the amendment could create long-term risks even if it has not yet produced visible disruptions. He said it could “risk contradicting the rights and freedoms enshrined in the constitution,” including “freedom of conscience, thought, religion, and assembly,” and could allow future governments to “enact laws or regulations that may adversely affect minority faith communities or citizens of no religious affiliation.”

While noting that “at present, there has not been significant visible disruption to the practices of different faith communities,” he said concerns remain that future governments could “by decree or regulation, interfere in religious practice,” particularly if religious life becomes subject to political interpretation.

Concerns over Church-state balance and institutional autonomy

Menezes also pointed to earlier state actions that, in his view, demonstrate how religious symbolism can become entangled with politics. These include the installation of the King James Version Bible in Parliament, which he noted “is not a Catholic translation,” and what he described as a “legally and theologically problematic” covenant language behind a 2017 National Day of Repentance government campaign.

He said the amendment appears to have been promoted by pastors linked to a Protestant movement known as the Body of Christ, which the Catholic Church is not part of. At the same time, he said the government remains aware of the Catholic Church’s significant contributions in education, health care, and public life, and engagement between Church and state remains cautious and measured.

Although no overt restrictions have emerged, Menezes conveyed that Church leaders are watching for subtler institutional effects. He pointed to cases in which appointments of teachers and principals to Catholic agency schools occurred “without meaningful consultation,” raising broader questions about “partnership, respect, and justice” in Church-state relations.

Such developments, he suggested, test the practical health of Church-state relations in a country that has historically maintained social harmony through mutual respect rather than coercion.

The Garo and Koch Indigenous peoples say a government plan to dig an artificial lake and build an eco-park in the Madhupur forest — about 94 miles north of the capital, Dhaka — is a pretext for evicting them from ancestral lands they have occupied for generations.

“What the government is doing in the name of development is not development. It is a clear plan to evict the Garo and Koch Indigenous from this forest area,” said Toni Chiran, a Catholic from Corpus Christi Church in Jalchatra and president of the Bangladesh Indigenous Youth Forum.

Chiran spoke at a protest rally on March 6 in Madhupur’s Tangail district, where hundreds of Indigenous students and community members gathered to oppose the project. He said that if the artificial lake and eco-park are built, Indigenous people will lose their agricultural land and the natural forest will be destroyed, leaving the Garo and other Indigenous peoples with no means to sustain their way of life.

Bangladesh is home to approximately 400,000 Catholics in a population of nearly 178 million, and more than half of the country’s Catholics come from Indigenous communities.

Church voices support

Father Simon Hacha, the vicar general of the Diocese of Mymensingh, which covers the area, said the Church cannot support the government’s plans.

“If this project is implemented, the Indigenous people’s cropland will be destroyed and they will face eviction. We think that is what the government wants,” Hacha told EWTN News.

“We want to tell the government to back off from such shameful steps. The Catholic Church has always been for justice and has been giving moral support to the Indigenous movement,” he added.

Decades-long dispute

The Bangladesh government first proposed an artificial lake and eco-park in the Madhupur forest in 2000. In 2004, at least one Garo man was killed by police gunfire during a protest, and many others were injured. The government subsequently halted the project.

In 2026, authorities revived the plan and have already begun excavating the designated area. Indigenous leaders say the project amounts to a long-term strategy to force tribal communities from the region.

Janoki Chisim, secretary of the Garo Indigenous Student Union, told EWTN News that the project would be an injustice not only to the forest but also to the people who depend on it.

“Let the forest survive in its original form and glory. The Garo and Koch Indigenous people have lived in this forest since time immemorial,” Chisim said.

According to tribal elders, tigers, bears, deer, wild boars, and wild cats once roamed freely in the forest, and hundreds of bird species thrived alongside them. Forest dwellers traditionally collected wild potatoes and medicinal plants from the forest vines. That way of life, residents say, is slowly disappearing.

After the Tenancy Act of 1950, the Forest Department encroached on tribal forestland. Successive government projects have steadily eroded the forest’s biodiversity. Remaining forest is being cleared for lakes, entertainment centers, hotels, and resorts, and the local Garo and Koch Indigenous people are being displaced, community leaders say.

“If the customary land rights of the tribals are not ensured, a strong movement will be launched in the coming days,” Chisim told EWTN News.

Forest officials respond

Forest officials say the lake is being expanded to 1,165 feet. An existing 665-foot-long lake, dug five decades ago, has silted up, causing a severe water shortage in the forest during the dry season.

When rivers and canals dry up, monkeys, hanuman langurs, deer, and other wildlife venture into populated areas in search of water and are sometimes attacked, officials said.

“Deer, peacocks, and tortoises in the breeding center also face water shortage. The expansion of this lake is necessary to protect the life of wildlife,” Mosharraf Hossain, a forest official, told EWTN News.

Hossain added that no one has customary land rights in the reserved forest and that lakes are not being dug on Garo land. Forest department officials say some youths are spreading unnecessary confusion at the behest of a vested interest group.

“We at Caritas Bangladesh are building a bridge between the two religions by highlighting the significance of Lent for our Christians with the Rohingya refugees and the host community so that they can understand the meaning of Lent,” said Liton Luis Gomes, project director of Caritas Bangladesh’s Emergency Response Program.

“We have been sharing with the Rohingya refugees the significance of our fasting, which is to eat less and distribute it to the poor, to listen to people, or to serve those who really deserve it,” Gomes told EWTN News.

Caritas is sharing the theme of its 2026 Lenten campaign — “Prayer, Listening, and Fasting: A Holy Call of Inner Transformation” — with the Rohingya and host communities, Gomes said.

The pope and the Rohingya

Pope Francis met a group of Rohingya refugees during his apostolic visit to Bangladesh on Dec. 1, 2017. The refugees traveled to Dhaka from Cox’s Bazar to meet the pope during an interreligious gathering at the archbishop’s residence.

“The presence of God today is also called Rohingya,” Francis told the gathering in remarks that marked the first time during his visit to Myanmar and Bangladesh that he publicly used the word “Rohingya” to describe the persecuted Muslim minority.

Most of the Rohingya in the Cox’s Bazar camps arrived from Myanmar since August 2017, when the military began conducting clearance operations after a series of rebel attacks in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. The Rohingya are Muslims who have long faced discrimination in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, including being denied citizenship since 1982.

The military coup in Myanmar, formerly Burma, in February 2021 further heightened their vulnerability.

The population density of the camps is staggering — roughly 103,600 people per square mile, more than 40 times the average population density of Bangladesh as a whole. Refugees live in side-by-side plastic and bamboo shelters, each just a little larger than 100 square feet, some holding a dozen residents.

‘We are not in a festive mood’

Eid al-Fitr, one of Islam’s most important religious celebrations, is expected to begin later this week, but refugees say they are not able to celebrate.

Abdur Rahim, 55, a Rohingya father of five, told EWTN News that food in the camps is not sufficient but that refugees are “still surviving, thanks to the Bangladesh government and the Almighty.”

“We have no money to buy new clothes for my child and grandchild for this festival. Eid is joyful to Muslims, but we are not in a festive mood, because if we can go to our motherland Myanmar, we will be happy,” Rahim said.

Rahim said the Caritas initiative had given him a new understanding of the season of fasting.

“I didn’t know that Ramadan is not just about not eating. Now, through Caritas, I’ve learned that Ramadan is about helping people and reducing your expenses,” Rahim said.

Between 2017 and 2023, Caritas provided $45 million in emergency efforts for Rohingya and host community members in Cox’s Bazar, according to Caritas Internationalis. During that period the charity assisted nearly 1.7 million individuals with shelter support, protection, disaster risk reduction, education, and water, sanitation, and hygiene services.

Caritas Bangladesh is the social action arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh.

The Holy See Press Office announced March 10 that Bishop Khalid Rehmat, OFM Cap, until now vicar apostolic of Quetta, has been appointed metropolitan archbishop of Lahore.

Bishop Samson Shukardin of Hyderabad, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Pakistan, welcomed both appointments.

“Capuchins have a long history of serving in the country’s most populous Catholic diocese. Installation of a bishop of their own will be a source of blessing,” Shukardin told EWTN News on March 11, referring to Archbishop-designate Rehmat, a member of the Capuchin Franciscans.

“Good things will come, as he has served in Lahore, including as editor of the bimonthly diocesan magazine Catholic Naqeeb for three years.”

He described Shaw’s appointment to Quetta as equally positive.

“The confusion regarding Shaw has been cleared with his reinstatement in a Catholic jurisdiction. Accountability is very important for the Church in Pakistan right now, as it guides pastoral vision. We cannot fully understand the Church if we do not accompany Rome,” Shukardin said.

Allegations and background

Shaw had been stationed at the Franciscan Friars Minor Custos house in Karachi since his removal and the appointment of an apostolic administrator in August 2024 following allegations of sexual misconduct and financial impropriety.

In 2017, Shaw drew widespread criticism for allowing Maryam Nawaz — Punjab’s current chief minister and daughter of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif — to deliver a political speech at Lahore Cathedral during an election campaign.

Church officials said Shaw’s removal followed two separate investigations whose findings were submitted to the Vatican.

Shaw’s absence created uncertainty among clergy and laity alike, with his name omitted from the Eucharistic Prayer even as his images remained in parishes and diocesan media.

An official from the Lahore Archdiocese, speaking on condition of anonymity, questioned the delay in Shaw’s status following 2024.

“If the bishop was innocent, why the gap, the delay, the propaganda, and the transfer?” the official asked. “The Vatican intervenes after much damage has been done. Nobody knows the financial losses. There was no statement or justification; the confusion continues.”

The official said that had Shaw been reinstated in Lahore, it might have helped restore the trust of the faithful; instead, his transfer to Quetta appears largely face-saving.

Archbishop-designate Rehmat

Archbishop-designate Rehmat was born in 1968 in Mianwali, within the Islamabad-Rawalpindi Diocese. He made his solemn vows for the Capuchin Franciscans in 2007 and was ordained a priest for the order in 2008. In 2021, he was named vicar apostolic of Quetta and received episcopal ordination the same year.

He chairs the bishops’ conference commissions for Consecrated Life, Evangelization, and the Pontifical Mission Societies, and served as a delegate to the Synod on Synodality.

Archbishop Shaw

Shaw, 68, was born in Padri-Jo-Goth village in Sindh province, within the Hyderabad Diocese. He was ordained a priest in 1991, appointed titular bishop of Tino and auxiliary bishop of Lahore in 2009, became apostolic administrator in 2010, and became metropolitan archbishop in 2013.

