Kmart is under fire for banning words ‘Jesus’ and ‘Church’ on their photo kiosks while ‘Islam’ and ‘Mosque’ are OK. Australian Kmart customers Anthony Dorsett and his wife, Marelynda, were attempting to print photographs for a church group in a kiosk at Kmart. They found that certain Christian-related words — including “God,” “church,” “Jesus,” “Jewish” Read more
Hindu extremists are suspected of being behind damage to a Catholic mission hospital in India. Besides demolishing a wall, the extremists manhandled staff, including nuns, in the latest incident in Madhya Pradesh state. Read more
Bosses all over the Western world have been warned. Unless they make allowances for the religious faiths of their ever more diverse workforces, they will suffer lawsuits, official rebukes and protests from staff. Employees increasingly expect to be able, for example, to dress in accordance with their faith while at work, and be given appropriate Read more
The depiction of Jesus as a dog in adverts for The Graham Norton Show has been deemed appropriate by the Broadcasting Standards Authority. The TV advertisement, which aired in December, included a photograph of a couple dressed as Mary and Joseph holding a dog in swaddling clothes. In the week leading up to Christmas, TV3 broadcast the Read more
Intolerance and discrimination against Christians is increasing across the European continent, a conference of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe has been told. “In Europe, we have identified 14 laws that are likely to negatively affect the religious liberty of Christians in 15 countries,” said Massimo Introvigne, of the Italian foreign affairs ministry. Read more
Discrimination, arrests, kidnapping and killing of Christians around the world have led National Catholic Reporter correspondent John Allen to suggest the next pope will be pressed to make defence of religious freedom his number one job. Allen offers these statistics on anti-Christian discrimination: + According to the Germany-based International Society for Human Rights, 80 per Read more
The Vatican on October 19 sent a message to Hindu leaders asking them to resist “hateful propaganda” against Christians and allowing Christians to practice their faith in peace. A principal cause of conflict is the conversion to Christianity of Dalits or “untouchables.” The aggression against Christians stretches across much of India, from the eastern state Read more
Church people and activists in Orissa are pleased with the Indian Supreme Court directive ordering a report by the Indian National Commission for Human Rights into the Orissa government’s response to the wave of anti-Christian persecution. Fides details the significant level of anti-Christian violence in Orissa 230 damaged or demolished churches and chapels 100 deaths Read more