UCA News Podcast

Asian nations continue to trample human rights by muzzling freedom of speech and shrinking civic spaces, says the annual human rights report from the US State Department. Listen to the story and more in a wrap-up of the weekly news from Asia.

Jesus announces himself not merely as a shepherd, but as the Good Shepherd. He is the one shepherd we can trust because he is the one shepherd who is not a sheep himself.

As Indians brace for national elections, the ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party is accused of using draconian laws to curtail civic freedoms. Listen to the story and more in a wrap-up of the weekly news from Asia.

Let's face it — the Resurrection is unbelievable. Even seeing the risen Lord is not going to convince us otherwise. It's easier to believe in ghosts or to doubt one's own sanity.

A top Vatican official is on a six-day visit to Vietnam to strengthen diplomatic ties with the communist-ruled nation. Listen to the story and more in a wrap-up of the weekly news from Asia.

Living a Christian life takes courage. However, we need not search for it. We have it. Each Sunday when we join the community of disciples we take the greatest risk, that of meeting the Lord.

Catholic Church in Taiwan has pledged help to the victims after the strongest earthquake in decades left nine dead, over 800 injured and damaged dozens of buildings. Listen to the story and more in a wrap-up of the weekly news from Asia.

On Easter we celebrate on behalf of all the world God's love that embraces all the world. We celebrate for that boy, for all the dead and for ourselves, the living who are promised a share in the life of Christ who rose.

Today is also a day of commitment to be a sign of God's love. God felt it worthwhile for Jesus to die in order that I might know love. My life is worth giving in the day-to-day as well as, if necessary, in death so that others may know that love.

Our sharing Eucharist is a service -- a service to the world. We can wash its feet, and we can bring it with us as we share union with Christ. It's all one and the same.

We mark this Holy Week with solemn joy. Death is real. But this week we know that love is even more real.

In conflict-torn Myanmar, political fighting crossed religious lines when a Christian pastor was shot dead by three unknown attackers in Kachin state this week. Listen to the story and more in a wrap-up of the weekly news from Asia.

John "lets the beans out of the bag" by telling us that Jesus is actually talking about the way he will die, lifted up from the earth on a cross. Do I really want to be drawn to him there?

International experts and organizations have expressed concerns over freedom of religion in Hong Kong after the authorities introduced a new security law stipulating tough penalties. Listen to the story and more in a wrap-up of the weekly news from Asia.

Lent is the season when we prepare to renew our baptismal commitment in solidarity with those being baptized at Easter. It is a time of preparation to re-dedicate ourselves to proclaiming to the world the good news that God indeed loves us now, here, as we really are.

Indian nuns and priests join women activists to demand end of crimes against women and ensure their rights and empowerment ahead of the national election in May. Listen to the story and more in a wrap-up of the weekly news from Asia.

Mid-way to our celebration of the Cross and Easter, we reflect on how we are like the animals, tables and vendors in the temple, interfering with others' finding the Lord. As individuals and as a community, we must repent. But, we are called to more than guilt feelings.

A Filipino Catholic laywoman who quit her job to become a full-time volunteer catechist is slated for sainthood. Listen to the story and more in a wrap-up of the weekly news from Asia.

Today's Gospel is a Lenten reminder that the gift of being a beloved child of God that I received in Baptism leads to my own transfiguration. I walk the way of the Cross in this world, but it is a way that leads to incomparable glory.

Minority Christians in India continue to face threats and harassment as hardline Hindu groups push for a Hindu-centric cultural and religious nationalism. Listen to the story and more in a wrap-up of the weekly news from Asia.

The Lord calls us to a change of life, a change we exercise in some small way in Lent as a means of recommitting ourselves at Easter to the big reform we accepted in our baptismal commitment.

One person died and 53 were injured when part of the second floor of a Catholic church collapsed during a packed Ash Wednesday Mass in the Philippines. Listen to the story and more in a wrap-up of the weekly news from Asia.

Welcome to Lent, a time to reflect on our ashiness and our salvation. From now till the start of the Sacred Triduum we will remember that we are Cinderella sitting in sin.

We followers of Jesus are called to be supernatural. In other words, we must be people noteworthy for our willingness to go beyond the natural in us. That means developing the ability to look upon others as the sons and daughters of God, our brothers and sisters.