He has chaired commissions for Interreligious Dialogue, Family, Education, and Caritas within the bishops’ conference.

Rojar Randhawa, a former Caritas Pakistan Lahore official and prominent critic of the archdiocese, described the latest developments as “a simple change of faces” and urged Church leaders to pair administrative changes with meaningful reflection and accountability.

“Transparency is not a threat to the Church; it is a path to truth and credibility,” he said. “Rebuilding confidence requires dialogue, listening, and pastoral closeness, especially for marginalized and suffering communities.”

Belgian Capuchins led the then-Lahore Diocese from its founding in 1886 until 1975. Today, the archdiocese counts 577,000 Catholics.

The Quetta Apostolic Vicariate, mostly served by Oblates, is Pakistan’s largest geographically but poorest diocese, with 33,388 Catholics.

The reconstruction effort is being led by Caritas Indonesia, the humanitarian arm of the Catholic Church in Indonesia, through a program known as the “Compassion Home Movement.”

The initiative comes in response to the floods and landslides that struck Sumatra in late November 2025, severely damaging 158,088 homes across three provinces and forcing tens of thousands of families into long-term displacement.

A housing program for long-term recovery

The rebuilding initiative was officially launched at the end of February in Central Tapanuli, Sumatra, where the first newly built homes were handed over to families who had lost their houses in the disaster. Church officials say the housing program aims not only to rebuild structures but also to restore stability and dignity for displaced families.

Under the reconstruction program led by Caritas Indonesia, each home will measure about 36 square meters (about 388 square feet) and include two bedrooms and a bathroom.

The houses will be built according to earthquake-resistant standards established by Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency, and none will be constructed in areas designated as disaster-prone.

The total cost of the project is expected to range between 60 billion and 70 billion rupiah (approximately $4 million), with each unit estimated at about 60 million rupiah (around $4,000). The program is scheduled to run for roughly 18 months.

Church officials say the reconstruction effort follows the “Building Back Better” principle, meaning homes are designed to reflect the specific disaster risks of each region.

The initiative also follows a memorandum of understanding between Caritas Indonesia and the Indonesian government, aimed at accelerating community recovery.

Regional Secretary Binsar Sitanggang welcomed the collaboration, saying Caritas’ involvement would help displaced families return to normal life more quickly.

Catholic aid welcomed in Muslim-majority communities

Bishop Fransiskus Tuaman Sinaga of Sibolga said the Church’s humanitarian efforts have been widely welcomed, even though Catholics represent a minority in Indonesia.

“The Catholic Church’s presence is not limited to Catholics alone. Through Caritas Sibolga and Caritas Indonesia, we are here for everyone,” the bishop told EWTN News. “The majority of the community is Muslim, yet there has been no rejection. In fact, they enthusiastically accept our assistance.”

According to Sinaga, priests, religious sisters, and lay volunteers involved in relief efforts have consistently reported strong local support, including appreciation from government officials and community leaders.

“In disaster situations, we cannot talk about minority versus majority, or this religion or that religion,” he said. “What matters is our shared humanity and our concern for human dignity.”

Addressing concerns about proselytism

When asked whether large-scale Catholic charity work could be misinterpreted as proselytism in a Muslim-majority country, Sinaga said such concerns have not arisen.

“We have never felt or seen this,” he said. “Even though people know we are Catholic, they welcome us positively. We present the face of the Church, the face of Catholicism, and the face of Christ — and they are happy that we bring the help they truly need.” He went on to explain that Muslims in the country appreciate the Catholic Church as a benchmark for a compassionate society.

He added that the Church’s presence during the disaster response has helped many Indonesians become more familiar with Catholic institutions and terminology.

More than social service

Sinaga also addressed whether the Church risks being valued primarily for its humanitarian work rather than its spiritual mission.

“At first they saw that we provided assistance and respected us for that,” he said. “But over time they came to know us as the Catholic Church — a community present with love, care, and compassion.”

He noted that terms such as “Caritas,” “bishop,” “priest,” and “nun” have become increasingly familiar among residents in disaster-affected areas as the Church’s presence continues.

Meanwhile, the Church is working closely with local authorities in Sumatra to support communities still recovering from the disaster, where many families remain in temporary shelters months after the floods.

In a joint statement, the Pakistan Catholic Bishops’ Conference (PCBC) and the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), the Catholic Church’s human rights body, asked for prayers for the family of Marqas Masih, 22, whose body was found hanging March 3 at a farmhouse owned by a Muslim landlord in a village in Sargodha District.

“Marks of torture were visible on the body of the deceased,” said Bishop Samson Shukardin of Hyderabad, president of the PCBC and chairperson of the NCJP, along with Father Bernard Emmanuel, NCJP national director, and Naeem Yousaf Gill, executive director of the commission.

The Church leaders urged authorities “to bring the facts to light and ensure that justice is delivered to this vulnerable community.”

The statement followed a protest by Christian villagers who joined Masih’s family March 4 in blocking a main road near their village, Chak 50, for about five hours. The demonstrators placed the victim’s body on a bedstead as they demanded justice after local landlords reported the death as a suicide.

Two Muslim brothers — Muhammad Mohsin and Muhammad Basharat — have since been detained at a local police station following the protest.

A debt that kept growing

According to Masih’s brother, Dilshad Masih, the victim had taken an advance of 50,000 rupees (about $179) from the landlords in 2022. The family said it was not informed that the debt had continued to grow. By 2024, the amount had risen to 170,000 rupees and reached 270,000 rupees by 2025.

“Initially we thought he had committed suicide because of financial stress,” Dilshad Masih told EWTN News. “We discovered burn marks on his body only when we were preparing him for burial. His mouth had been burned internally by acid.”

Dilshad accused the landlord of mistreating his brother and holding him under pressure over the debt.

He said Marqas had returned home last November during his annual leave using the landlord’s motorcycle. When Dilshad later went to return the vehicle, he was allegedly beaten, slapped with a shoe, and forced to sign a stamped paper regarding the loan.

“Unable to find a decent job and repay the loan, he went back to work for the landlords on a monthly salary of 15,000 rupees,” he said.

Postmortem and police response

A copy of the postmortem report seen by EWTN News noted multiple abrasions on Masih’s body, including a wound measuring 6 by 5 centimeters on his chest with peeling skin.

Tahir Naveed Chaudhry, Masih’s lawyer and a former parliamentarian, accompanied Dilshad Masih to a March 9 meeting with police officials.

“Christian farmworkers have been killed over simple issues such as bathing in a well owned by a Muslim farmer or accusations of minor theft,” Chaudhry said.

“Incidents like this highlight the structural discrimination faced by many Christians who work as farm laborers under powerful landlords. When abuses occur, families often struggle to obtain justice because of fear, poverty, and social pressure,” he added.

Chaudhry also called for the withdrawal of what he described as “false charges” against 19 Christians accused of threatening police and staging an unauthorized protest during the March 4 demonstration.

According to a police complaint, the protesters were charged with property damage, criminal intimidation, wrongful restraint, rioting, and unlawful assembly on a road leading to Lahore, the provincial capital. Authorities alleged that the demonstrators were armed with sticks and iron rods and caused traffic disruption.

Under the Pakistan Penal Code, these offenses can carry prison sentences ranging from one month to seven years along with fines.

Police officer Fazal Daad, who filed the case against the protesters, said it was unnecessary to create what he called a “public nuisance” over the incident.

“The investigation is ongoing as the Punjab Forensic Science Agency examines the postmortem report. Signs of torture, if any, were not discernible after a day,” he said.

Lawmakers respond

Meanwhile, Falbous Christopher, a minority lawmaker in the Punjab Assembly and chairman of its Standing Committee on Human Rights and Minority Affairs, submitted on March 10 a call-attention notice — a formal parliamentary request for ministerial response — regarding the police case against the Christian villagers.

Christian leaders and rights activists have long urged stronger enforcement of labor protections in rural areas, citing repeated cases of violence against poor farmworkers.

In 2024, three Christian farmers were attacked by Muslims in a separate incident reported by the NCJP. One of them, Suleman Masih, died from injuries after enduring threats, harassment, and the destruction of his crops. He was shot Dec. 29, 2024, and died three days later.

“It is a mandate against all the misconduct of politicians and political parties,” Father Silas Bogati, apostolic administrator of the Apostolic Vicariate of Nepal, told EWTN News on March 9.

“This overwhelming change was expected as people were fed up with the leaders playing musical chairs,” Bogati said of the result of the March 5 election in the Himalayan nation.

Nepal has had 14 governments since 2008, when it became a republic after abolishing the Hindu monarchy, with none of the three main political parties winning a clear majority.

The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), or National Independent Party, has won 125 of the 165 directly elected seats in Parliament in the March 5 vote, according to Nepal’s Election Commission.

The official declaration of the full results has been delayed as the commission must still allot the additional 110 seats in Parliament, which are decided on the basis of a simultaneous second vote for proportional representation.

Under the leadership of Balendra Shah, the RSP’s 35-year-old prime ministerial candidate, the party rode a wave of public anger against the traditional political class. Shah, a rapper turned politician, has been mayor of Kathmandu since 2022 and took on a leading role in the RSP ahead of the election.

From social media ban to political upheaval

The youth leadership of the September 2025 bloody uprising that led to the overthrow of the government endorsed Shah as the face of the new political movement.

Following police firing on youth protesters rallying against a social media ban by the government on Sept. 8, killing at least 19 of them, Kathmandu and other parts of Nepal plunged into chaos.

Widespread anarchy and arson left at least 76 dead overall and even the Parliament building was torched, while Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli resigned. The interim government led by Sushila Karki, a former chief justice, restored order and called for the elections.

The massive victory of Shah, with 68,348 votes against four-time Prime Minister Oli’s 18,734 votes in the Jhapa-5 constituency, symbolized the generational change in Nepal, the Himalayan Times reported, citing the Election Commission of Nepal.

“Well, it is quite a change … lots of people are shell shocked for this overwhelming change,” Bogati pointed out.

Compared with RSP’s two-thirds majority, Nepali Congress has won 17 seats while Oli’s Communist Party has eight seats.

‘Great hope for the Christians’

“We are very happy with the results. For the first time, we will have a government with a clear majority to address people’s aspirations. That will be certainly good for the people,” Gyan Rai, a retired pilot and head of the Nepal chapter of the Catholic lay network Couples for Christ, told EWTN News.

