South Korea’s largest Buddhist order has called for the immediate withdrawal of a proposed special law that would offer government support for the Church-organized World Youth Day in 2027. Listen to the story and more in a wrap-up of the weekly news from Asia.
Listen to news from and about the Church in Asia in a capsule of around 10 minutes.
South Korea’s largest Buddhist order has called for the immediate withdrawal of a proposed special law that would offer government support for the Church-organized World Youth Day in 2027. Listen to the story and more in a wrap-up of the weekly news from Asia.
Filed by UCA News reporters, compiled by Fabian Antony, text edited by Anosh Malekar, presented by Joe Mathews, Cover photo by AFP, background score by Andre Louis and produced by Binu Alex for ucanews.com
The Jogye Order, which forms South Korea’s largest Buddhist group, has called for the immediate withdrawal of a proposed special law that would offer government support for the Church-organized World Youth Day in Seoul in 2027. “The bill clearly violates the constitution,” Venerable Sungwang of the Jogye Order said while adding that it violates the constitutional principle of separation of religion and state. He said all 61 voting members of the order’s Central Council unanimously opposed the bill at their November 19 general meeting. The order, which accounts for around 70 percent of the nation’s Buddhist temples, is the highest decision-making body of Korean Buddhism, comparable to a bishops’ conference in the Catholic Church. In a statement, the group alleged that the proposed law, pending in the National Assembly since November 2024, would channel public resources into what it described as “a religious event for Catholic evangelization.” Church leaders have emphasized the need for a pan-government framework, as Pope Leo XIV is expected to attend the event as a state guest.
Global rights group Human Rights Watch has accused Nepal’s security forces of using excessive and indiscriminate violence during Gen Z protests against corruption in politics and a social media ban between September 8 to 9. The group called for transparent and independent investigations to hold accountable those in the security forces responsible for the killing of at least 17 people. It also urged the interim government led by former chief justice Sushila Karki to investigate the excessive use of force, as well as arson and mob attacks by protesters on individuals and buildings on the second day of violence. The rights group said it found that the police indiscriminately fired on protesters multiple times over three hours in the national capital, Kathmandu, which sparked a second day of violence. The group said the security forces appeared to fail to act when groups of people set fire to government buildings; assaulted politicians, journalists, and others; and attacked schools, businesses, and media companies.
Sri Lankan police have removed an “unauthorized” Buddha statue near a prominent temple in the eastern district of Trincomalee, triggering angry reactions from hardline monks and raising fears of renewed communal tension in the multi-religious region. The police took down the statue on November 16 after the state-run Coast Conservation Department reported that it had been installed in a structure built without approval from local authorities, police, or temple management. A video of officers removing the statue went viral on social media, prompting an intense online debate and criticism from Buddhist groups. In a statement on November 17, police said the statue had been placed in a public area without permission and was moved to the Trincomalee police station “for safety.” Police said some individuals protested the removal, but officers brought the situation under control without any violence. Hardline monks have since accused the government of violating Buddhist rights. On November 18, controversial monk Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera, head of the Buddhist nationalist group Bodu Bala Sena, visited Trincomalee and urged Buddhists to “stand up for their Buddhist heritage.”
The Trump administration has revoked protection visas for refugees who have fled Myanmar’s relentless, almost five-year-long, bloody civil war, saying the country is now safe while urging people to return ahead of elections slated for late next month. Despite battles being fought across the country and a military junta with a well-documented history of savage human rights abuses, the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, concluded that the Temporary Protected Status designation for Myanmar was no longer needed. The decision, which has outraged and mystified Myanmar’s opposition and civil society groups, was announced overnight after Noem conferred with US government agencies, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. The military junta ousted the government of Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup d’etat in February 2021, after her party won a landslide election, tipping the country into a civil war. Some 60,000 people have since died, and the junta has absolute control over just 30 percent of the country, according to independent analysts. UN reports say about 3.6 million people are internally displaced, while another 1.3 million people have fled the country.
Cambodia has launched the Schoolhouse of Media Information Literacy app, a simple smartphone application tailored for students and young people to help arm themselves against online scams and disinformation. The app has taken off beyond schools and been embraced by business and even seasoned journalists. The move also comes amid the government’s social media war with Thailand over a border dispute. The app includes 21 lessons in five chapters and features 135 questions and answers. Users who complete the learning modules and pass the tests can earn an online certificate. It also offers videos, books, and an offline mode to ensure as many students as possible can use it, even in areas with poor internet connectivity. Cambodia’s smartphone and internet numbers are high. In a country with a population of fewer than 18 million, there are more than 20 million smartphones and internet subscriptions.
A Thai appeal court on Wednesday ruled to allow the extradition of Y Quynh Bdap, a prominent Vietnamese activist who was granted refugee status by the UN and faces a decade in prison if returned to Vietnam. He has lived in exile in Thailand since 2018 and was sentenced in absentia by a Vietnamese court in January 2024 for terrorism offenses. He was convicted for remotely orchestrating 2023 attacks in which gunmen on motorbikes opened fire on two police posts in Vietnam's Central Highlands, killing nine people in a rare act of violence against the communist authorities. He has denied the allegations. The appeal court upheld a lower court's decision and stated that it found insufficient evidence to support that Bdap would be in danger of torture or forced disappearance if returned to Vietnam. However, UN-affiliated experts warned last year that Bdap would be at risk of "torture or other ill-treatment or punishment" if sent back home.
Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan, one of the Philippines’ most outspoken prelates, has urged Filipinos not to forget the previous regime’s bloody “war on drugs” when they protest against corruption in flood control projects under the current government on Sunday. The nationwide Trillion Peso March is set to take place against the backdrop of the running feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Junior and his former ally, Vice President Sara Duterte. Villegas emphasized in a pastoral letter that the vice president’s father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, should not be left unscathed. Thousands of Filipinos are expected to join nationwide anti-corruption rallies. The prelate noted that corruption was normalized to a massive extent because Filipino society “first tolerated a culture of killing as a perceived ‘solution’ to complex social problems.” Indifference to killing “has metastasized into the brazen impunity” of corrupt public officials, he said. The archbishop added that liars, particularly those who peddle disinformation, should also be held accountable. Human rights groups estimate police and vigilantes carried out between 12,000-30,000 extrajudicial killings during Duterte’s anti-drug campaign.
Hundreds of Catholic delegates from up to 30 countries in Asia will flock to St. Anne’s Minor Basilica, one of Malaysia’s most popular shrines, during one of the region’s largest international Catholic gatherings later this week. The delegates of “The Great Pilgrimage of Hope” to be held in Penang on November 27 to 30 will pay a visit to the basilica and join a special concert on its premises on November 29, the organizers said. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization, will preside over a special Mass at the shrine for the visitors. The visit to the shrine and the concert by Australian priest and musician Rob Galea are the only two public events during the four-day event. The Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences’ Office of Evangelization is organizing the event in collaboration with the Vatican’s Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Pontifical Mission Societies, and hosted by the Diocese of Penang, with the Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei.
A Hindu temple priest in India’s Maharashtra state has been arrested after allegedly dressing a statue of the goddess Kali to resemble Mother Mary holding the infant Jesus, sparking protests from local Hindus. The priest, identified as Ramesh, was held in two-day police custody after Hindus accused him of insulting religious sentiments under India’s new criminal law. The incident was discovered on Monday when worshippers arrived at the suburban temple and saw the idol adorned in golden robes, a white-embellished crown and carrying a child figure. Police said the priest confessed during interrogation that the goddess had appeared to him in a dream and instructed him to dress the idol in this manner. The act has drawn criticism from both Hindu and Christian communities. “This is wrong and hurtful to Christians as well,” said Melwyn Fernandes, secretary of the Association of Concerned Christians. Dressing the idol of Kali — traditionally revered as a destroyer of evil — as Mother Mary was a “gross disrespect” to Christian beliefs, he added. Police said they are also probing whether any members of the Christian community influenced the act, though the priest has denied any such involvement.