FABC Communication INFO

Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences – Office of Social Communication OSC 1916 CTM Bldg. Oroquieta Street Sta. Cruz, Manila 1003 Philippines Tel: (632) 7327170, 3138577 Fax: 7327171 Email: [email protected]

TAIWAN: FIRST NEWSPAPER HONORS MISSIONARY PHILIPPINES: CARMELITE FATHERS HOLD MEDIA To celebrate its 130th anniversary, the Chinese-language EDUCATION SEMINAR FOR SEMINARIANS “Taiwan Church News,” the first newspaper in Taiwan, More than 50 seminarians from nearby formation houses launched a commemorative pen as a tribute to British gathered for a three-day Media Education seminar/workshop missionary Thomas Barclay, who founded the publication in July 21-23. The event organized by the Carmelite Fathers was 1885 and devoted his life to Taiwan. In memory of Barclay and held at Titus Brandsma Media & Spirituality Center in New his missionary work, each of the 1,300 pens produced is carved Manila, Quezon City. Modules included digital production, with Barclay’s signature and housed in a box covered with an communication competence and spirituality, as well as early edition of the newspaper. The edition was printed in introduction to Church and social communication. Romanized Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) using peh- INDIA: RELIGIOUS HABIT COULD SPARK DEBATE oe-ji orthography, or church romanization, Taiwan Church ON RIGHT OF RELIGIOUS PRACTICE, BISHOP SAYS News director Fang Lan-ting said. The publication grew from Denying a Catholic nun entry to an examination hall because the Taiwan Prefecture City Church News, first issued on July of her habit calls for discussion on the right to practice religion 12, 1885 — the first newspaper in Taiwan. in a secular nation, says Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, president of PAKISTAN: BISHOP CELEBRATES RAMADAN’S END the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India. The cardinal was WITH ‘MUSLIM BROTHERS AND SISTERS’ responding after Sister Seba, 29, from the Congregation of the At the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting and Sisters of the Imitation of Christ, was not allowed to take the prayer, Bishop Shukardin Samson of Hyderabad opened the Indian Pre-medical Entrance Test on July 23 because she was doors of his own home on July 14 “to our Muslim brothers and wearing a veil and cross that are part of her habit. (UCANEWS) sisters” for a moment of shared celebration. Bishop Samson, CHINA: BISHOP PROTESTS CROSS-REMOVAL who was recently appointed to the diocese of Sindh province in CAMPAIGN southern Pakistan, wanted to promote a moment of encounter Chinese Bishop Vincent Zhu Weifang of Wenzhou was joined and dialogue for the Eid al Fitr in a nation often torn by by 20 other priests in a protest July 24 outside government sectarian violence. The meeting was held on the 27th day of offices in Wenzhou city to stop the cross-removal campaign in Ramadan, known in Muslim tradition as the Night of Destiny in Zhejiang province. The appearance of Bishop Zhu, 89, who which God revealed the first verses of the Qur‘an to the Prophet walks with a cane, leading the protest has inspired many local Muhammad. (ASIANEWS) Catholics. Zhejiang has a Catholic population of 210,000 with KOREA: HIP-HOP PRIEST DEBUTS, GIVES HOPE Wenzhou diocese being the largest. Wenzhou is also a THRU MUSIC stronghold of the “unofficial” Church community with about Fr. Egberto In Noh-bin, 40, a priest in Chenongbuk Suwon, 120,000 members. (ASIANEWS) Gyeonggi Province released the hip-hop album called SINGAPORE: RELIGIOUS EDUCATORS LEARN APPS, “Stromateis” with 13 tracks, including seven rap songs, all VISUAL ARTS written and sung by himself. The album title is a tribute to Some 90 Catholic educators learnt digital apps, drama, music Clement of Alexandria, Father of the Church, who called the and the visual arts during a workshop held on August 15 at third volume of his trilogy on Christian life “Stromata” (which Catholic Junior College. The event is part of the Religious could be translated as “Miscellaneous”). Fr. Egberto In Noh-bin Education Access Programme (REAP) organised by the performed on August 9 at the Korea Catholic Cultural Center in Archdiocesan Commission for Catholic Schools (ACCS) in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, to promote the record. partnership with the Brisbane Catholic Education Office (ASIANEWS) (BCEO) in Australia. A team of six senior education officers CHINA: ONLINE RELIGIOUS ADS TRIGGER flew in from the Australian city to deliver the programme, now CRACKDOWN ON EVANGELISTS in its third year in Singapore. (CN) Advertisements of religious courses in a Hong-Kong based INDIA: PRIEST HONORED FOR LITERARY WORK website has led China’s religious affairs bureau of Shenzhen On July 27, Vasai diocesan priest Francis D’Britto was city to summon Philip Woo, a Hong Kong-based missionary, for awarded the Dnyanoba-Tukaram Puraskar for his literary work. questioning. At the meeting on July 1, the pastor was accused of The priest is the first to get the award that was instituted in breaking Chinese law and was instructed to stop preaching to 2007. Born to Marathi-speaking parents, D’Britto’s work named mainland students in Hong Kong. Woo, a Lutheran pastor, has Subodh Bible has recently been re-printed for the third time, and taught his faith to underground churches in mainland China for sold out. The priest is the second person to have translated the 25 years. But since 2013, he has also been organizing religious Bible in Marathi. The first was British-born 17th-century training in Hong Kong for Chinese church leaders. missionary priest Fr Thomas Stevens. (DNA) (UCANEWS)

