Asia remembers ex-pontiff Benedict as theologian with deep spirituality

Asia remembers ex-pontiff Benedict as theologian with deep spirituality

Church leaders and heads of nations in Asia have paid tributes to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and hailed him for his work for non-violence, peace, and harmony.

The former pope died of age-related complications on December 31. He was 95.  A prominent theologian and academic, Benedict made history by becoming the first pope to resign in six centuries, leading to a conclave that elected Pope Francis.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Pope Benedict will be “remembered for his rich service to society.” Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina hailed Pope Benedict’s non-violent policy and establishment of universal peace. Pakistan President Arif Alvi praised the late pope for his efforts for peace, harmony, and interfaith dialogue, and for his strong advocacy for refugees and migrants.

Park Jeong-ha, a spokesperson for South Korea’s ruling People Power Party, said Pope Benedict’s resignation was “a symbol of the renovation of the Church” while adding that he led “a life as a pilgrim.” Indonesia’s Minister of Religion Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas said Pope Benedict was an example of humility and committed to bridging differences.

Meanwhile, at least 15 cardinals from Asia attended the funeral of Pope Benedict at the Vatican on Thursday.

It was an unprecedented ceremony in six centuries as a reigning pope led the requiem procedure for his predecessor. Besides the cardinals, most heads of Asia’s national bishops’ conferences also joined the global Catholic hierarchy for the funeral of the late pope.

Among the Asian cardinals were Indian Cardinals George Alencherry and Baselios Cleemis.

Despite Benedict not being a reigning pope, the requiem procedure followed a papal funeral but with a few changes. Tens of thousands have flocked to St. Peter’s Basilica to pay their last respects to the late pope. 

In central India, a mob comprising hundreds of villagers armed with wooden sticks and iron rods attacked and vandalized the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Chhattisgarh state’s Narayanpur district on Monday.

This was the latest violence linked with ongoing strife between indigenous people following the animist religion and those following the Christian faith. The attackers smashed the church’s glass windows, destroyed the church’s altar, crucifix, statues and furniture, and strew around consecrated hosts. The mob also vandalized a Marian grotto and the presbytery in the village.

Parish priest Father Jomon Devasia lamented that the more than five decades old Church was rebuilt five years back and now everything inside it had been destroyed.  Violence broke out when a group of indigenous animist people were protesting earlier clashes in which some of their people were reportedly injured.

The protest turned violent and a mob barged into the compound of the church. A top officer was injured as the police force led by him tried to stop the mob from attacking the church. 

Catholics in Pakistan have welcomed the appointment of Monsignor Christophe Zakhia El-Kassis, hitherto papal envoy in the country, as the first apostolic nuncio to the United Arab Emirates.

The Vatican announced the appointment on Tuesday. Archbishop El-Kassis has been serving as nuncio in Pakistan since November 2019 and is expected to reach Abu Dhabi next month.

Archbishop Joseph Arshad, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Pakistan, said the transfer is a great honor for Archbishop El-Kassis and hailed him for playing “a good role” in leading the mission in Pakistan and helping establish good relationships between the government and the Church.

The apostolic nunciature in Abu Dhabi was inaugurated in February 2022 by Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, substitute secretary for general affairs in the Vatican Secretariat of State. The Vatican and the United Arab Emirates established diplomatic relations in 2007, but until now the nuncio resided in Kuwait. 

The team from the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines won the World Universities Debating Championship for the first time in the history of the Southeast Asian nation.

The Filipino debaters beat the world’s top universities including Harvard and Oxford on their way to victory in the championship, dubbed as the World Debate Olympics, held in Madrid early this week. 

In the grand finale, the Ateneo de Manila team, composed of David Africa and Tobi Leung, faced off against teams from the Princeton University from the United States, Sofia University from Bulgaria, and Tel Aviv University from Israel.

