The Voice of the suffering in Asia

The number of people imprisoned for blasphemy in Pakistan has surged to more than 700. A woman who spent seven years on death row for the crime says that the country’s legal system is failing Christians.  Christians falsely accused of blasphemy in Pakistan struggle to find lawyers and are discriminated against in the justice system, says Shagufta Kausar, a mother of four who was imprisoned for allegedly sending text messages insulting the Muslim Prophet Mohammed, despite being illiterate and not ...

This September, Pope Francis will make his first trip to Papua New Guinea, a country introduced to Christianity about 70 years ago. In this corner of the world, Christians are enthusiastically preparing for his arrival, with the help of missionaries like Father Martín Prado from the Institute of the Incarnate Word. For 10 years, this missionary has lived in Vanimo, a coastal city that the Pope will visit, and he has shared his testimony with Aid to the Church in ...

One year since violence described as the worst outbreak of Christian persecution in Pakistan, Church leaders say people are terrified of more attacks and furious that the culprits have not been brought to justice.   Leading clergy in the Diocese of Faisalabad reported that security services warned Christians in Jaranwala against holding outdoor events on Friday, August 16th, to mark the first anniversary of the atrocities.  In a single day, a mob of thousands torched and ransacked more than 25 churches and at ...

After being accused of blasphemy, a Christian mother of two was cornered in a field in Pakistan and beaten by a mob.  Saima Farhad Gill, who is also a widow and lives in a village near Gojra, was saved by police and taken into custody. She was charged under Pakistan’s notorious blasphemy laws.  Saima’s neighbors claimed that they had found documents bearing the name of her daughter, Emma, age 9; allegedly among the documents were ripped pages of the Qur’an. An ...

On June 4th, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), or the Popular Party of India, won its third election, extending Narendra Damodardas Modi’s tenure as leader of the country. What are the consequences of these results for the Christian community? In this interview, Father Pradeep, a Jesuit from the state of Jharkhand, shares his thoughts with the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).  Prime Minister Modi recently won the elections. What was the reaction of the Christian ...

A new amendment to the Christian Marriage Act says that girls and boys under the age of 18 cannot marry. Though only a first step, this could curb cases of abduction and forced marriage for Christian girls in the country.   The Catholic Church in Pakistan applauds a new amendment to the Christian Marriage Act, which was recently signed into law and raises the age of marriage to 18 for both boys and girls.   Though limited in scope – the law ...