An airstrike on a school in Myanmar’s Demoso township in Kayah state killed four children, all boys aged 12 to 14, and injured at least 15 other children. Listen to the story and more in a wrap-up of the weekly news from Asia.

Like Jesus, we must be ready and willing to leave our prayer for those who seek us out. Like Peter's mother-in-law, our encounter with God must get us back to normal stuff.

Catholics in China welcomed three new bishops who were ordained with the approval of the Vatican and the communist government within a week. Listen to the story and more in a wrap-up of the weekly news from Asia.

The first step in repentance is to admit our guilt, as when we go to confession. We admit our faults and failures out loud, making them painfully and embarrassingly real to ourselves. Then, we are presented with the sin-overpowering love of God when we most recognize our need of it.

Asian countries are among top persecutors of Christians, says a report from US-based Christian rights group, Open Doors. Listen to the story and more in a wrap-up of the weekly news from Asia.

The clearest presence of the reign is Jesus, God's reign made flesh. "The time of fulfillment has come" is another way of saying, "Here I am!"

Taiwanese defied threats of punishment from Beijing and elected pro-sovereignty candidate Lai Ching-te as their new president. Listen to the story and more in a wrap-up of the weekly news from Asia.

Some of Pope Francis’ pastoral moves, for example his making provision for the blessing of couples in irregular situations and same-sex couples, have drawn criticism and opposition from those who see this as deviation from precedent. However, the pope may actually be following the deeper precedent of Jesus. Father William Grimm  shares some thoughts on this.

When the disciples went with Jesus, they entered into a path of healing, forgiveness, and liberation for others. Such lives will lead us to what it is, whom it is, we are seeking.

Christians in conflict-torn Myanmar paid their last respects to 17 ethnic Chin Christians killed in a military airstrike. Listen to the story and more in this wrap-up of the weekly news from Asia.

We are called to be Stars of Bethlehem, leading men and women to Christ. The chief vocation of the Church is to proclaim the Good News to all nations. How do I share in that great vocation?

Pope Francis prayed for the victims of a deadly earthquake that hit Japan on New Year’s Day.  Listen to this story and more in a wrap-up of the weekly news from Asia.

Each of us is presented with the same vocation as Mary. God says to you and to me, "Make my Son present in the world. Forgive sins. Bring healing. Live with faith that my love is stronger than your death. By word and deed, assure the world of my love."

If there were no answer to our search and longing, then, indeed, our lives would be futile. What use is there for a hunger that cannot be filled? What sense can there be to an existence defined in part by something that is meaningless?

Today we remember and celebrate the fact that we can know God's glory and power not as some sort of information, but as a person. So, on Christmas Day we move from the story to the program, from what happened long ago to our vocation today.

God doesn't choose the way we would. God chooses worldly weakness to proclaim divine power. That's the reason Mary was chosen and the reason we have been chosen.

Christians across Asia have prepared culturally and spiritually to celebrate Christmas and New Year despite hardships and challenges. Listen to the story and more in a wrap-up of the weekly news from Asia.

Our focus on the Christ child at Christmas can distract us from seeing the deeper reality of the Incarnation, that in Christ’s coming among us as one of us our whole life, including our death, has been embraced by God. We are invited at Christmas to strengthen our embrace of the whole reality of life, believing that God is with us in it all. Father William Grimm  shares some thoughts on this.

The place we really live our faith is not in a church. It is in the desert of our workplaces, our schools, our streets, our homes. There is no other place for the world to hear our call to prepare the way of the Lord, to join us on the way of and to the Lord.

A group of Catholics in an Indian archdiocese hailed the resignations of two senior leaders of their Eastern rite Syro-Malabar Church amid an ongoing crisis over a liturgy dispute and land scams. Listen to the story and more in a wrap-up of the weekly news from Asia.

Our Advent meditations and prayers include reflection on the end of the age and the disasters that lead up to it. Today we face the dual disasters of war and climate change. We are not likely to see the end of either. But we can begin the long process of healing the world for the sake of future generations. Father William Grimm  shares some thoughts on this.

In Advent we make a bit more effort to welcome the Lord into our lives and into our hearts, so that we can indeed know him as Son of God, as Good News.

A bomb attack at a Sunday Mass left four university students dead and several injured in the insurgency-plagued Mindanao Island in the Philippines. Listen to the story and more in a wrap-up of the weekly news from Asia.