“The political leadership has shifted out of the traditional political leaders and the youth takes over now,” Rai added.

Bogati was optimistic that the new government “will bring in end of corruption, employment opportunities, and better governance, and for the Catholic Church freedom of religion.”

Though the Catholic Church was the first Christian body to establish a modern presence in Nepal, when missionaries arrived in 1950 on the invitation of the government to open schools, it has remained relatively small, with fewer than 10,000 members. Evangelical and Protestant churches, by contrast, number over 1 million adherents in the country of nearly 30 million people, after conversion restrictions were eased following the 2006 declaration of Nepal as a secular state.

“Tremendous enthusiasm is here over the youth leadership taking over the reign of the country. The election results also hold out great hope for the Christians,” Chirendra Satyal, one of the prominent Catholic converts in Nepal, hailing from the royal family of Hindu priests, told EWTN News.

The Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), or National People’s Party, “that wanted to bring back and reestablish Nepal as a Hindu kingdom … has lost ground further this time. It has won just one seat,” Satyal pointed out.

Further, RPP’s 14 seats under the proportional quota in the 2022 Parliament will come down to five due to a decline in the votes the party has polled, Satyal said, citing latest reports on the continuing vote count.

The aroma of crispy pakoras (fritters), dried dates, rose-flavored Rooh Afza, and dahi bhallay (lentil dumplings in yogurt) drew guests to the dining tables after they finished reciting their iftar prayers in Lahore, the provincial capital.

Dominican Father James Channan, director of the center, has hosted such interfaith gatherings for 25 years in a country where religious tensions have periodically turned violent.

“Table friendships are very important in our context. People attending such forums highlight them on social media, reaching millions,” he told EWTN News at the sidelines of the program, timed with International Women’s Day on March 8.

“The combined meals and prayer services have helped curb trends of church attacks that followed U.S. wars in Muslim countries.”

Pakistani Christians have faced multiple terrorist attacks since October 2001, after the United States — seen by many Pakistani Muslims as a Christian nation — launched its military campaign in Afghanistan.

“It’s a bitter past. Churches and Christian settlements were considered soft targets. The ongoing conflicts are not crusades; they are wars of interest,” Channan said.

Interfaith meals continue despite unrest

Interfaith gatherings continued this year even as protests against U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran left 26 dead in Pakistan.

Church leaders joined clerics in prayers for peace and shared meals at mosques, church premises, and hotels across six dioceses and one apostolic vicariate, as Middle East air travel disruption and rising fuel prices added regional tension.

Many Pakistanis view the United States and Western Europe as Christian nations, and some militant groups target local Christians as linked to these “Christian countries.”

Communal tensions have also erupted locally. In May 2024, a mob attacked 74-year-old Christian Nazir Masih over alleged blasphemy in Sargodha. He later died of his injuries. In August 2023, violence in Jaranwala destroyed 26 churches and 80 Christian homes following allegations of Quran desecration.

In a Feb. 17 message, Archbishop Joseph Arshad of Rawalpindi-Islamabad invited Christians and Muslims to offer special prayers for peace as Lent and Ramadan coincided this year. He encouraged people of both faiths “to visit one another, exchange greetings with respect, and unite in serving vulnerable segments of society.”

Joint events across Pakistan

In Multan, over 82 participants attended a Feb. 28 iftar jointly organized by the Catholic Commission for Inter-Religious Dialogue and Ecumenism; Saiban-e-Pakistan, a state peace initiative; and the Centre of Excellence on Countering Violent Extremism.

A day earlier in Lahore, Channan and four Catholic priests attended the fast-breaking event at the Badshahi Mosque, the country’s second-largest mosque. He presented a framed photo of Abdul Khabeer Azad, the mosque’s “khateeb” (prayer leader), who met Pope Leo XIV in October 2025 at the “Christian-Muslim Dialogue and Daring Peace” conference in Rome organized by the Community of Sant’Egidio.

Among 120 guests at the Dominican iftar was Muslim speaker Shehzad Qaiser. The event, held in collaboration with groups including the Seventh-day Adventist Church, highlighted ongoing social challenges.

The head of external affairs at Sundas Foundation, which supports patients with blood disorders, agreed that Christians face discrimination in some offices and some Muslims refuse the food prepared by Christians.

“It is very important to share our common practices, joys, and sorrows. Religious leaders have the duty to raise awareness. Sadly some mistake local Christians as ‘kafir’ (infidels),” Qaiser said.

“During Ramadan, people distribute free meals to everyone without asking their religion. Blood donors don’t discriminate either. This is the real spirit of Ramadan and Lent.”

Sister Zita Rema of the Salesian Sisters of Mary Immaculate is known across the city as the “Mother of Migrants,” a title she has earned through decades of tireless service to the poor, the displaced, and the forgotten.

Born in the Diocese of Mymensingh, Sister Zita now leads the Migrant Desk of the Archdiocese of Chattogram. The local Catholic community includes about 3,000 faithful, among them migrant workers and expatriates from India, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Nigeria, Uganda, and South Korea. Alongside them live more than 5,000 internal Christian migrants working in garment factories, shipbreaking yards, bicycle workshops, oxygen plants, beauty parlors, and other sectors. Many face discrimination, unsafe labor conditions, financial insecurity, and emotional isolation. To all of them, Sister Zita offers a compassionate presence.

“Migrants carry heavy burdens,” she said. “I walk with them so that no one feels abandoned.”

Her ministry is a daily journey through crowded streets, workers’ quarters, and factory neighborhoods. She visits homes after long work shifts, prays with families, counsels the distressed, and advocates for those facing harassment or injustice. Many call her “Ma” — a sign of deep affection.

Sister Zita is often among the first to respond when tragedy strikes. On March 4, 2023, an explosion at the Seema Oxygen Plant in Sitakunda killed seven workers, including two Catholics, and injured 25 others. 

“I went to the hospital immediately,” she recalled. She spent days helping secure treatment, comforting families, and negotiating compensation. Her advocacy resulted in more than 1 million taka (about $8,300) paid by the factory owner and the government. “Without Sister Zita, we would not have received justice,” said Mickey Nokrek, whose son died in the blast.

The hardships of migrants extend beyond accidents. Many families cannot afford the cost of transporting a deceased relative’s body back home. “It can cost 10,000 to 30,000 taka,” Sister Zita said. She mobilizes parish committees to raise the necessary funds so that families can bury their loved ones with dignity.

Sister Zita is also deeply involved in preventing human trafficking. She helped rescue seven Christian children taken to a madrasa in Dhaka under false promises of education and pressured to convert. She has intervened for young women in beauty parlors who were facing abuse, helping them seek legal remedies. “Every person deserves safety and dignity,” she said.

Health care is another cornerstone of Sister Zita’s mission. Many migrant women, especially those who are pregnant, seek her guidance. The Migrant Desk works with two part-time doctors who offer free consultations. She also connects patients to affordable diagnostic centers and has introduced a small insurance pool: Each member contributes 100 taka, and the fund supports anyone hospitalized.

Economic instability has made life worse for many workers. The Russia-Ukraine war has slowed operations in shipbreaking yards, reducing daily wages to 300 taka only — and only when work is available. Sister Zita regularly counsels workers and provides school materials for their children. “Without support, they lose hope,” she said.

One migrant who found refuge in her mission is Papia Nokrek, a beautician who suddenly lost her housing due to rising rent. “Sister gave me shelter when I had nowhere to go,” she said. “She truly is a mother to migrants like me.”

Despite working in a Muslim-majority nation, Sister Zita said she has never faced hostility. Her cross silently communicates her Catholic identity. “My witness is through love,” she said.

Bus staff greet her respectfully as “Ma,” and she continues to teach catechism and prepare Catholics for the sacraments of reconciliation, the Eucharist, and confirmation each year.

As International Women’s Day is marked globally on March 8 with the theme “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls,” Sister Zita said the struggle for safety remains urgent. “Women and children still fear leaving their homes alone,” she said. “My hope is for a Bangladesh where every woman can walk freely, without fear.” Each year, she organizes a program for migrant women to give them a platform to share their struggles and strengthen their unity.

Sister Zita’s concerns reflect the harsh realities women face in Bangladesh. According to the human rights group Ain o Salish Kendra, 749 rapes were reported from January to December 2025, including 569 single rapes and 180 gang rapes. In addition, 193 women were victims of sexual harassment. For Sister Zita, these numbers underscore the urgency of protecting women’s rights and dignity.

Looking back on her decades of service, she said she feels fulfilled. “For 20 years, I have walked with migrant workers, listened to their stories, cried with them, and prayed with them,” she said. “Their love has blessed my life. I thank God for choosing me for this mission.”

Bangladesh, home to roughly 400,000 Catholics, expects to send at least 1,000 young people and animators to Seoul, according to Father Bikash James Rebeiro, CSC, secretary of the Episcopal Commission for Youth and national youth coordinator for the Catholic Church in Bangladesh.

“Our youth in Bangladesh are eagerly waiting to participate in the World Youth Day in South Korea. In this era of social media, young people get information in advance about when and where the youth day will be. They themselves tell us that they want to participate,” Rebeiro told EWTN News.

Rebeiro emphasized that World Youth Day offers young Catholics a rare chance to share their faith and learn from peers around the world. “World Youth Day is an exchange of cultures and values. Young people from all countries, rich and poor, participate, but they learn from each other. They bear witness to their faith. Besides, catechism is taught during the youth day. These are very important,” he said.

He explained that the preparation process is rigorous. “We first set the criteria for who can participate in the World Youth Day. Then we make the final selection. Then they will participate in solitary meditation. Then they will be given an orientation. Because participating in World Youth Day is not a picnic, it is a spiritual journey,” he said.

Visa and financial hurdles

Bangladesh’s youth leaders face significant logistical challenges, including financial constraints and immigration procedures. The youth commission covers half the expenses for participants, while the remaining costs must be borne by the pilgrims themselves or their dioceses.

“Many participants do not have the capacity to bear that 50%. Then we have to raise donations for him and help him so that he can participate in World Youth Day,” Rebeiro said.

He recalled difficulties during previous international pilgrimages, including repeated questioning from immigration officers. “Last year, when I took 27 people on a jubilee pilgrimage to Rome, Italy, the immigration officer filed a GD against me. Then he let us board the plane,” he said. A GD, or General Diary, is an official police or immigration record used in Bangladesh.

