Thailand’s Interior Ministry and the Children and Youth Department have, on Thursday, promised to find a way to bestow citizenship on three stateless people rescued from a flooded cave in northern Thailand. Coach Ekkapol Chantawong and two of the boys, Pornchai Kamluang and Adul Sam-on, will be receiving legal assistance in the nationality verification process. However, on Friday Read more
The commander in chief of the Burmese troops of the north has ordered Christian religious leaders to stop communications with the rebels of the Kachin Independence Army or risk penal consequences. Read more
70-year-old Brother Denis O’Brien was farewelled from Ōtaki last weekend. He has been there only for a short time but now he is off on a mission to Thailand. He is planning to stay in Thailand for two years and then he will come back to New Zealand. O’Brien celebrates his 50th Jubilee of Marist Religious Read more
Suffering is an essential ingredient of our faith and humanity. One who doesn’t suffer with suffering brothers . . . must question himself on the sincerity of his faith and of his humanity, Pope Francis says. His comments were made in the context of the Rohingya minority, who are persecuted in Myanmar. Read more
Pope Francis wants the international community to take “decisive measures” to resolve the problems causing hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims to flee Myanmar. He also says it is “imperative” for world governments to immediately provide assistance to help the Bangladeshi government cope with Asia’s worst refugee crisis in decades. Bangladesh has opened its borders Read more
The Catholic Church is working to combat Myanmar’s human trafficking problem through the newly founded Myanmar branch of Talitha Kum. Talith Kum is an international network of religious working to eradicate human trafficking. Read more
Interfaith dialogue has been a special feature of Pope Francis’s recent trip to Myanmar and Bangladesh. He is striving to have “the wealth of our differences” to be part of the conversations between religions. Read more
If there’s anything positive about the sprawling Rohingya refugee camps near Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh, it’s that the residents – despite their appalling recent experiences and obvious deprivation – are at least safe here from Myanmar’s military. I’ve been visiting Rohingya refugee camps close to the Bangladesh/Myanmar border, and the scale of the forced migration is Read more
Myanmar’s Rohingya crisis has hit the headlines in recent weeks due to an extraordinary number of Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar into Bangladesh. It is estimated that in less than three weeks, up to 400,000 Rohingya refugees have fled Myanmar. They are fleeing mass human rights violations and atrocities, including: the burning of villages and crops, using petrol and rocket Read more
Prior to the announcement that he is to visit Mayannar, Pope Francis has appealed for an end to the violent persecution of the minority population in Burma. “Sad news has reached us of the persecution of our Rohingya brothers and sisters, a religious minority,” the Holy Father told pilgrims and tourist in St Peter’s Square. “I would like to Read more