UCA News Weekly Summary, March 6, 2026

Hello and welcome to UCLA News Weekly Summary, your guide for news and information about

and of interest to the church in Asia. I am Joe Matthews.

Catholic bishops in Asia have expressed deep anguish over the renewed escalation of conflict

in the Middle East and have called for dialogue to open pathways towards a just and lasting

peace. In a press statement issued on Tuesday, the Central Committee of the Federation of

Asian Bishops Conferences gathered in Bangkok expressed grave concern over the renewed escalation

of violence in the Middle East. The acts of bombardment and retaliation involving major

global and regional powers, risk plunging the region and the world into a conflict of

incalculable human and economic consequences, the bishops warned. As a continent, they are

particularly concerned about the conflict. The bishops statement echoed that of Pope Leo

XIV, who had earlier reiterated his call for peace and dialogue in the Middle East. The bishops

reminded everyone that peace cannot be built on threats or weapons that sow destruction,

pain and death. Authorities in India's Kashmir region have decided to continue restrictions

as the region witnessed unprecedented protests, mourning the assassination of Iran's supreme

leader Ayatollah Ali Kaminay. Thousands marched on the streets on Sunday, shouting emotionally

charged slogans amid tight security and blanket restrictions imposed after media reported

Kaminay's death in a joint United States Israel military strike. Protesters took to

the streets in several districts and blocked roads, carrying black flags and shouting anti-US

and anti-Israel slogans. Religious leaders and community figures led them in several places,

urging them to keep the protest peaceful. Authorities closed schools, colleges and offices

in the Kashmir Valley, a Muslim-dominated area that holds cultural affinity with Iran,

and deployed security forces to prevent possible violence.

India's Ministry of Home Affairs also issued a nationwide alert, urging all states and union

territories to remain vigilant and warning of possible violence and sporadic protests.

Meanwhile, Pakistani Christians observed a nationwide day of prayer for peace amid violent

anti-US protests following the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Kaminay

in a joint US-Israeli air strike. At least 25 people have been killed and 73 injured since

March 1st after clashes broke out between police and protesters as they tried to storm

the gates of the US consulate in the port city of Karachi.

Protests were also reported in the national capital Islamabad and in Lahore, and authorities

responded by deploying additional personnel and intensifying security checkpoints, especially

around the US Embassy. Archbishop Azad Marshall, moderator of the Church of Pakistan, a

united Protestant body, urged Christians across the nation to light candles during special

Sunday services as a symbol of peace, unity, and solidarity with the nation and its defense

forces. Christian community leaders stressed that the violence unfolding in the region

affects people of all faiths, not just Muslims.

The body of prominent Laos dissident Cicai Luangmonda, popularly known as Baumorkayan, was

found on a roadside six days after his arrest by the military. His death was further shrouded

in mystery after authorities dismissed the arrest claim. Human rights groups and his family

were angered by an attempted cover-up at the village level, saying that Cicai was found

on a roadside in Hadsaifong district, outside of Vientiane, on February 20th, along with

the motorbike. One day later, his brother confirmed a body was found alongside the bike,

and on February 22nd, the remains were formally identified as Cicai. His brother then issued

a funeral notification for the following day. But on the day of the cremation, the head

of Hawaii to village in Vientiane issued a letter saying the claims circulating online

about Cicai's death by his brother were entirely without merit and completely false.

The Manusia Foundation suggested an official cover-up, perhaps targeting Cicai's brother

over the death of a dissident, who, according to his family, had been taken into custody

on February 14th.

Cambodia's Supreme Court has rejected an appeal for early release, lodged by lawyers representing

five Mother Nature environmental activists, who were jailed for up to eight years for plotting

against the government and insulting the monarch. The motion was denied on Monday after

the Supreme Court heard their appeal on February 23rd, amid pleas for their release from family,

human rights activists, and ordinary Cambodians, who were shocked by the severity of the sentences

when handed down in July 2024. The activists were convicted of charges that had stemmed

from a report in a campaign based on sewage leaks into the Mekong River.

Previous appeals for bail, while their final appeal was submitted, had also been denied

by lower courts. The ruling was backed by judicial arguments that their convictions

were a felony, and to prevent new offences, threats on witnesses, and to maintain public

order. Mother Nature, along with Khmer Bible editor

Theory Singh and former opposition leader Kim Sokka, emerged as the focus in a government

crackdown on dissent that began ahead of elections in 2018 and has intensified over

the past three months.

The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday upheld a lower court order to dissolve the Unification

Church, rejecting the religious sex appeal, and clearing the way for its court supervised

liquidation. The ruling affirms a March 2025 order of the Tokyo District Court to dissolve

the sex Japanese chapter. The legal battle began in October 2023 when the education and

culture ministry sought a court order to revoke the group's status, citing decades of

high pressure fundraising practices that allegedly harmed followers and their families.

It was also blamed for child neglect among its members, although it has denied any wrongdoing.

The church faced public scrutiny in the wake of the assassination of ex-primeer Shinzo

Abe in 2022. Officially called Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, the church

was founded in South Korea and nicknamed the Moonies after its late founder Sun Myeong Moon.

With the High Court's decision, the church will lose its legal status as a religious corporation

and associated tax benefits.

Jesus Manuel Sante, a Filipino lawmaker, has come under fire for making a sexist remark

about an actress during a congressional hearing on impeachment complaints against

embattled vice president Sara Duterte. Sante drew criticism for his remark about Filipino

Australian actress Anne Curtis during a congressional justice committee hearing on two impeachment

complaints against Duterte on Tuesday. Sara Duterte faces impeachment complaints filed

by Catholic priests, religious sisters, and other critics. She is accused of misusing

$10.5 million US dollars in funds and plotting to assassinate president Ferdinand Marcos

Jr. First Lady Liza Aroneta Marcos and Marcos' cousin, representative Martin Romualdez,

fellow lawmakers, including several women legislators, condemned Sante's remark. The heated

exchange in the House went viral in the Catholic majority nation, where such remarks by politicians

are not uncommon. Former president Duterte once joked that he should have been first to

rape an Australian missionary who was killed during a prison riot in 1989. Last year, two

politicians contesting midterm elections came under fire for sexist remarks, forcing them

to issue public apologies. The presidential palace criticized the objectification of women.

The Franciscan Order in Indonesia has denied rumors circulating on social media that one

of its bishops, Pascalis Bruno Shukur, who recently resigned after previously rejecting

cardinalship, was having an affair with a woman and had a child. In a letter issued

on Tuesday, the congregation called the rumors a lie and decried the misinformation being

spread on social media. The rumors had raised many questions, debates, unrest, and confusion

among friars, parishioners, and people of good will, which the congregation hoped would

be put to rest after its clarification. The rumor originated in a February 22nd post

on Facebook by Florey Bertas Rahardi, a former journalist and writer, claiming Shukur's

predecessor, Bishop Michael Anker of Bogor, had heard rumors about his affair with a woman,

with whom he had a daughter, who is now in her 20s. The posts sparked immediate protests

from Shukur's supporters. Rahardi has consistently maintained that his information was concrete

not nonsense. That's time we have this week, but if you are a listener to this, you will

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Today's producer was Benu Alex. As usual, I will be with you next week, and until then,

goodbye.