Despite the hurdles, Rebeiro is hopeful that Bangladesh will send a large delegation to Seoul. Preparatory meetings with prospective pilgrims are planned for September.

India planning underway

Similar preparations are underway in India. Father Chetan Machado, executive secretary of the Commission for Youth of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India, said national and regional planning has begun.

“We had a series of meetings. We planned the WYD Cross journey but for various reasons we couldn’t invite the WYD Cross,” Machado told EWTN News.

India has translated the official World Youth Day prayer into 12 local languages and begun regular prayer initiatives. Regions have started spiritual preparations, and a national retreat for potential participants is being planned for later this year. Indian youth have also taken part in the WYD theme song competition.

“The major challenge would be getting a visa for a big number of pilgrims. Going by the experience of last WYD in Lisbon, the Indian delegates faced a lot of problems obtaining a visa. The second challenge will be financial resources. As of now we do not know the total cost of travel, etc. Many young people want to go for WYD pilgrimage but due to financial situation, many withdraw,” Machado said.

In Nepal, youth leaders say a small but motivated group is preparing to join the event. Young Catholics there are engaged in spiritual preparation and are excited about their participation.

WYD Cross visit inspires enthusiasm

World Youth Day, instituted by St. John Paul II in 1985, traces its roots to the 1984 Holy Year of Redemption, when the pope entrusted young people with a large wooden cross that later became the World Youth Day Cross. The cross has since traveled around the world as a symbol of Christ’s love and a call to evangelization.

The WYD Cross visited Bangladesh in March and April 2025, traveling to the dioceses of Dinajpur, Rajshahi, and Dhaka and the Archdiocese of Chattogram, where thousands of faithful venerated it. The visit helped inspire renewed enthusiasm for the Seoul gathering.

Countries including Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, the Philippines, and Bangladesh have hosted the WYD Cross as part of the spiritual preparations leading up to the event.

Father Cyril Gamini Fernando, spokesman of the Archdiocese of Colombo, addressed a packed news conference at the archbishop’s house on Feb. 26, asking that the probe be allowed to run its course.

“We kindly request that these investigations be allowed to proceed and that people wait patiently,” Fernando said.

The news conference followed the Feb. 25 arrest of retired Major General Suresh Sallay, who was chief of Sri Lankan military intelligence at the time of the coordinated suicide bombings on Easter morning 2019. The attacks on three churches and three hotels killed 279 people, including 45 foreigners, and wounded more than 500 others.

Two Catholic churches — St. Anthony’s Shrine in Colombo and St. Sebastian’s Church in Negombo, a Colombo suburb — accounted for roughly two-thirds of the casualties.

“We want the investigation to move forward unhindered from any quarters,” Fernando told EWTN News after the news conference.

“The law should be above everybody, and it should be impartial and treat everyone equally. Whether he or she is a politician, rich person, military officer, or a businessman, nobody is above the law. If someone has gone against the law and engaged in some criminal act, that person should be brought before the law,” he added.

Sallay was arrested for “conspiracy and aiding and abetting the Easter Sunday attacks,” an investigating officer of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) told AFP.

From arrest to power

Two days after the Easter blasts, Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced his candidacy for the presidential election in November 2019 and won by a large majority with a pledge to stamp out terrorism. Rajapaksa subsequently promoted Sallay to head the State Intelligence Service (SIS).

A 2023 Channel 4 documentary alleged that Sallay had been linked to the Islamist bombers and had met them before the attack. A whistleblower told the network that Sallay had permitted the bombings to proceed in order to influence the presidential election in Rajapaksa’s favor. Sallay has denied the allegations.

“The Catholic Church has always called for investigations to find those responsible for the attacks and bring them before the law to ensure justice for the victims and their families,” Fernando said.

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo had said in the days following the blasts that he would have canceled the Easter Masses had bombing warnings been passed on to the Church.

Fernando noted that investigations were effectively halted under Rajapaksa’s presidency and did not advance under his successor, Ranil Wickremesinghe, either.

“In the last 16 months, from November 2024 to date, the CID has been conducting a comprehensive and independent investigation into the Easter attacks,” Fernando said. He added that fresh investigations began following the Channel 4 broadcast on the conspiracy behind the bombings.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who was elected in September 2024, had pledged to prosecute the culprits. He removed Sallay as intelligence chief and launched a fresh CID investigation that led to the arrest nearly seven years after the attacks.

‘Delayed’ but welcomed

Ruki Fernando, a prominent Catholic human rights activist, welcomed Sallay’s arrest.

“Suspicions about his involvement has been raised by many for a long time,” Ruki Fernando told EWTN News on Feb. 27.

“Though delayed, this became more after the revelations by the exiled secretary of a former member of Parliament who was also a Rajapaksa ally,” he said, referring to Hanzeer Azad Maulana, a former aide to ex-paramilitary leader Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, known as Pillayan, who served as the key whistleblower in the Channel 4 documentary.

Ruki Fernando noted that Sallay was removed as intelligence chief in late 2024 by Dissanayake “after a lot of demands, most notably from the Centre for Society and Religion, led by the OMI [Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate] congregation.”

However, Ruki Fernando cautioned against the use of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) against Sallay, arguing that it “will undermine credibility of investigations, prosecutions, and compromise justice for those killed and injured.”

“The PTA is a draconian, deeply flawed law, abused by all governments including the present one,” he said. Ruki Fernando was himself arrested under the PTA in 2014 alongside a Catholic priest for their human rights work in Sri Lanka’s north.

“It has been strongly criticized by U.N. bodies, domestic and international human rights organizations. This government has promised to repeal the law amid a big campaign by civil movements to repeal it right now,” he added.

‘Investigation and evidence’

Jehan Perera, executive director of the National Peace Council — of which the Catholic Church is a member — told EWTN News that the current government is unlikely to obstruct the legal process.

“Unlike in the past, the government will not block or impede the legal and investigation process from moving forward,” Perera said.

“The investigation and evidence-based legal process is the surest way for truth and justice to prevail,” added Perera, a Catholic.

“The reality is that the government’s campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Church, which has been going on for well over a year, continues unabated to this day,” said Ambassador Alberto Fernandez during a Feb. 26 briefing organized by the National Democratic Alliance on Capitol Hill.

The hearing centered on the aftermath of Vice President JD Vance’s historic visit to Armenia and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s ongoing crackdown against the Armenian Apostolic Church, which has recently included the indictment of its leader Catholicos Garegin II, the jailing of several bishops, and the restriction on their movements outside the country.

“The reality is that the government’s campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Church, which has been going on for well over a year, continues unabated to this day,” Fernandez said during the hearing. He cited the Catholicos’ prevention from traveling to Austria for a global meeting of Armenian Apostolic Church leaders in Austria as “something that should get a lot more of our attention.”

Pashinyan’s restriction of the Catholicos’ travel to the conference came after the Holy See of Etchmiadzin postponed the meeting, which was originally set to take place Dec. 10–12, 2025, and eventually moved it abroad due to “repressions against clergy,” according to local reports. 

Fernandez called on Pashinyan’s government to end its campaign against the Apostolic Church, saying: “They can’t have it both ways — they can’t say that they want to be a part of the liberal West, they want to be pro-American, and [at the same time] imitate the religious standards of the [Turkish Erdoğan regime] or [the Syrian Asaad regime], or pick whatever dictator you want.”

“There’s a basic contradiction here that has to be solved and has to be addressed,” he said.

Fernandez warned that Pashinyan’s stifling approach to the Apostolic Church “is a danger for the regime and for the government itself.”

“There is a clear, direct connection between the freedom given to the Church or to religious bodies and other freedoms of speech and conscience,” he said. “I don’t know of any situation where a regime persecutes religious bodies and then turns around and is open and accepting of secular criticism, political criticism, [or] sarcasm … they go together.”

“Regimes that don’t want to hear criticism from religious authorities tend also not to want to hear criticism from the media or from secular critics,” he said.

John Eibner, president of Christian Solidarity International, called on the Trump administration “to show strength and conviction by defending the Armenian Apostolic Church against this persecution, thereby enhancing the survival of the world’s first Christian nation.”

Eibner told EWTN News that Armenia is in a “very vulnerable situation,” despite the deal forged by President Donald Trump between Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey. The deal, he said, has “yet to be finalized.” Moreover, he said, while there has been “talk of peace,” it remains by no means certain.

With elections looming, Eibner said Pashinyan is presenting himself as “the man for peace,” and saying, “If you don’t go with me, you will have war.” This, he said, is due in part to Pashinyan’s involvement in the Trump-backed peace plan.

“There are all kinds of political problems,” he said. “There are opposition members in jail. Pashinyan, I believe, is feeling very confident because his reelection has just been endorsed by [Vance], showing that the United States is behind him.”

“The European Union is pumping money to support his reelection in the name of fighting Russian disinformation, but it is to support, of course, his campaign,” he said, adding that both Turkey and Azerbaijan “are threatening war” and “see Pashinyan as their man.”

“He’s presenting himself as the only alternative or the only possibility for peace, and this registers, too, with the Armenian public,” Eibner said. “On the one hand, they want to retain their national tradition, their church, their borders, et cetera, their own autonomy. But they’re being threatened with war.”

Ultimately, he said, “the real question for the United States and Armenia is, ‘Are there any guarantees that can be given to ensure that whatever might be signed in time is actually upheld?’”

Sri Lanka police arrest former top intelligence official over 2019 Easter suicide bombing

Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department has arrested Major General Suresh Sallay, the former director of military intelligence at the time of the 2019 Easter suicide bombings that targeted several churches.

Authorities said they detained Sallay for 72 hours for questioning under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, according to a Feb. 26 UCA News report, which said investigators are looking into whether Sallay was involved in “a broader conspiracy” or if he simply “failed to act on credible intelligence warnings that might have prevented the bombings.”

Sallay’s arrest follows years of setbacks in the investigation into the April 21, 2019, suicide bombings that targeted two Catholic churches, a Protestant church, four hotels, and a housing complex almost simultaneously during the middle of Easter Sunday services. The bombings killed more than 260 people and injured more than 500.

Irish journalist decries backlash over his Ash Wednesday ashes during TV appearance

Fionnán Sheahan of the Irish Independent called out critics of his Ash Wednesday ashes, which he bore during a TV appearance on Virgin Media’s “The Tonight Show” last week.