Faith, hope and love are virtues directed toward past, future and present. In Advent, we remind ourselves to be ever ready to meet and love the Lord who has come, who will come, who comes.

A bishop, priests and religious fled Christ the King cathedral in Loikaw as military junta took over the complex in conflict-torn Myanmar. Listen to the story and more in a wrap-up of the weekly news from Asia.

An increased understanding of gender issues has led to contention in the Catholic Church as Pope Francis acts on the principle that a pastoral approach to all people is the true role of the Church.  Father William Grimm  shares some thoughts on this.

We must be such followers of the crucified Jesus, giving our strength and even our lives for the sake of others that they will respond to us as the bystander at the crucifixion did who tried to give Jesus something to drink.

Heavy rains and severe flooding left at least six people dead and thousands stranded in Vietnam and Philippines. In this weekly podcast we present stories from Asia you need to know.

It is to us as servants and for the sake of being servants that God gives us talents. Let us not bury them, but put them forth for the whole world.

Archbishop Joseph Li Shan of Beijing, president of China’s state-run Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association was in Hong Kong on a five-day visit that began on Monday. This story and more in this week’s podcast.

Signs of God’s kingdom are all around us. If we remember that, we will see them and thus build up our supply of oil so that at any time, in any way that God comes to us, we will be ready.

An earthquake killed at least 157, injured scores and made thousands homeless in Nepal, prompting the government and charities to rush aid to the affected families. This story and more in this week’s podcast.

Even though we may recognize the danger in ourselves of ostentatious religiosity that draws attention to ourselves rather than God, we frequently fail to realize that we sometimes encourage and abet it in others.

At least 11 people were killed and scores injured in ongoing political violence in Bangladesh ahead of national election to be held next January. This story and more in this week’s podcast.

The law of Christ is simple. Love. Love God by loving your neighbor. And your neighbor is anyone close enough to be loved, anyone in the world.

Indian Catholics have hailed the Vatican’s approval to the beatification process for 35 martyrs of the worst anti-Christian riot in Kandhamal district of eastern Odisha state in 2008. This story and more in this week’s podcast.

We Christians have been shown Christ, the image of God, so that we can proclaim that image to all the world. In order to do so, we must clear away whatever mars that image in us.

Fear of possible violence by hardliners gripped minority Hindus in Muslim-majority Bangladesh at the start of five-day Durga Puja, the biggest annual Hindu religious festival. This story and more in this week’s podcast.

In the Eucharist, in the worship and service of the community of good and bad folks that Jesus invites to the banquet of God's Kingdom, I am offered a foretaste of heaven. How could I do other than rejoice?

Catholic Church in Sri Lanka takes on President Ranil Wickremesinghe after he refused an international probe into the 2019 Easter Sunday attack. This story and more in this week’s podcast.

There is one other thing we must do. We must hear and heed the messengers God sends to us workers in the vineyard. For we, too, need to be converted throughout our lives.

Indian Catholics have paid rich tributes to first tribal Cardinal Telesphore P. Toppo, hailing him as a guiding light and defender of the poor, particularly of the indigenous people. This story and more in this week’s podcast.

The test of Christian faith is not merely whether or not we are in church on Sunday. Going to church is the renewing of our "yes" to the call of God. But, do we follow through on the promise?

Korean Catholics have been urged to protect the rights of migrants and refugees amid a state crackdown on undocumented immigrants. This story and more in this week’s podcast.

Just as the parables of Jesus show the love of God in stories about lost coins, vineyards and generous landowners, the followers of Jesus must make the events of everyday life point to God's loving presence among us.

Korean martyr Andrew Kim Tae-gon became the first Asian saint to have his statue installed on the wall of Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. This story and more in this week’s podcast.

As the synod of bishops prepares for its sessions on synodality, many people look forward to big changes in the Church. Realistically, however, huge change is unlikely. The synod meetings are just the beginning of a process that will take generations. Father William Grimm  shares some thoughts on this.

The way out of the paradox is to realize that forgiving and being forgiven is not a parade of activities that happen in order – God forgives, then I forgive, then God forgives. God’s forgiving me and my forgiving others go on together.

Christians in India face rising persecution and discrimination in the hands of hardline Hindu groups. This story and more in this week’s podcast.

