The News You May Have Missed: April 2025

Cathedral Casualty

A Catholic church in Myanmar was bombed less than two weeks after Pope Francis designated it a cathedral for the newly formed Diocese of Mindat (Catholic News Agency, Feb. 11). The Sacred Heart of Jesus Church was hit during airstrikes launched by the military regime in Chin, Myanmar’s only Christian-majority state, destroying its roof and stained-glass windows and rendering it unusable. Parishioners had been planning liturgical celebrations, including the consecration of the newly appointed bishop, Augustine Thang Zawm Hung, before evacuating. Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist country, has been wracked by violence following a 2021 coup in which a military junta overthrew the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The coup triggered mass protests and armed conflicts across the country, with more than 6,000 civilian casualties and millions displaced. The Diocese of Mindat serves 14,000 Catholics across 23 parishes. A local priest, identified as Fr. Paulinus, said the faithful are determined to rebuild. “We are certain that the Lord will ‘bombard’ us with his grace and blessing,” he said.

Sensitive in Southeast Asia

Vietnamese police arrested a Protestant pastor for spreading “anti-state propaganda” on social media. Nguyen Manh Hung, 71, is the first to be arrested this year for this violation of Vietnam’s Penal Code and the second since To Lam became general secretary of the Communist Party in August 2024. Hung, who fought in the Vietnam War as a soldier of the Northern Vietnam Army, faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty. Formerly administrator of Chuong Bo Protestant Church under the independent Mennonite Church, he is a member of the Interfaith Council of Vietnam, which advocates religious freedom. Hung is known for his active presence on Facebook, where he has criticized the government for human-rights violations, corruption, and confiscating land from residents without fair compensation. In a January post he said the communists once referred to those who bought land as “cruel landlords,” while these days “those who abuse power to acquire land are called ‘outstanding cadres’” (UCA News, Jan. 23).

Raising the Cane

Four Indonesian men were publicly flogged for online gambling, the first such punishment of the year in Aceh, the only province in the Muslim-majority nation where offenses such as gambling, adultery, and alcohol consumption are punishable by caning. In front of dozens of people at a public park, one man received 22 lashes, and the others eight and nine, based on their betting and income, after an Islamic leader delivered a sermon on repentance. Aceh began enforcing Sharia after the central government granted it special autonomy in 2001 to quell a long-running separatist insurgency. Human-rights groups condemn public caning as cruel, but it has strong support among Aceh’s population. In 2021 two Christian men were flogged 40 times for drinking alcohol and gambling, a rare instance of non-Muslims receiving such punishment. That same year a gay couple was flogged 80 times each for having homosexual relations, which is forbidden under Islamic law (UCA News, Jan. 30).