“My issue isn’t so much with the reaction, because that’s just the moron hurlers on the ditch on social media,” he said during a later appearance on “Newstalk Breakfast,” according to a Feb. 23 Newstalk report. “What I was surprised by was the sane and sensible people saying, ‘Oh, but you should expect to be slagged off in a situation like that.’”

Sheehan, who said during the media appearance that while he does not identify as a practicing Catholic, receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday is a tradition he likes to maintain from his late father. “In days gone by, the fellow reading the news used to have the ashes,” he said.

Indonesian Catholic leaders hold conference on formation in historic Sumatra region

Five bishops and 95 priests have been gathered in Padang for the past week for a conference on priestly formation with a focus on “renewal, unity, and mission.”

The Feb. 23–27 meeting opened with Mass at St. Theresia Cathedral, presided over by Bishop Vitus Rubianto Solichin, SX, of Padang, according to a Licas News report. The bishop encouraged priests in his homily to remember that “What we do for the least of our brothers and sisters, we truly do for the Lord himself.”

Solichin later presented the first session of the conference, titled “The Joy of the Priest Is Sustained by the People of God.” The bishop emphasized the joy of the priesthood, which he said flows from when priests remain in the presence of their people.

Myanmar opens new church as Catholics rebuild amid ongoing conflict

A new Catholic church dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus opened in the Archdiocese of Yangon in Myanmar.

Sacred Heart Parish in Sauk Wain Gyi Village was opened on Feb. 14 with a Mass attended by more than 800 people following a decree issued by Cardinal Charles Maung Bo on Jan. 1, a report from Licas News said.

The opening of the newest church comes as Catholics have sought to rebuild places of worship destroyed during violent attacks in recent years amid clashes between the reigning military junta and armed resistance groups.

Nigeria’s Catholic Bishops’ Conference elects new president

Archbishop Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso of the Archdiocese of Kaduna in Nigeria has been elected president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), reported ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa.

In a Feb. 24 statement, officials of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria said Ndagoso was elected at this year’s first CBCN plenary assembly.

Born in Lot, Nigeria, in January 1960, Ndagoso was ordained a priest in 1986. Pope John Paul II appointed him bishop of the Diocese of Maiduguri in 2003. He was appointed archbishop of Kaduna in November 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI.

African bishops push action on water sustainability at Ethiopia summit

Members of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) have called for faith-based engagement in advancing sustainable water availability and safe sanitation across the continent, ACI Africa reported.

During a keynote address at the event, hosted by SECAM in conjunction with the 39th Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) Assembly, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development Cardinal Michael Czerny lamented that many poor people in Africa must go long distances to get water or pay high costs.

“Water and sanitation are intrinsically linked and are fundamental to full-fledged, integral human development. Reliable access to water and sanitation is a prerequisite for cooking, schooling, a healthy and productive life, hygiene, health care, and agriculture,” he said. Czerny further emphasized the Church’s important role in addressing the challenge.

Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas led the Mass at the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of Peace — commonly known as the EDSA Shrine — on Feb. 25 to mark the milestone.

“Cardinal Sin and others remind us of the important role faith played in the peaceful revolution that restored democracy,” Villegas said.

Sin (1928–2005), who served as archbishop of Manila from 1974 to 2003, is widely regarded as one of the principal architects of the nonviolent revolt. His historic broadcast on the Catholic radio station Radio Veritas on Feb. 22, 1986, inspired millions of Filipinos to create a peaceful human barrier against military tanks, ultimately forcing Marcos to flee the country with his family.

“My dear people, I wish you to pray because it’s only through prayer that we may solve this problem. This is Cardinal Sin speaking to the people, especially in Metro Manila,” the cardinal declared in his Radio Veritas appeal. He urged the faithful to support Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and military Vice Chief of Staff Fidel Ramos, who had withdrawn their support from Marcos.

The cardinal wanted the revolt to happen without violence, telling the people to “pray to Our Blessed Lady to help us so that we can solve this problem peacefully.”

By Feb. 25, 1986, an estimated 2 million Filipinos had filled EDSA — Epifanio de los Santos Avenue — demanding that Marcos step down. Marcos fled to Hawaii, and Corazon Aquino, widow of slain opposition leader Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr., assumed the presidency.

Father Jerome Secillano, rector of the EDSA Shrine, said: “Maybe there wouldn’t be a People Power if Sin hadn’t been such a strong and moral leader during those chaotic years of dictatorship.”

Secillano said that while other figures were active in the uprising, the cardinal’s voice was decisive when he called Filipinos to EDSA in February 1986.

“We want the young people to know the cardinal and understand how important he was in the history of the country,” he added.

As part of the anniversary commemorations, the Manila Cathedral opened to the public the crypt where Sin is buried.

Church’s role in the 1986 revolution

Priests, nuns, seminarians, and laypeople all fought for and protected human dignity during the revolt and in the decades that followed. The Catholic Church played a central role in the country’s struggle for democracy.

Sister Asuncion Borromeo from the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary told EWTN News: “Like many others, I unquestionably answered the cardinal’s call to join the EDSA for the good of the country in 1986.”

“At least I was part of the generation that planted the seeds of democracy and freedom,” Borromeo said. “I might not see justice and freedom fully bloom in my lifetime, but at least I was part of the generation that fought for our freedom.”

Jesuit Father Albert Alejo, a professor at Ateneo de Manila University, said the Catholic Church remains a moral compass but also has much work ahead.

The third Trillion Peso March

The third edition of the Trillion Peso March took place alongside the 40th anniversary commemorations. The march — organized by Caritas Philippines, the social action arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, along with civil society groups — called for accountability and transparency over infrastructure corruption scandals that have engulfed the current government of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The first two marches took place on Sept. 21 and Nov. 30, 2025.

Alejo said: “The anti-corruption movement that started in the Philippines last year calls us to fight the true enemy: negligence and indifference.”

Father Bienvenido Nebres, a Jesuit priest and national scientist of the Philippines, described the EDSA People Power Revolution as a “transfiguration experience.”

He urged Filipinos to uphold democracy by working with institutions, serving the people, and striving for a better future for everyone.

The decision was reportedly taken at a cabinet meeting led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Feb. 21. Mahdi Amin, an adviser to the prime minister, told reporters that some of the party’s election promises were discussed.

“Basically, in today’s meeting, the honorable prime minister discussed one of our elections promises, which was that we had a promise to provide monthly honorarium and festival allowance to all religious leaders of various mosques, including those of other religions,” Amin said.

However, he did not say how much the honorarium would be. “It will be implemented in some places before Eid,” Amin said, referring to Eid al-Fitr, the Islamic festival expected in the third week of March.

This is the first time in Muslim-majority Bangladesh that the government has announced a monthly allowance for all religious leaders.

The number of Christians in Bangladesh, out of a population of about 170 million, is approximately 600,000. According to the 2019 Bangladesh Catholic Directory, there are 119 parishes and 52 sub-parishes in the country’s eight dioceses. The directory shows there are 233 diocesan priests and 176 missionary priests working in Bangladesh, but not all of them are doing parish work — many are involved in other activities, including education, health, and youth formation.

Bishop warns against accepting state funds

Bishop Sebastian Tudu of Dinajpur, chairman of the Clergy and Religious Commission of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh, did not comment on the government’s initiative directly but told EWTN News that the Catholic Church will not accept the monthly allowance.

“Our Catholic clergy are not salaried, they dedicate their lives to God, so we do not want to receive any kind of monthly salary from the government,” Tudu said. If the Church were to accept the stipend, Tudu warned, “in the future there may be some kind of pressure from the government or politically or they may try to use us.”

Dhaka vicar general thanks government

Father Albert Rozario, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Dhaka, applauded and thanked the government for the initiative. “We have got a new government; we congratulate the new government. It was an election announcement for us who work in the Church as religious priests. In proof of that, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has announced this monthly allowance. I personally congratulate the government,” Rozario told EWTN News.

He requested everyone to pray and support the government “so that the government can govern the country beautifully, harmoniously, and fairly and can take the nation forward.”

Expressing his expectations of the new government, Rozario said: “As citizens of this country, we want the government to establish the rule of law, to resolve the problems in the country. At the same time, we want the corruption that existed in the past and still exists to be resolved. The government should rein in the main problem of the people, the rising prices of goods — this is our demand for the current government.”

Political background

The 2024 student-led mass uprising forced the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, whose Bangladesh Awami League had governed the country for 15 years amid allegations of increasing authoritarianism. Hasina fled to neighboring India, where she remains. An interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus subsequently took power. The interim government held elections on Feb. 12, though the Awami League was barred from participating after its activities were banned under public pressure.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party won 209 of 297 contested parliamentary seats, while the Islamist party Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and its alliance secured 77 seats, according to official results published by the Bangladesh Election Commission. The National Citizens Party, a youth-led group that emerged from the 2024 uprising, won six seats. Rahman was sworn in as prime minister on Feb. 17.

“We welcome this relief,” Archbishop Victor Henry Thakur of Raipur, capital of Chhattisgarh, told EWTN News on Feb. 20.

The Supreme Court issued an interim order on Feb. 18 directing that no further exhumation of buried bodies take place in Chhattisgarh. The ruling came on a petition filed by the Chhattisgarh Association for Justice and Equality, which cited hundreds of cases over two years in which Hindu fundamentalist groups dug up Christian dead bodies buried in ancestral villages — a practice widely seen as part of a campaign to isolate Christians.

Though Catholics in the region do not bury the dead on village lands but in cemeteries, other Christian denominations in remote tribal villages often bury the dead in ancestral lands, Thakur noted.

“The burial of tribal Christians in their villages was never an issue, but for the past few years some illogical arguments are being presented by the politically motivated and sponsored groups opposing burial of tribal Christians,” the archbishop said. “It is not only against our constitution but also a very dangerous move against the unity and integrity of India.”

‘No rest even in death’

The ecumenical United Christian Forum (UCF), which monitors anti-Christian violence, welcomed the Supreme Court’s order, describing it as a “beacon of hope” for minority communities facing hostility over burial rights. The group held a news conference at the Press Club of India in New Delhi on Feb. 19 under the title “No Rest Even in Death for Christians in India.”

“The petition detailed how burial grounds that have traditionally been accessible to all villagers are now being informally restricted to certain religious groups, effectively excluding Christians,” UCF coordinator A.C. Michael, a Catholic, said at the news conference.

