Chinese authorities have closed both Catholic seminaries in Shanghai diocese, apparently in retaliation for newly ordained Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin’s public resignation from the state-sponsored Catholic Patriotic Association. Coadjutor Bishop Aloysius Jin Luxian, the head of Shanghai’s “open” church, issued a notice to Sheshan Major Seminary and Tailaiqiao Minor Seminary stating classes had been delayed Read more
America’s annual celebration of Independence Day was accompanied this year by the U.S. bishops’ Fortnight for Freedom, a round of prayer and advocacy dedicated to the preservation of religious liberty. The exercise renewed debate over whether there is or isn’t a war on religion in America, fueled, of course, by the politics of the 2012 Read more
A newly ordained Chinese bishop who had been active in the government-controlled Catholic Patriotic Association publicly cut ties with the association at his ordination on July 7. “After today’s ordination, I would devote every effort to episcopal ministry. It is inconvenient for me to serve the CPA post any more,” Auxiliary Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin Read more