A Christian network in Pakistan has organized the first theological expo amid concerns over declining theological education in the country. The Theological Educators’ Forum sought to connect Bible training centers for a healthier Church through the expo held last Saturday.

The event at Forman's Christian College in Lahore drew about 50 theological institutions including Bible schools, laity institutes, seminaries, and Christian recording ministries.

The first theological education expo was held at Forman's Christian College, Lahore on Dec.10. (Photo: Kamran Chaudhry)

Live worship, gospel singing, a Bible quiz, and sessions on creating better content as well as student-teacher relations were held. The stalls showcased a variety of products from Christian literature, music CDs, and cassettes to Christmas decorations. More than a hundred Bible institutes and seminaries are presently educating thousands of Christians in Muslim-majority Pakistan. 

However, theologians are skeptical, ranking them in the “less than fair” category. Father Emmanuel Asi, executive secretary of the Catholic Bible Commission Pakistan, lamented the declining standards of seminary staff and theses written by the students.  

Christians in Laos have expressed frustration over alleged police inaction and failure to arrest culprits in the recent murder of an Evangelical pastor. A district-level official responsible for religious affairs said he was unaware of the case and that the police have made no notable progress so far.

Pastor Sy Seng Manee, 48, was found dead near his motorbike in a forest area near the road to Donkeo village in Khammouane province on October 23, three days after he was kidnapped.

A social media post shows Lao Christian preacher Sy Seng Manee praying (left) and his coffin being lowered into the ground. (Photo: RFA via Twitter)

The village authorities had reportedly warned him to cease all his religious activities. A law, passed in 2019, allows freedom of religion for Christians and other faiths. However, Christians in the Communist-ruled nation often face sanctions at varied levels from local authorities.

Buddhists, especially those in rural areas, persecute Christians as they consider the faith an alien religion and detrimental to their traditional animist practices.

A South Korean court has lifted government sanctions imposed on a Christian broadcaster for on-air remarks on a proposed anti-discrimination law and same-sex issues in 2020.

Judge Park Jeong-dae of the Seoul Administrative Court ruled in favor of Christian TV and lifted the sanctions placed by the Korea Communications Commission on Monday. The judge stated that the sanctions against the broadcaster for negative remarks on LGBTQ rights in the proposed Anti-Discrimination Act did not violate the Broadcasting Act.

South Koreans march on the streets to support LGBTQ rights and equality. (Photo: Ed Jones/AFP)

Instead, the judge said, the interview program in question was a debate on the legal and social impact of the proposed law on Christianity which prohibits same-sex relations, and as a religious channel, it is entitled to religious freedom protection.

In June 2020, the Justice Party proposed the anti-discrimination bill for the eighth time. The law includes the provision to outlaw LGBTQ discrimination. Rights group Amnesty International reports that discrimination against LGBTQ individuals in various forms is rampant in South Korea amid a lack of laws to protect their rights.

A Catholic religious teacher in Indonesia’s Christian-majority Flores Island is the latest educator to be accused of sexual harassment in the country. The 34-year-old teacher in Manggarai district was reported by five students to the district police last Saturday.

The teacher, now suspended by the school, is alleged to have sexually harassed 17 students, according to a document from the school. The accused teacher denied the allegations.

Female students of a public vocational school in Indonesia's Christian-majority Flores Island have accused a Catholic religion teacher for alleged sexual harassment. (Photo supplied) 

However, a leaked handwritten statement showed he has admitted guilt. Women activists including those in the church hailed the students for their courage to come forward and report the abuses.

Government data shows 7,502 cases of sexual violence were reported across Indonesia from January to September this year. About 407 among the alleged offenders were teachers at schools.

Authorities in the Philippines are set to release about 4,850 former drug addicts by the end of the year after completion of their rehabilitation program.

An official from the National Capital Police Office’s Recovery and Wellness Program said that former addicts are among the 76,800 drug suspects who surrendered to authorities out of fear of being killed during the deadly anti-drug war unleashed by the regime of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Father Flavie Villanueva prays with relatives of drug war victims during a ceremony to exhume their remains at Bagbag Cemetery in Novaliches, Metro Manila on June 10. (Photo: AFP)

Under the government rehabilitation program, drug dependents worked with various sectors of society including the Church to receive spiritual and values formation. The suspects were also taught skills and given livelihood training that they can use once out of rehab.