“Christian families are often forced to abandon Christian burial customs and adopt the practices of the majority religion as a precondition for interment in their own villages,” Michael told EWTN News.

“Hindu fundamentalists have turned belligerent in tribal Bastar area,” Arun Pannalal, an outspoken leader of the Chhattisgarh Christian Forum, told EWTN News on Feb. 22.

“Even a 20-year-old grave was dug up, bones collected and burnt. Even the family of the deceased was forced to dig out and burn the bones,” he added.

“The exhumation of the Christian bodies in tribal areas is carried out with a divisive political agenda,” Father Sebastian Poomattam, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Raipur, told EWTN News. This, he said, is “a new strategy initiated by the Hindu nationalists to marginalize Christians” in the state, where Christians account for less than 2% of the state’s 25 million people.

EWTN News reported in March 2025 about increasing incidents of opposition to Christian funerals and hate campaigns against the Christian community in neighboring Odisha state.

In late January, tribal relatives killed a convert Christian couple — Jitendra Soren and his wife, Malati — along with their 15-year-old daughter, Sasmita, in Keonjhar District, Odisha. Two younger siblings survived the attack.

‘Relief is not enough’

“Relief is not enough. We want justice,” Thakur replied when asked about a separate Supreme Court decision refusing to overturn a ruling on notice boards erected in tribal villages banning the entry of Christian pastors and priests.

“It is unfortunate that the Supreme Court dismissed the plea challenging the Chhattisgarh High Court ruling on village hoardings that ban the entry of Christian pastors, priests, and ‘converted Christians’ by the Gram Sabha were not unconstitutional,” the archbishop said of the Feb. 16 order.

Such notices, Thakur said, “seem very discriminatory, as it violates the constitutional rights of citizens to free movement and right to propagate religion.”

Several villages in tribal areas have erected notice boards declaring the entry of pastors and priests to be strictly prohibited.

“The refusal of the judiciary to stop such blatant violation of fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution will only aggravate the situation. This will only embolden the fundamentalists,” Poomattam cautioned.

The UCF has reported that Christians in Chhattisgarh face social boycott, including denial of access to public water sources and subsidized government rations, and face frequent assaults while police stand by.

“Chhattisgarh, a state notoriously known for social ostracization of Christians, is the No. 1 leading state in assaults against Christians with 47 incidents of reported violence,” the UCF said in its 2025 report.

Fresh tensions in Jagdalpur Diocese

Father Thomas Vadakkumkara, vicar general of the Syro-Malabar Diocese of Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh, shared with EWTN News details of fresh tensions in the state.

Bishop Joseph Kollamparambil, he said, had traveled to a remote tribal village to meet with officials after local Hindus complained to the government that their “goddess” had disappeared because of the Church’s presence.

“The Church has been there for 28 years. How does such a case crop up now?” the diocesan official asked.

“Our people need to choose their leaders wisely and utilize their vote to bring those who work for positive political change in Nepal,” Father Silas Krishna Bogati, apostolic administrator of the Vicariate Apostolic of Nepal, told EWTN News on Feb. 20.

Addressing Catholics directly, Bogati said: “As citizens, we must vote to enact the changes our country needs.”

Nepal, a landlocked South Asian country nestled between China and India, is home to 30 million people, according to the 2021 census. It is also home to 512,313 Christians, though church leaders say the community numbers are closer to 3 million. Hindus and Buddhists make up the majority.

A small but vibrant Catholic flock

The Apostolic Prefecture of Nepal was created on Nov. 8, 1996, and became a vicariate apostolic on Feb. 10, 2007.

Jesuit Bishop Anthony Francis Sharma (2007–2014) was the first apostolic vicar, followed by Bishop Paul Simick. After Simick’s transfer to the Diocese of Bagdogra in India, Bogati was named apostolic administrator in January 2025.

Ordained in 2000, Bogati is the first native Nepali priest. He served as director of Caritas Nepal for 11 years, overseeing a massive earthquake response in 2015 with international aid and innovative programs. He also led the resettlement of more than 100,000 Bhutanese refugees, many of whom moved to the United States.

Catholic missionary work began in Nepal in 1983, with the Jesuits playing a key role in education, focusing on social service and community development.

Nepal became a secular nation after abolishing its centuries-old monarchy in 2008; religious freedom had already been enshrined in a 1991 constitution. The Church provides pastoral service amid legally restrictive laws regarding religious conversion.

Today, priests, nuns, and laity serve through 37 schools — including a college, 18 high schools, and two technical schools — educating more than 30,000 students. Caritas Nepal and other social welfare programs serve the elderly poor and mentally ill.

Bogati described the current situation as one shaped by the aftermath of the September 2025 upheaval. “Following the Gen Z movement, Nepal has undergone significant changes and is now focusing on the upcoming elections, putting most other activities on hold,” he said.

Election campaign underway

Nepal will elect a new 275-seat House of Representatives — the lower chamber of Parliament — with 165 members chosen directly and 110 through party lists.

Various political parties are knocking on doors to solicit support and organizing rallies.

“One intriguing factor is that in Jhapa constituency No. 5, former prime minister K.P. Sharma Oli and popular former Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, 35 — a rapper and civil engineer with a considerable online following — are hoping to defeat each other, and the whole country is waiting for the outcome,” Bogati said.

Voter civic education across the country and digital literacy, especially for women and marginalized groups in far-flung areas, are underway.

“The government is especially active at the grassroots level, trying to educate the voters about how to correctly cast votes,” Bogati said. “I believe women and marginalized communities have been educated to cast their votes properly.”

Gen Z-led anti-corruption protests

Youth-led protests on Sept. 8, 2025, were fueled by resentment over a government ban on social media platforms. They were also driven by years of economic stagnation and accusations of deep-seated political corruption.

On Sept. 9, protests expanded across the country, with demonstrators setting fire to parliament buildings and other government offices, bringing down the Oli administration.

Oli, 73, who had served as prime minister four times, stepped down shortly after frustrated protesters set fire to his house and hundreds of other buildings.

After police killed young protesters, the unrest intensified. At least 76 people were killed in the violence.

The protests that brought down the administration cost the country roughly $586 million and about 15,000 people their jobs.

After that, Sushila Karki, 73, a former chief justice, was named interim prime minister on Sept. 12, with the mandate to conduct elections. She will step down after the vote.

“Some Gen Z movement leaders are now election candidates. Their main goals are better governance and anti-corruption. If these new leaders and their parties win, people expect a better political landscape and change in Nepal,” Bogati said.

Economic hardship and the diaspora

According to government data, more than 839,000 Nepalis departed the country to work overseas last year.

The World Bank estimates that about a third of Nepal’s GDP comes from remittances sent home by workers abroad.

The last census found that 7.5% of the population lives outside Nepal, many working abroad because of the country’s economic difficulties.

The diaspora cannot vote in this election because of logistical challenges, but it remains a powerful force in the country’s economy and politics.

India and China, which both seek to maintain influence in Kathmandu, will be watching the outcome closely.

Hope after elections

Bogati expressed cautious hope about the March 5 vote.

“It is hard to predict the outcome of the election, but we do see a trend among the youth advocating for better governance,” he said. “I hope this gets fulfilled.”

“However, the same old parties might still win the election, as we saw in Bangladesh. So, in the case of Nepal, time will tell,” he added.

Bogati said people are looking for a new government that works for the common good with a sustainable economy and peaceful democracy.

“People of Nepal are fed up with some of those political parties that have governed Nepal since 2008, when it became a federal republic,” he said.

Since then, Nepal has had 14 different governments, and many did not complete five-year terms.

“Now, people want political stability, good governance, and no corruption,” Bogati said.

Explaining his hopes for the role of young people after the elections, Bogati said: “Youth is the future, and we hope that in the future, leadership will be in the hands of able youth to direct Nepal’s future for development and good governance.”

“We had a dream of creating a new Nepal after the Maoist decade-long conflict, and this ushered in a democratic Nepal with lots of hope. We hope this will be realized with new poll results,” he added.

Blessed Gabriele Allegra, OFM, was a Franciscan missionary from the province of Catania, Sicily. Before coming to Singapore, he had spent almost two decades in China and Hong Kong. Since his ordination in Rome in 1930, Allegra had been driven by a singular mission — to translate the Bible into Chinese.

His “specific vocation,” as he described it, took shape even before his ordination. During a 1928 ceremony marking 600 years since the death of Friar John of Montecorvino — the first Franciscan archbishop of Peking — a violent thunderstorm struck. Lightning flashed across the sky, startling those present. Allegra later recalled feeling a surge of electricity course through his body at that very moment. Friar John had translated only a few books of Scripture before his death, but that experience convinced Allegra to continue the unfinished work.

His Chinese collaborators later gave him the name Léi Yǒngmíng — 雷永明 — meaning “forever thunder,” a tribute to that fateful moment. In 1931, a year after his ordination, Allegra was sent to China to begin what would become a 40-year labor of faith — producing the first complete Catholic translation of the Bible into Chinese, which remains the Church’s official Mandarin edition today.

But Allegra’s mission eventually took him beyond China.

Faith and resistance in a time of upheaval

The Second World War and the communist victory in China in 1949 reshaped Asia’s political landscape. Across the newly independent nations of Southeast Asia — Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and the countries of Indochina — communism began to take root. With large ethnic Chinese communities in these regions, Allegra grew deeply concerned about the spread of Marxist ideology and its threat to faith and religious freedom.

In 1954, he drafted a memorandum to the Vatican’s Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith and the General Curia of the Order of Friars Minor. The document proposed ways to counter communist influence and to spread the Church’s social teachings among Chinese communities outside mainland China.

The Vatican approved the proposal later that year, identifying Singapore as the ideal site for a new Sociological Institute — an institution that would promote the Church’s social doctrine across Southeast Asia. This initiative would also extend the work of Allegra and his team, who had spent two decades translating Scripture in Hong Kong.

A Franciscan presence takes root

In 1955, Allegra traveled to Singapore to meet then-Archbishop Michel Olçomendy and Bishop Carlo van Melckebeke, a Belgian missionary expelled from China after the communist takeover. Both bishops supported Allegra’s vision. That same year, the groundwork for a permanent Franciscan presence in Southeast Asia was laid.

To lead the new institute, the Franciscans appointed Friar Vergil Mannion, OFM, an Irish missionary who had previously served in China. He arrived in Singapore in 1957 and secured a plot of land along Old Jurong Road — today part of Bukit Batok. The site was strategically chosen for its proximity to Nanyang University (now Nanyang Technological University), which had become a focal point for communist student activism.