The teams argued whether it was preferable to have “a world where all individuals have a strong belief in Ubuntu – a philosophical belief which literally means “I am because we are.” The Philippine debaters argued in the opposition saying that people’s identities were not shaped by, and their obligations were not primarily owed to their communities.

The military junta in Myanmar has charged prominent Baptist pastor Hkalam Samson under the draconian Unlawful Association Act following his arrest last month.

A fresh case has been slapped on the pastor who was detained at Mandalay International Airport while on his way to Bangkok for a medical examination. If found guilty under the colonial-era law, the former leader of the Kachin Baptist Convention will face three years in jail and will have to pay a fine.

The junta allegedly arrested the outspoken pastor to prevent him from airing his views outside the country as he had done earlier. The pastor is currently detained in a prison in Myitkyina, the capital of Christian-majority Kachin state, where the junta is engaged in heavy fighting with the rebel Kachin Independence Army.

The trial against Pastor Samson is expected to start next week. In 2019, the pastor faced pressure from the military for telling then-US president, Donald Trump, that the junta was oppressing ethnic minorities, including Christians.

Religious and civic groups in South Korea have once again urged the government to enact a set of laws to abolish the death penalty, which is pending in the parliament.

During a joint press conference in the final week of December, the groups demanded the government make South Korea “a completely abolitionist country.” The event marked the 25th anniversary of the last execution of 23 convicts on Dec. 30, 1997, after which South Korea declared a moratorium on executions. Currently, a total of nine proposed laws are pending with the National Assembly.

The Special Bill on the Abolition of the Death Penalty was tabled on Oct. 7, 2021, for the ninth time since it was first proposed on Dec. 7, 1999. Only some 30 of the 300 parliamentarians supported the bill.

South Korea ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1990 but has yet to ratify the Second Optional Protocol aiming at the abolition of the death penalty.

China’s state-run bodies that oversee legally recognized religions are complicit in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violation of religious freedom by the Chinese Communist Party – the CCP, says the latest report from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.

The report titled ‘State-Controlled Religion and Religious Freedom Violations in China’ released at the end of December focuses on the role of seven state-run bodies in anti-religious repression as part of the state’s policy and system.

The report said the CCP and its government exercise comprehensive and extensive control over religion in China through a complex web of state laws, regulations, and policies, which the Party and government agencies implement and enforce at all levels.

The commission alleged the seven state-run bodies that oversee legally recognized religions – Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Taoism, and Islam – must be politically loyal to the CCP and are legally required to assist or work with the CCP and government, even to carry out repressive policies and actions against religious communities they claim to represent. 

Workmen in Cambodia have started demolishing the gutted ruins of a five-story casino complex after its devastation in a massive fire that left 26 people dead and at least 57 injured.

Authorities from the Cambodia-Thai border town of Poipet reported 17 people from Thailand while one Chinese, a Nepalese and a Malaysian were among those killed in the blaze at the Grand Diamond City Hotel and Casino.

No Cambodians are believed to have died though six bodies are yet to be identified after they were burnt beyond recognition. DNA tests are expected to be conducted to determine their identities.

The casino complex consisted of four buildings – of which three were completely destroyed – and could hold more than 1,000 patrons while being staffed by more than 500 employees. Police say they suspect an electrical fault caused the fire on December 28. The Cambodian authorities have promised a full investigation into the fire incident.  

The Indonesian government has decided to step up efforts to combat child pornography. The move comes as child porn has become a growing menace in the world’s largest Muslim nation with more takers from abroad.

Under the new measures, stricter punishments will be awarded to the perpetrators, an official from the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection said on Wednesday.

The ministry will join with police and the ministry of communication to keep a tab on criminal acts like distributing pornographic content involving children by tracking and blocking websites that sell child porn videos.

The growing demand for child pornography has made it a highly lucrative business in Indonesia. Most of the demand is from outside the country. Indonesia’s Financial Transaction Analysis Reporting Center reported that trade in pornographic and sexual videos involving children reached around 115 billion rupiahs or 7.3 million US Dollars in 2022.