The Lord's command to confront sin in ourselves and others is never easy to fulfill. It is even harder, perhaps, to be the object of that confrontation, whether as individuals or as societies. So, what are we to do?

Sri Lanka's Catholic Church demanded an international probe into the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings after a British documentary claimed they were orchestrated to tip that year’s election outcome. This story and more in this week’s podcast.

The temptation to avoid the cross is not one that Jesus alone faced. We, too, face it. That is the reason Jesus tells us that we must be willing to take up the cross.

Pope Francis arrived in Mongolia on Friday to kick off his historic four-day visit. He is the first pope to visit the Buddhist-majority Asian nation bordered by Russia and China. This story and more in this week’s podcast.

The important thing about Peter and the important thing about me is that Christ has chosen us to be Church. He has set us up in all our weakness and declared that the gates of death will not prevail against us.

Church leaders and rights activists urged Filipinos to fight corruption and human rights abuses on the 40th death anniversary of democracy icon Benigno Aquino. This story and more in this week’s podcast.

The Incarnation means that Jesus really was a man of his time, his place and his people. He spoke their language, he dressed as they dressed, he had the same prejudices they had.

Mobs of Muslims attacked some 21 churches and dozens of Christian homes after two Christians were accused of committing blasphemy by desecrating the Quran in Pakistan’s Punjab province. This story and more in this week’s podcast.

The war in Ukraine gives new urgency to the problem of peacemaking. What must those opposed to violence do in the face of violent injustice? Does pacifism mean allowing injustice to succeed or does the fact of injustice make pacifism a naive and worthless pose? Father William Grimm  shares some thoughts on this.

The Lord is willing to support us in doing the impossible. What we need is enough faith to enable us to step out of the security of the boat we call everyday "sensible" life.

Vietnam’s President Vo Van Thuong met with the country’s Catholic bishops to strengthen ties between the state and the church following his recent visit to the Vatican. This story and more in this week’s podcast.

August 6 shines a bright light on our possibilities both as a human race and as individuals. As individuals, nations and a world, we must choose the path of glory lest we go down the path of destruction.

Catholics in Vietnam hope for more religious freedom after the communist-ruled nation signed a deal allowing the Vatican to have a resident papal representative in the country. This story and more in this week’s podcast.

How can I become like some learned scribe who can speak with confident knowledge of the Reign of God?

Young Asian Catholics head to the Portuguese capital Lisbon to attend the World Youth Day to be held from August 2-6. This story and more in this week’s podcast.

In our prayer, God makes the seemingly impossible happen. The seed of good flourishes, the world is leavened. All we need do is pray. But how?

The Vatican reiterates its stand to continue “dialogue” with China as Pope Francis recognized Bishop Joseph Shen Bin of Shanghai who was transferred and installed unilaterally violating the 2018 Sino-Vatican Agreement. This story and more in this week’s podcast.

No matter where some of the seed may land and the odds against it, the growth of the Reign of God is unstoppable. That's the seed, but what of the sower?

Pope Francis named 21 new cardinals including two from Asia – Malaysian Bishop Sebastian Francis of Penang and Bishop Stephen Chow Sau-yan of Hong Kong. This story and more in this week’s podcast.

The world around me may be in turmoil, but I will be in peace and calm, not because I am apart from the world, but because I am sharing God's deep love for that world.

A crackdown on religious groups including Christians continues in Communist China. A Protestant church has appealed for prayers for the release of four arrested Christians. This story and more in this week’s podcast.

Part of the call of Christ is a call to repentance. It is not something I can reserve to Lent or an occasional confession. Because nearly my whole life is a nay-saying to God, my whole life must be repentance.

Innocent lives continue to be lost as fighting intensifies in military-ruled Myanmar. This week, 10 civilians were killed and eight wounded when the military bombed a village. This story and more in this week’s podcast.

In a world full of terrors, we have been commissioned to share the Good News that we need not fear. God’s love protects us. God’s love embraces us eternally, overcoming fear, overcoming death.

Arson and unrest continued in India’s violence-hit Manipur state after more than 50 days with no end in sight for the ethnic conflict between warring communities. This story and more in this week’s podcast.

My life as a Christian is not some sort of fortuitous accident. I have been chosen by God just as the Twelve were chosen. Somewhere in this world there is someone for whom I am God’s gift.