Construction of the Sociological Institute began in 1958. Building on Allegra’s momentum, Mannion and his fellow friars translated the Church’s social teachings into Mandarin and distributed them through pamphlets and leaflets — the very same medium communists were using to spread propaganda. Their efforts sought to counter ideology with truth and revolution with faith.

From resistance to renewal

By the early 1960s, as the threat of communism waned in the region, the friars’ mission evolved from one of ideological resistance to one of spiritual renewal. The Jurong Road complex was transformed into a retreat center, and the friars began offering daily Mass at their oratory, dedicated to St. Mary of the Angels.

Word spread quickly, and what began as a quiet chapel on a hill soon drew larger crowds from nearby neighborhoods. In 1970, Australian friars formally took over the mission and entered into an agreement with the Archdiocese of Singapore to establish the Parish of St. Mary of the Angels — now home to more than 12,000 parishioners.

A legacy of faith and vision

“The vision of Blessed Allegra led to the foundation of the Franciscan presence in Singapore,” said Friar John-Paul Tan, OFM, the first Singaporean Franciscan priest formed through the local friary in 1983. “Not only did he have this biblical vision of translating the Bible into Chinese, but he also saw evangelization as a way to introduce the Church’s social teachings — centered on human dignity and the value of work — so that people of that time did not have to buy into communist ideologies.”

Allegra’s dual legacy — as translator and missionary — continues to shape Franciscan life in the region. His conviction that faith must speak in both the language and the realities of the people remains as relevant today as it was in the turbulent 1950s.

Today, the Franciscans in Singapore are part of the Custody of St. Anthony (Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei), which was granted autonomy on April 25, 2023, by decree of Friar Massimo Fusarelli, OFM, the minister general of the Order of Friars Minor. The custody oversees missions and parishes across Singapore and Malaysia and continues to run retreats throughout the region.

More than half a century after his first voyage to Southeast Asia, Blessed Gabriele Allegra’s vision still echoes — not only in the pages of the Chinese Bible he helped bring to life but also in the enduring Franciscan witness of faith, justice, and peace in the region he once served.

Feb. 21 is observed as both International Mother Language Day and Martyrs’ Day in Bangladesh, commemorating the students killed in 1952 after they took to the streets to demand Bengali as the state language, defying a government ban on public assembly.

Since UNESCO recognized the day in 1999, it has been marked worldwide as a celebration of linguistic diversity.

But for Bangladesh’s Indigenous peoples, the occasion carries particular urgency. Although the country officially recognizes 51 Indigenous communities — Indigenous leaders put the number at around 70 — the International Mother Language Institute counts 41 languages in Bangladesh, 33 of them Indigenous.

Researchers have identified at least 14 of those as endangered.

“Our Indigenous languages are facing a crisis today; many languages have already been lost,” Suvash Chandra Hembram, secretary of the National Indigenous Council, told EWTN News.

Hembram called on the government to move beyond seminars and policy papers. “Along with the nongovernmental organizations, the government needs to take strong initiatives,” he said. “Because, if the government takes a measure within its policies, it will be a permanent measure.”

He acknowledged the contribution of the Church and civil society organizations but said such efforts, however praiseworthy, “are not a permanent form” of protection.

Church’s long record

The Catholic Church in Bangladesh has been engaged in Indigenous language preservation for generations. Foreign missionaries were among the first to commit Indigenous languages to writing, producing religious and liturgical texts, hymnals, and catechetical materials in those tongues.

“Foreign missionaries in Bangladesh have long since assimilated various Indigenous languages and have written religious and liturgical books in those languages, as well as books of religious hymns,” Father Patrick Gomes, secretary of the Christian Unity and Interreligious Dialogue Commission of the Bangladesh Catholic Bishops’ Conference, told EWTN News. “At the same time, they have also used the languages of Indigenous people in liturgy.”

Gomes said the Church “respects all languages and has always worked to promote them.”

Caritas Bangladesh’s education work

Caritas Bangladesh, the social development arm of the Church, has extended this commitment into formal education since 1983, focusing on children in marginalized communities and hard-to-reach areas.

In 2011, Caritas launched the Aloghar (Lighthouse) Project with support from the European Union and Caritas France, aiming to empower more than 158,000 disadvantaged children across Bangladesh by improving literacy and access to quality education. Beneficiaries included school dropouts, children with disabilities, and a large number of Indigenous children — many of them first-generation learners.

Multilingual education materials were developed with direct participation from Indigenous communities, incorporating traditional stories, rhymes, festivals, and customs. Program Director Apurba Mrong said the approach builds both competence and pride.

“I think it is possible to protect these Indigenous languages only if there are not only private but also public support and political will,” Mrong told EWTN News.

He warned of the cost of inaction: When children speak one language at home and another at school, they face “confusion and inferiority” and often drop out altogether.

The Bangladesh government has printed and distributed primary-school books in six Indigenous languages, but Indigenous leaders say no effective steps have been taken to actually teach those languages in classrooms.

Candles flickered and the parish priest sprinkled holy water on freshly tended graves on Feb. 8, leading prayers for the departed, including three of the village’s martyrs — a bishop, a federal minister, and a priest.

A banner on the graveyard wall declared: “On the 125th Jubilee of Khushpur — a legacy of faith, sacrifice, and service — dedicated to all the departed faithful.”

At the center lies the grave of Bishop John Joseph, who took his life in front of the courtroom on May 6, 1998, in protest against Pakistan’s harsh blasphemy laws that have long threatened the country’s tiny Christian minority of 1.37%.

While his body was interred beneath the Marian grotto at the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul in Faisalabad, his blood-stained cassock was buried in the village cemetery.

“Our family wanted to bury him in the native village but the clergy wanted the grave in the cathedral. The grave was already dug. We then filled it with his personal belongings,” Larasib Joseph, nambardar (village chief) of Khushpur, told EWTN News on Feb. 18.

Joseph was only 10 years old when his grandfather, Bishop Joseph, took his life in front of the courthouse in Sahiwal near Faisalabad, protesting the death sentence of a Christian, Ayub Masih, under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.

“We were shocked to the core. Our home was filled with visitors, including representatives of international media, at a time when there was only one state-run Pakistan Television in the pre-internet era,” he recalled, thanking the local Church for honoring the Joseph family with respect over the decades.

Beside the bishop’s grave lies Father George Ibrahim, shot dead while sleeping in the courtyard of his residence in Renala Khurd in July 2003.

The most visited grave, however, is that of Shahbaz Bhatti, the Khushpur-born federal minister for minority affairs, assassinated in 2011 after calling for reform of the country’s blasphemy laws to protect innocent Christians.

Father Pervez Emmanuel, cousin of Bhatti, was among 10 priests who concelebrated the Feb. 9 jubilee closing Mass led by Bishop Joseph Indrias Rehmat of Faisalabad.

“We are thankful to Bishop John Joseph and other writers, poets, and journalists who made this soil eternal. We thank the children whose vocation made it the Rome of Pakistan,” Rehmat said, addressing the crowded compound of St. Fidelis Catholic Church. “Many social workers are emerging who want to turn darkness, injustice, and violence into light, and transform generations from negative activities.”

Interfaith ties and a founder honored

Local Muslims joined the celebrations as an imam placed a garland around the neck of Rehmat, who blessed a memorial plaque naming the central square “Father Felix Chowk” after Father Felix Fink Henricus, the Belgian Capuchin who founded the village.

Speakers also paid tribute to Khushpur as the “land of the martyrs,” referring to Joseph, Bhatti, and Ibrahim, whose death anniversaries are annually observed at the cathedral.

Khushpur, which literally translates as “land of happiness,” has a population of 6,650, most of them Catholics. It has produced two bishops, more than 60 priests, over 200 nuns serving in Faisalabad and other dioceses, and at least 250 former and current catechists.

For the Feb. 9 jubilee closing celebrations, each of the 24 mud lanes was decorated with banners and swept clean, while schoolchildren scattered rose petals to the beat of dhol drums as the procession entered the church grounds.

An inspired legacy

While not yet officially recognized as martyrs by the Church, Emmanuel said their witness brought popularity and strength to the village, already famous for its street decoration competition during the annual Christ the King procession held on the last Sunday of October.

“Bishop John was a public bishop who reached families trapped in false blasphemy cases. He gave the ultimate sacrifice and exposed the misuse of these laws to the world — a sword of Damocles for minorities, especially Christians,” he said.

“Similarly, Shahbaz Bhatti’s funeral blocked traffic for hours in the village. He tried to change the blasphemy laws, but his voice was silenced. Photos of Bishop John hang in Christian homes across Pakistan. They see him as a shepherd who laid down his life for his people. Their martyrdom shapes how we pray, how we endure, and how we hope.”

Inspired by the men locally honored as martyrs, Emmanuel founded “Friends of Farmers” in 2000 to prevent local Christian farmers from selling land affected by waterlogging and salinity to Muslim villagers.

So far, he has purchased 1,600 acres, building a stadium, a playground, and a small Eucalyptus forest.

In 2023, Paul Bhatti — brother of Shahbaz Bhatti — established a medical center in the village named after his slain brother with land purchased from Friends of Farmers.

In March 2025, Bishop Rehmat launched a farm restoration initiative in Khushpur, aimed at rehabilitating agricultural land through improved drainage, water treatment, and the introduction of salt-tolerant crops, with support from an award-winning agricultural and environmental expert.

Launched during the village’s 125th jubilee celebrations on Feb. 9, 2025, a series of yearlong programs have been held in Khushpur to promote education, encourage greenery, support teachers and writers, and improve sanitation across the community.

“Nothing concrete has come out of the bishop’s project for farmers so far. It is a challenging task. We have ideas and commitments from yearlong programs, but turning them into reality will require a wider movement — and the active support of the Khushpur diaspora abroad,” Emmanuel said.

“The future of our farmers and our village depends on it.”

Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo of Kidapawan, chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ (CBCP) Episcopal Commission on Interreligious Dialogue, and Archbishop Alberto Uy of Cebu issued separate messages ahead of Ash Wednesday on Feb. 18 and the start of Ramadan in the Philippines on Feb. 19.

“This shared beginning is a grace,” Bagaforo said in a statement released ahead of the two seasons. “It invites us to slow down, to return to God, and to walk together in faith.”

