Church Under Attack

Monday, July 23, 2012

The following excerpt is from Catholic World News:

The world’s oldest functioning Christian monastery faces a clouded future, after an appeals court in Turkey ruled that the building sits on land not owned by the monks.
The Mor Gabriel monastery, built near the Syrian border, was established in 397 by Syriac Orthodox monks, and has been in continuous use since that time, welcoming up to 20,000 pilgrims each year.

The following excerpt is from Catholic World News:

Chinese authorities have announced an investigation into the conduct of Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin, who is being held in custody after announcing his resignation from the government-backed Catholic Patriotic Association.
Both the Patriotic Association and the Chinese bishops’ conference (which is recognized by the government, but not by the Vatican) have announced that they are looking into reports that Bishop Ma violated the rules of the bishops’ conference “with regard to bishops’ election and ordination.”