Rights groups say at least 12,000 people, mostly drug users and low-level drug peddlers, were killed by security forces and armed vigilante groups during the ‘war on drugs.’ 

While Christmas approaches, the Church in Myanmar remains wounded and displaced as thousands of people are forced to flee their homes, villages are burned, and churches are destroyed amid ongoing conflicts.

Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon expressed his sadness during the homily at the ordination of two fellow Salesians held at the Shrine of Mary Help of Christians in Nazareth Apostolate School in Anesakahan last Thursday. The outspoken cardinal pointed out that only love and reconciliation can bring hope for people amid destruction and suffering.

Cardinal Charles Bo cuts a Christmas cake with Myanmar's junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing in Yangon on Dec. 23, 2021. (Photo: AFP)

The appeal by Cardinal Bo came just two weeks after his home village – Mon Hla in the Sagaing region – was raided by the military and homes were set ablaze while at least three civilians were killed.

Amid the escalating violence between the military, anti-coup protesters and ethnic rebels, the junta has targeted various churches and Christian institutes in Christian-majority states. Hundreds have died and thousands have been displaced and sought refuge in churches, relatives’ homes and in the jungle to escape violence.

A Jesuit-run charity in Australia has started a Christmas fundraiser to assist vulnerable families in Cambodia who are struggling amid poverty and hunger.

The Jesuit Mission Australia has urged Catholics to shun traditional gifts this Christmas and instead support the Gifts for Change Program to provide a family in Cambodia with everything they need to start a chicken farm, to give them access to sustainable food and income.

Jesuit Mission Australia is collecting Christmas donations to assist poor Cambodian families to start a chicken farm to overcome poverty and hunger. (Photo: Jesuit Mission Australia)

The chicken farm is one part of a community development program to assist farmers in remote areas to gain knowledge and skills. This year 480 farmers from 18 different remote villages have received support from this project.

According to World Bank, about 17.8 percent of Cambodia’s estimated 17 million people live below the poverty line. The Covid-19 pandemic and an economic meltdown have pushed about 460,000 people into poverty since 2019.

Hong Kong’s Catholic media tycoon and democracy supporter, Jimmy Lai, received a fresh jail sentence of five years and nine months on the charge of fraud in a contractual dispute.

The new sentence against 75-year-old Lai came shortly after he completed a 20-month jail term resulting from convictions related to his support for democracy and freedom in the former British colony. He faces a possible life sentence at his upcoming trial under the repressive national security law.

This file photo taken on Feb. 9, 2021, shows Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai arriving at the Court of Final Appeal to hear a decision on whether he will be granted bail, in Hong Kong. (Photo: AFP)

Lai, the founder of now-defunct, pro-democracy newspaper, Apple Daily, is known as a close ally of Cardinal Joseph Zen, a strong critic of China who has been convicted for failing to register a fund that supported democracy protesters.

Besides the jail term, Lai has also been fined about 257,000 US dollars and banned from managing companies for eight years. He is one of the dozens of pro-democracy activists, politicians and supporters arrested and facing trial in Hong Kong.

Thousands of people with physical disabilities from Vietnam’s Northern provinces gathered for Christmas celebrations in a church center to experience love, solidarity, and unity.

About 5,000 people with disabilities joined the festivities at the Divine Mercy Center at An Lac parish in Thai Binh province in the second week of December. The participants were mostly non-Catholics served by about 1,000 religious and college students.

Thousands of people with physical disabilities attend a special gathering to celebrate Christmas at the Divine Mercy Center in Thai Binh province on Dec 10-11. (Photo: UCA News)

During the gathering, participants listened to talks about a synodal church and marriage, had medical checkups and received medicine, played traditional games for gifts, watched cultural performances, enjoyed meals, received money, and attended a Mass concelebrated by three bishops and joined by 50 priests. They were also given hundreds of wheelchairs.