“In these sacred seasons, Muslims and Christians enter a time of prayer, fasting, repentance, and generosity,” the prelate of Kidapawan said. “We turn our hearts to the Merciful. We learn again to see one another as brothers and sisters. In a world marked by violence and division, this moment calls us not only to pray for peace but to live it and work for it.”

Uy, who was installed as archbishop of Cebu in September 2025, emphasized the common humanity shared across religious lines.

“No matter what religion we are, whether we are Christians, Muslims, Catholics, Protestants, or something else, we all share one basic truth: We are all brothers and sisters in our humanity,” Uy said.

The archbishop said that authentic faith leads believers to respect, care for, and show compassion for others rather than hatred or division. He called on the faithful to build bridges, protect human dignity, and respond to conflict with understanding.

“This is why believers have to promote peace; it’s part of our calling,” Uy added.

The prelate also said that peace grows when people choose to talk to each other instead of being suspicious, work together instead of competing, and care for the poor, sick, and weak. He said that religion does its job when it heals rather than making things worse.

Roots of conflict

The Philippines is a predominantly Christian country — about 79% Catholic and roughly 90% Christian overall, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. Muslims make up an estimated 6% of the population according to the 2020 census, though the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) puts the figure at approximately 11%, or about 10 million people. Most Muslims live in Mindanao and nearby islands in the south.

Spanish and American colonization pushed Mindanao’s Muslim population to the periphery. After independence, the government encouraged Christians from Luzon and the Visayas to resettle in Mindanao, sparking land disputes.

Since the 1960s, fighting between Muslim separatist groups and the government has led to widespread displacement and loss of life. Muslims have long decried the perceived marginalization of their culture and appropriation of their ancestral lands.

In recent decades, the conflict has shifted from armed struggle to negotiation, leading to the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Catholic and Muslim leaders, along with civil society groups, have worked to build trust and understanding through interreligious dialogue, despite lingering tensions.

Sabuddin Abdurahim, secretary of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, said in a Feb. 17 statement: “This sacred time reminds us that faith is strengthened through patience, compassion, and sincere devotion.”

“In our present time, fasting must also address the new realities shaping human life. One of the greatest influences today is digital media,” said the Feb. 13 pastoral message from Archbishop Gilbert A. Garcera of Lipa, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. “Thus, we invite the faithful to undertake a digital media fasting as a contemporary expression of conversion and renewal.”

The pastoral message delivered on behalf of the conference came before Ash Wednesday on Feb. 18, which will mark the start of Lent.

The message noted fasting has historically meant abstinence from food, “an act of repentance and spiritual focus.” However, the bishops pointed out that engagement with social media, and other forms of online entertainment, serves as a significant source of distraction in today’s context that “weakens our interior life.”

“True fasting, as Jesus teaches, is not an external performance but an interior conversion,” the bishops said. “Digital media fasting, therefore, invites a rediscovery of silence, prayer, contemplation, and authentic relationships. It is not meant to punish the body but to free the heart.”

The bishops offered practical ways to carry out a social media fast this Lent, such as avoiding phone use before waking up and going to sleep, limiting screen time, observing 24-hour and weekend fasts, and replacing screen time with prayer, service, reading, or conversation.

“Digital media fasting is not anti-technology,” the letter said. “Rather, it asks: How can Christ guide our use of media?”

The bishops stressed the need to approach Lent joyfully, and “not with gloomy faces,” noting the fruit of fasting from screen time is a closer relationship with God, greater mental clarity and focus, and renewed appreciation for creation at large.

“In stepping back from digital excess, we reclaim interior silence, deepen relationships, and rediscover God’s presence in daily life,” the letter concluded. “Entrusting this pastoral invitation to the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church, we encourage all dioceses, parishes, families, and communities to promote media fasting during Lent and beyond.”

Bishop Gervas Rozario of Rajshahi, vice president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh (CBCB), told EWTN News the election appeared to be a fair contest and urged the incoming government to prioritize human rights.

“We only want the new government to respect and promote human rights of all citizens, including minority people of other faiths and cultures, and promote justice and peace for all,” said Rozario, who also chairs the CBCB’s justice and peace commission.

BNP wins landslide; Islamist party becomes opposition

The BNP and its allies won 212 of 299 contested parliamentary seats, while the Islamist party Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and its alliance secured 77 seats, according to official results published by the Bangladesh Election Commission. The National Citizens Party, a youth-led group that emerged from the 2024 uprising, won six seats.

Jamaat-e-Islami will serve as the main opposition in the Jatiya Sangsad, the national parliament.

Rozario said he hoped the Islamist party would play a constructive role. “We hope Jamaat-e-Islami will be able to play the role of a strong opposition in the house,” he said. “The people of Bangladesh want this party to apologize for their role in 1971.”

During Bangladesh’s war of independence from Pakistan in 1971, Jamaat-e-Islami was accused of collaborating with Pakistani forces. The previous Awami League government tried and executed several of the party’s senior leaders on war crimes charges.

First election since 2024 uprising

The 2024 student-led mass uprising forced the ouster of Hasina, whose Bangladesh Awami League had governed the country for 15 years amid allegations of increasing authoritarianism. Hasina fled to neighboring India, where she remains.

An interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus subsequently took power. The interim government held the election within approximately 18 months, though the Awami League was barred from participating after its activities were banned under public pressure.

BNP chairman Tarique Rahman, who is expected to become prime minister, told a press conference on Feb. 14 that the new government faces significant challenges. Rahman cited the need to repair the economy, restore law and order, and ensure good governance across institutions that he said had been politicized by the previous government.

Constitutional referendum held alongside election

A constitutional referendum on the “July Charter” — a reform blueprint drafted under the interim government — was held simultaneously with the parliamentary election. According to official Election Commission results, approximately 62% of voters approved the charter, which proposes sweeping governance changes including the creation of a bicameral parliament and term limits for the prime minister.

Catholics make up less than half a percent of Bangladesh’s population of approximately 175 million. The country has eight dioceses, including two archdioceses.

The unexpected intervention of Jam Sahib Digvijaysinhji, the maharaja of Nawanagar, known as “the Good Maharaja,” provided these children a home in his personal estate at Balachadi.

Digvijaysinhji had been educated at Malvern College in England and was part of Winston Churchill’s Imperial War Cabinet. 

“He was an extraordinary man, and to the Polish people, he became a national hero ... an Indian Oskar Schindler,” former Malvern College teacher and housemaster Andrew Murtagh wrote of Digvijaysinhji.

Father Piotr Wiśniowski, chaplain of EWTN Poland, told EWTN News: “The Good Maharaja, Jam Sahib Digvijaysinhji, wrote himself into history through extraordinary humanity. When he welcomed Polish orphans to Balachadi, he said: ‘You are no longer refugees. From today, you are the children of Nawanagar, and I am your Bapu — your father.’ These words were not a public-relations gesture but a pledge to take responsibility for the most vulnerable.”

The Poles amnestied by Stalin following the Sikorski-Mayski agreement formed the 40,000-strong Anders Army, which played a vital role in Allied war efforts. But the Polish children — Catholic and Jewish, many of whom were orphaned or had lost a parent — were the unwanted detritus of war. They had been detained in camps and temporary orphanages, often left to die of illness or starvation. Many were sons and daughters of the estimated 22,000 Polish soldiers and civilians murdered by Soviet forces in the Katyn Woods massacre.

Responsibility for this humanitarian catastrophe shifted to the Polish government in exile and to British government officials. Many nations were unwilling to offer shelter to the children. The agreed-upon solution was to relocate the refugees to India.

Digvijaysinhji moved quickly to alleviate the humanitarian crisis. His state was the first to host 500 Polish children. Other Indian states followed his kindness.

“After 1941, when Polish refugees were freed from Soviet captivity, Poland was a nation devastated by war, unable to care even for its own children,” Wiśniowski told EWTN News. “The maharaja understood that tragedy and said, ‘If God has sent me these children, it is my duty to care for them.’ That is why Poland remains grateful to him — for lives saved, dignity restored, and for the witness that mercy knows no borders of nations or cultures.”

At first, foster homes were suggested, but the Polish government was opposed to separating the already traumatized children. Other options, such as schools and convents, proved unworkable. The viceroy of India set up The Polish Children’s Fund, supported by the archbishop of Delhi and the mother superior of the Convent of Jesus and Mary. The group raised funds among private donors including the Tata family.

Anuradha Bhattacharjee in “The Second Homeland: Polish Refugees in India” explains how India — though not sovereign at the time and not at all prosperous — became the first country in the world to accept and offer sanctuary at its own cost to the hapless Polish population rendered homeless and subsequently stateless.

“The first Polish children were hosted in Balachadi in Nawanagar state and were maintained by charitable funds raised in India, subscribed to by several Indian princes and wealthy individuals. They were settled at a camp near Balachadi when no place for the children could be found in the whole of British India. The state of Nawanagar took the bold step of adopting the children to prevent their forcible repatriation to Soviet-occupied Poland at the end of the second world war.”

By December 1942, around 640 children had made the 1,500-kilometer (932-mile) arduous journey in trucks from Ashgabat in Turkmenistan to Balachadi. According to accounts, they were extremely thin and miserable, their clothes hanging about their frames, and this was after having already been fed for a few months.

Digvijaysinhji converted the guesthouse of his Balachadi palace into a school with a special library shelved with Polish books. The children often put on plays with Digvijaysinhji in attendance. Among their Polish caregivers were Father Franciszek Pluta, who was later denounced by the communists as an international kidnapper after relocating some of the children to the United States, as well as scoutmaster Zdzisław Peszkowski, a survivor of the Katyn Woods massacre who was ordained a priest after World War II.

Peszkowski campaigned for the truth about Katyn for the rest of his life and was a contemporary and close associate of St. John Paul II.

In the camp the children enjoyed the outdoor life, the beach, and the climate. They camped and played soccer, hockey, and volleyball.

At the end of the war, many children feared living under communist rule, having suffered deportation to Siberia from the Soviet regime. Only those children who wanted to return to Poland were required to go back. Eighty-one children were relocated to the United States to build new lives there with the help of Catholic missionaries. Twelve Jewish children were relocated to Haifa in 1943.

In 1989, following the fall of communism in Poland, the kindness and generosity of Digvijaysinhji was formally recognized by the Polish government. In 2012, a park in Warsaw was named the “Square of the Good Maharaja” and a monument was erected. He was also posthumously given the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland.