HONG KONG, China  (CNA) -- Pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong have continued to escalate into violence, with many apparent incidents of forceful police tactics, including at a Catholic church, caught on camera and uploaded to social media.

HONG KONG -- A bishop is calling on the Hong Kong government to set up an independent inquiry into the death of a student during the latest pro-democracy riots.

HONG KONG -- As demonstrations pitting pro-government groups against pro-democracy protesters continue, a bishop urged Catholics to pray for the realization that all are humans and not "cockroaches or dogs."

HONG KONG -- A controversial extradition bill that sparked months of protest has been formally withdrawn by Hong Kong's government, reported ucanews.org.

HONG KONG -- Cardinal John Tong Hon has joined with activists and religious leaders calling for the withdrawal of Hong Kong’s controversial extradition bill.

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.

VATICAN – Dialogue and respectful understanding are the prerequisites for social harmony and world peace, Hong Kong Cardinal John Tong Hon told a symposium on Christianity and China.

HONG KONG – Hong Kong Christians came together to pray for terminally ill Liu Xiaobo, less than a week before his death.

Pope Francis and President Xi Jinping came into their present roles within a day of each other in 2013 – Pope Francis was elected March 13 and Xi became president March 14. However, they have each followed a completely different path in governing immense and cumbersome entities – the People's Republic of China and the universal church.

HONG KONG – People think that Christian icon painting is the preserve of male painters and that only Orthodox Christians can create a good icon. But in the Diocese of Hong Kong, icon painter Cindy Ng has decided to set the record straight.

HONG KONG - Cardinal John Tong Hon of Hong Kong has issued an "urgent appeal" to Communist Party chiefs in Beijing, calling on them to order a halt to an ongoing cross-removal campaign from Christian churches in Zhejiang province.

HONG KONG - When Fr. Joseph Zhang Yinlin was ordained coadjutor bishop of Anyang Diocese, he became the first publicly ordained Chinese bishop in three years and the first since the Vatican and China restarted its dialogue in June 2014.

HONG KONG - Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, retired bishop of Hong Kong, protested at the Chinese Liaison Office in the city and asked the whereabouts of Bishop Cosmas Shi Enxiang of Yixian, who was said to have died in detention.

HONG KONG - Hong Kong Christian leaders urged reconciliation in their Christmas messages, issued within a week of the end of a 79-day protest.

HONG KONG - Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, retired bishop of Hong Kong, joined the civil disobedience movement organizers who surrendered to police Dec. 3, with a hope to end the present occupation campaign that has lasted more than two months.