SPIRITED THINKING SINCE 1888
Benedict Rogers

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The arrest of Cardinal Zen: A new low for China’s ‘brutal’ Communist regime
May 12, 2022
Arresting a 90 year-old Cardinal marks a new low for a Chinese Communist Party regime that had already sunk to shocking levels of inhumanity, barbarity, cruelty and mendacity. Cardinal Joseph Zen is, as the last Governor of Hong Kong Lord Patten said yesterday, “one of the most important figures in the Catholic Church in Asia
Hong Kong faces an epic battle to defend its freedoms
June 12, 2020
Almost 23 years ago, Hong Kong was handed over to China with the promise of a “high degree of autonomy”, basic freedoms and the possibility of universal suffrage at some stage in the future. It was an experiment devised by China’s paramount leader Deng Xiaoping known as “one country, two systems”, and was supposed to
The cardinal’s clandestine Mass: how Lithuania survived totalitarianism
March 12, 2020
Just outside Kaunas, Lithuania’s second city, on a hillside in a residential area stands a house belonging to the family of Vytautas Andziulis and his wife, Birutė. For 10 years during the Soviet occupation of Lithuania this couple, together with Juozas Bacevičius, ran a secret printing press that published 23 titles and 138,000 copies – dissident
Democracy is in retreat – but heroic activists are emerging
December 19, 2019
Jesus Christ was a refugee who grew up to become a dissident. Of course He is much more than that – He is God Incarnate, Emmanuel – but as we approach the Nativity and see images of a baby lying in a manger, let us not forget the rest of the story. And as we
How books kept a broken nation’s soul alive
October 31, 2019
Syria’s Secret Library By Mike Thomson Weidenfeld, 320pp, £18.99/$28 It was because of my love of books as well as my passion for human rights and humanitarian causes that I picked up Syria’s Secret Library: The True Story of How a Besieged Syrian Town Found Hope. It is one of most moving and inspiring books
Beijing knows it is losing the battle of ideas over Hong Kong
September 12, 2019
Almost exactly a year ago, the Holy See and the Chinese government signed an agreement on the appointment of bishops designed to “normalise” relations and – at least in the mind of the Vatican – enhance protection for China’s 10 million Catholics. A year on, where are we? Well, there has been no tangible sign
To beat persecution, we must tackle the arms trade
August 08, 2019
The US State Department recently hosted the second Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom. Bringing together more than 1,000 civil society and religious leaders and 100 foreign delegations consisting of ministers, ambassadors and policy-makers, this was the largest ever religious freedom gathering in the world, and the biggest human rights event ever to take place at
The dramatic protests in Hong Kong are infused with religious fervour
June 20, 2019
“Stop using baton, or we sing Hallelujah to the Lord,” read one of the placards among the sea of people marching yet again in Hong Kong last Sunday. Even in the midst of passion and outrage, Hong Kongers kept a sense of humour – and for many, a display of faith. “Sing Hallelujah to the
As their freedoms disappear, how long can Hong Kong’s Christians hold out?
April 18, 2019
On March 30, hundreds of Hong Kong Christians prayed on a Way of the Cross march for nine activists facing jail after calling for democracy. Several of the nine – in particular Benny Tai and Pastor Chu Yiu-ming – are Christians who played a leading role in the 2014 Umbrella Movement. Since then, Hong Kong
It’s been a bad year for human rights. But there are still reasons to hope
December 20, 2018
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” With those words from Isaiah (9:2) we proceed through Advent and towards the great light of the feast of the Nativity of the Incarnate Word – or, as we know it, Christmas.
In signing the China deal, the Vatican is taking an enormous risk
September 22, 2018
The regime has a record of breaking promises and disregarding agreements.
China’s war on Christianity
September 20, 2018
Amid new rumours of a deal with the Holy See, persecution of Christians is at its highest level since the Cultural Revolution
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