Asia

Chinese crackdown HUNDREDS of underground Chinese Catholics, who refuse to to sever links to the Vatican, were abused during Holy Week in the Wenzhou Diocese in eastern China.
Government officials and around 130 police officers locked the church of Linjia village in Lupu town, Cangnan County in an attempt to prevent believers from praying and then destroyed the building on Easter morning.
In the same diocese of Wenzhou Bishop James Lin Xili, clandestinely ordained, and six of his priests have been detained.
The suffering of Chinese Catholics who have remained faithful to the Pope, despite the stiff persecution of recent years, was praised by Cardinal Jozef Tomko, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of People celebrating Mass for the 50th anniversary of Vatican Radio's Chinese program.
Kidnap priest is killed
A CATHOLIC priest was among the victims of a bungled hostage rescue attempt in the Philippines.
Fr Rhoel Gallardo, a Claretian parish priest from Tumahubong, was killed by the Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf group in the south of the country.
Father Gallardo, 34, was reportedly tortured in captivity; his nails were pulled out and he was beaten daily.
Pope John Paul II said he was "greatly saddened by the news of the killing of various hostages". He also appealed to all sides in the conflict to "renounce the ways of violence and to return to peaceful negotiation"
Church schools clash
CintisTIAN schools in Uttar Pradesh are protesting new measures which they believe will give the northern state too much power over Church schools, They believe the measures, asking all church schools to renew their registration "from time to time", and to include officials from the state government's education department in their management, might open the way to Hindu rightwing extremists trying to infiltrate the schools.
By denying the church-run English middle schools minority status, they also make it more difficult to admit Christhin students on a priority basis.
The dioceses in Uttar Pradesh, the country's most densely populated state, run more than 500 formal and informal educational institutions, although Christians form only 0.14 per cent of its 140m population.
Solidarity with Sri Lanka
THE aisseass of England and Wales expressed "serious concern" at the continued devastating conflict in Sri Lanka at the end of their Low Meeting last week.
They condemned that the upsurge of fighting between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LITE) and called for both parties to engage in dialogue.
The bishops also requested the British Government to assist the third-party mediation recently planned to be undertaken by Norway. "We offer our solidarity and prayer to the people and Church in Sri Lanka," the statement concluded.