Government confiscates 3 churches in Laos
February 27, 2012
Communist officials in Savannakhet Province, which is located in the south-central part of Laos, have confiscated three churches in recent weeks, according to Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom.
After calling residents in Kengweng to a seminar entitled “Tricks of the Enemy,” Communist officials ordered the Christian church closed and forbade the village’s 25 Christian families from gathering for worship.
The nation of 6.5 million is 67% Buddhist and 2% Christian. In all, 0.7% of Laotians are Catholic; 17 priests minister in 77 parishes, according to Vatican statistics.
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Further information:
- Lao Officials Unlawfully Confiscate a 37-Year-Old Church Building and Ban Worship Gathering (Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom)
- Laos Government “Confiscates” Church Building, Group Says (BosNewsLife)
- Church confiscated, Christians defined as "enemies" (Fides)
- Recent persecution of Christians in Laos (CWN, 1/10)
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