CNS photo/Lang Lang, Reuters 
Cross demolisher to oversee Hong Kong, Macau affairs
The architect of the cross removal and Church destruction campaign in the China province of Zhejiang has been appointed Head of the Office of Hong Kong and Macau Affairs.
Xia Baolong, 67, is an ally of Chinese leader Xi Jinping and in 2013 became the Communist Party’s secretary of the province.
There he oversaw the removal of more than 1,200 crosses and an unknown number of churches torn down, which spread to other provinces.
After stepping down in 2017, he was promoted to vice chairman of the Chinese People’s Consultative Committee, which is responsible for handling religion and ethnic minorities.
Pakistan Christians and Muslims unite to rebuild Church
Christians and Muslims are working together to restore a Catholic Church in the eastern Pakistani city of Gujranwala.
St Mary’s Church, founded in 1953, is being rebuilt by villagers to accommodate more worshippers.
Around 50 Christian families are estimated to be living in the Muslim-majority community, with locals wanting to help maintain a community tradition of harmony.
“It is an example of true love and brotherhood that Muslim people have opened their hearts and are financing the construction work,” said local parish priest Fr Samran Anwar.
“The contribution coming from our Muslim neighbours for this holy cause is a true sign of brotherhood and peace.”
Law for burial rights of warring India Christians passed
A law to govern the burial rights of two warring Christian factions has been passed in India’s Kerala state.
The Christian Cemeteries (Right to Burial of Corpse) Act 2020, passed last week, exempts Catholics from the purview of the law.
The legislation aims to address a century-old feud over Church lands and properties, to ensure the right of Christians to be buried in their respective parish cemeteries.
Since 1995, when the Catholicos of the East were declared as the head of the Malankara Church, the Jacobites have fought them with both fractions denying the other access to cemeteries to bury their dead.
New pastoral plan launched in Zimbabwe
The Pastoral Council of Zimbabwe’s Archdiocese of Harare has unveiled a new pastoral plan requesting for all parishes to establish Small Christian Communities (SSCs).
The plan calls for all Christians to be “registered, belong and active” in their neighbourhood, parish-based SCCs groups.
Archbishop of Harare Robert Ndlovu welcomed the news and urged the faithful to focus on “the Word of God, Liturgy and charity”.
SCCs are modelled on early Church communities; where small home-based groups gather at a parishioners’ home to share the Word of God, celebrate their patron saint, meet and support each other.
Ivory Coast celebrates four decades of Opus Dei
Celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of Opus Dei in the Ivory Coast took place on February 16.
The occasion was hosted in the parish of Saint Jacques de Cocody les Plateaux, in the archdiocese of Abidjan and will culminate with a solemn thanksgiving Mass in the Cathedral of Saint Paul on September 26.
“Celebrating these 40 years means realising the miracles that God can do,” said regional vicar Fr Abdoulaye Sissoko.
“From the five people at the beginning of 1980, today there are about 500 in the Ivory Coast including 13 priests and almost 900 among collaborators, co-operators and friends of Opus Dei.”
