Fides, the information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies (see link below right), published yesterday a report of the confiscation of a church on February 22 in the village of Kengweng in the district of Sayabulim in Savannakhet province of Laos. They were trying to put an end to a “seminary of formation” and revealing the “operations of the Christians,” according to the NGO “Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom.”
This confiscation occurred two months after the confiscation of another church in Nadaeng in the same district.
Reportedly, there are thirty churches in the province but only seven are recognized by authorities – the others are considered illegal.
The freedom to practice religion is written into the Laotian Constitution and Laos has signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Despite this, they refuse to recognize the rights of Christians and churches in the province of Savannakhet.
To read the report, log on to: www.fides.org/aree/news/newsdet.php?idnews=31096&lan=eng
Let us pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters.
