HONG KONG – Pope Francis has sent condolences and a blessing to the Hong Kong Diocese following the Jan. 3 death of Bishop Yeung Ming-cheung, 73, of liver failure.

MANILA, Philippines – A former head of the Philippines' Catholic bishop's conference, has called on people to ignore President Rodrigo Duterte's repeated rants against the church.

BEIJING, China – As part of an ongoing crackdown on religious practice in the country, Chinese authorities demolished two Catholic Marian shrines this week. The move comes just one month after the Chinese government signed an agreement with the Vatican regarding the appointment of bishops.

VILNIUS, Lithuania – For the first time in decades, all of the Catholic bishops in China are in full communion with the Pope, the Vatican announced.

SEOUL, South Korea – As nuclear negotiations with North Korea continue, Catholics in South Korea are encouraging devotion to their martyr saints and renewing prayers for peace on the peninsula.

NEW DELHI – India's Catholic Church has led a chorus of protest over a demand to ban the sacrament of reconciliation from the chairwoman of the National Commission for Women.

MANILIA, Philippines – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte warned the public during his third State of the Nation address July 23 that his two-year war on drugs would become even "more chilling" in the coming days.

BATTAMBANG, Cambodia – Within weeks of the collapse of the final remnants of the Khmer Rouge in late 1998, Jesuit Father Enrique Figaredo visited some of the movement's last-standing cadres after hearing they needed assistance.

MANILA, Philippines – After calling God “stupid,” Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday that he will seek to have a dialogue with the country’s bishops’ conference in an effort to repair relationships.

JAKARTA, Indonesia – As another deadly attack by Islamic radicals rocked Indonesia May 16, dozens of religious leaders, backed by former first lady Sinta Nuriyah Wahid, launched a new anti-terrorism group.

VATICAN – After multiple bombings at churches in Indonesia left 11 dead dozens more injured, Pope Francis prayed for the repose of the souls of those who died and asked God to bring an end to hatred and violence.

HANOI, Vietnam – St. Paul de Chartres sisters in Vietnam were attacked by construction site guards while they were protesting the building of a house on their former land. One nun was beaten to unconsciousness, reported ucanews.com.

HA TINH, Vietnam – A court in central Vietnam has jailed a Catholic activist after convicting her of subverting the communist state, ucanews.com reported.

MANILA, Philippines – There will be no Holy Week observance this year in Marawi almost a year after extremist gunmen occupied the southern Philippine city.

VANCOUVER – A standing ovation from 2,700 people reverberated inside the Queen Elizabeth Theatre even before the smiling Cardinal of Manila spoke into the microphone.