FABC-OSC Communication INFO August 2015 Vol. 30 No. 8 SINGAPORE: CATHOLICS LEARN HINDUISM FABC-OSC BISHOPS’ MEET NOW ON ITS 20TH YEAR Some 15 Catholics who visited Sri Vairavimada Kaliamman The 20th annual FABC-OSC Bishops’ Meet will be held Temple at Toa Payoh on August 22 said that they gained a very November 16-21, 2015 at the Catholic Bishops’ Conference comprehensive understanding of Hinduism. The event was Center in Yangon, Myanmar. This year’s meeting will discuss organised by the Archdiocesan Catholic Council for the theme “Challenges of National Offices of Social Interreligious Dialogue (ACCIRD) for Catholics to learn more Communication.” The yearly meeting was first organized in about other religions in Singapore. The temple chairperson 1996 as a sharing and discussion forum of bishops-chairmen explained topics like Hinduism’s origins, forms of worship, and and national secretaries for social communication in FABC. its inter-faith perspectives. (CN) CHINA: AUTHORITIES CONFISCATE PROTESTANT SRI LANKA: SIGNIS-SRI LANKA HOSTS SIGNIS ASIA CHURCH COUNCIL’S OFFICIAL SEAL ASSEMBLY 2015 The Zhejiang Ethnic and Religious Affair Commission have The Sri Lanka chapter of Signis, the Catholic communicators’ removed the official seal of the local Christian Council after the organization, hosted the six-day continental assembly “Signis- council issued a statement demanding an end to the campaign to Asia” August 23-29 at Golden Star Beach Hotel in Negombo. remove church crosses. More than 1,200 churches have had Some 40 delegates from 14 Asian countries attended the event crosses removed in the past 18 months and that this had hurt the held for the first time in Sri Lanka. The assembly theme was sentiment of more than 2 million Protestants. It was said that the “Social Media and Family Values.” Its main objective is to confiscation of the official seal is tantamount to “removing” understand the power of social media and its impact on family some of the council’s authority. (UCANEWS) values. The participants were welcomed by Bishop Raymond PHILIPPINES: PRIEST WARNS FAITHFUL OF FAKE Wickremasinghe, Chairman of the Catholic National FACEBOOK PAGES Commission for Social Communications, Fr. Gabriel Htun Fr. Carmelo O. Estores, chancellor of Parañaque diocese, has Mint, President of Signis-Asia, and Fr. Cyril Gamini Fernando, warned about certain Facebook pages that appear to operate on Director of Signis-Sri Lanka. (SIGNIS-ASIA) behalf of the Episcopal See as well as its pastor, Bishop Jesse E. SINGAPORE: ‘EMBLEMS OF SINGAPORE’ Mercado. In a circular, the priest said the person or persons LAUNCHED behind these social media accounts have no authority to do so, Convent of Holy Infant Jesus (CHIJ) – St Theresa’s Convent especially since they give information that confuses the public. launched “Emblems of Singapore” on August 6 to showcase The official domains of the diocese are: student art-works. Twenty-five of the school’s pioneer teachers and Chancery Parañaque on and members of the Kampong Bahru and Radin Mas Facebook. (CBCPNEWS) community attended the event. The exhibit displayed painted INDIA: RELIGIOUS LEADERS WEIGH IN ON PORN wooden tiles featuring Singapore themes, 268 Trexi figurines BAN depicting icons such as the Merlion and the NSman, and an 8.5- Religious leaders in India welcome a government move to ban m-long silhouette of the Singapore skyline. (CN) pornographic websites, but some caution against intrusion on BANGLADESH: ANOTHER RELIGIOUS BLOGGER personal freedom. The free access to pornographic sites has SLAIN done irreparable damage to young people, said Father Joseph The killing of a fourth atheist blogger this year, allegedly by Chinayyan, deputy secretary-general of the Indian Catholic Islamic militants, happened on August 7 in Dhaka. Niladri bishops’ conference. Samuel Jayakumar of the National Council Chatterjee, 40, who used the pen name Niloy Neel, was hacked of Churches in India, however, said the move is an to death in his home. He wrote blogs critical of religion and encroachment on the personal lives of people. Father Paul religious fundamentalism. A culture of impunity and the Thelakkat, spokesperson of the Syro-Malabar Church, said government’s failure to offer protection are behind the wave of government control on any form of expression would amount to attacks, Father Joyanto Gomes, secretary of the Bangladesh chaos and a totalitarian state. The debate about the ban on the Catholic Bishops’ Social Communication Commission said. pornographic sites started after the Federal Telecommunications “These attacks hit on religious tolerance and freedom of Ministry on August 2 ordered Internet service providers to block expression,” he added. (UCANEWS) 857 sites showing adult sex content. (UCANEWS) INDIA: INDIAN NATIVITY SCENE ON DISPLAY AT INTERNATIONAL NATIVITY MUSEUM …we should be concerned For the first time, a crafted Nativity scene from India has that, alongside the exciting found a place at the UNESCO-promoted International Nativity possibilities offered by Museum in Bethlehem. The museum contains more than 223- media, a deep and nativity representations from over 90 countries draws visitors melancholic dissatisfaction from across the globe. Each scene depicts the birth of Christ with interpersonal using styles and motifs unique to the tradition and culture of the relations, or a harmful country origin. The Indian Nativity scene is made by a Kolkata- sense of isolation, can also based company “Church Art,” which produces works for arise. – Pope Francis, churches, schools and museum. (THE HINDU) Laudato Si (2015, no. 47)

FABC-OSC Communication INFO August 2015 Vol. 30 No. 8