VATICAN CITY - Accepting an invitation from the Chinese government, the Holy See is one of a number of nations and organizations participating in an international garden expo in Beijing.

YANGON, Myanmar – A controversial China-funded dam project in Myanmar must be stopped, said Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon, noting that the affected river is the country's most sacred symbol.

BEIJING – The president of China's state-sanctioned bishops' conference has pledged to work with the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association to develop the Sinicization of religion in the communist nation.

HONG KONG – Pope Francis has sent condolences and a blessing to the Hong Kong Diocese following the Jan. 3 death of Bishop Yeung Ming-cheung, 73, of liver failure.

OTTAWA – The West is turning a blind eye as rabid nationalism poses a growing threat to religious freedom in countries such as India, Russia and China, says a new report from Aid to the Church in Need.

XUANHUA, China – Four priests from the underground Catholic Church in China's Hebei province have been taken into police custody for indoctrination, AsiaNews reported Monday.

At 60, Fr. Ron MacDonell is the youngest of the Scarboro Missions priests. Even as his fellow priests back home in Toronto move into a seniors’ residence, MacDonell is working today in the upper reaches of the Amazon basin among Brazil’s Makushi people, bringing together village elders and young people to recover their vanishing language and culture.

HONG KONG – The recent agreement between the Vatican and China is a step towards the “annihilation” of the Catholic Church in China, Cardinal Joseph Zen, former bishop of Hong Kong, wrote in a New York Times op-ed published on Wednesday.

VATICAN – Setting the stage for a monthlong gathering of bishops, Pope Francis urged synod fathers not to be crushed by "prophets of doom," but to be the signs of hope and joy for which today's young people yearn.

VILNIUS, Lithuania – For the first time in decades, all of the Catholic bishops in China are in full communion with the Pope, the Vatican announced.

HONG KONG – The long-awaited Sino-Vatican agreement on the nomination of bishops is expected to be signed in September, reported several media outlets.

SEOUL, South Korea – Bishop Peter Lee Ki-heon of Uijeongbu has been waiting years for this moment, with the leaders of the two divided Koreas poised to meet for a historic summit just inside South Korean territory April 27.

HONG KONG – Catholics in China's Henan province have been warned that venues will be closed if they do not adhere to the revised regulations on religious affairs.

BEIJING – In a rare move, a top Chinese official answered journalists' questions about a new white paper on religious freedom and the ongoing talks between his government and the Vatican.

HONG KONG – China's ruling Communist Party has further stepped up control over all religions, dissolving its long-standing State Administration for Religious Affairs bureau and handing its functions to the party's United Front Work Department.