Browse past isues
Help the mission
Support the mission
Get in touch
Paul had detractors in his lifetime and even until now. But it is beyond question that Pauline Christianity greatly shaped the history of Christianity from its early period. His inculturation of the gospel of Christ helped turn the Jesus movement into a universal religion.
This month will begin all over the world, and particularly in Rome, the celebrations of a special Jubilee Year dedicated to St. Paul. The events will underline the ecumenical dimension. Explains the Pope: “The Apostle to the Gentiles, who was especially committed to taking the Good News to all peoples, left no stones unturned for unity and harmony among all Christians.”
Corruption kills. It is the enemy of the public. The Church, even as the custodian of the Scriptures, is part of the problem. Being part of the problem, I hope it also serves as part of the solution.
While praying in Tabawan Chapel, Fr. Jesus Reynaldo Roda was seized by kidnappers. Afraid that they would harm his people, he refused to go with them and was shot. Christians and Muslims joined to mourn and pray for Fr. Rey who had given them ten years of his life.
In Bali, the message was stark: Unless greenhouse gas emissions were seriously curtailed, the human community and the wider global environment faced a bleak future. But the answer was to postpone the big decisions.
In people’s minds, Africa is often associated with poverty, hunger, illnesses and wars. But Africa is a continent with an extremely rich underground – in diamonds, petroleum, gold and ores. Therefore, it entices the greed of those who are capable of exploring such resources – for their own benefit.
Africa is not at peace. More than 30 wars have been fought in the continent since 1970, and most of these have been internal rather than inter-state wars. Conflicts in the continent became more widespread through the 1990s, and changed in nature. By 2000, over half the countries in the region had been directly or indirectly affected by conflict, and most were factional wars. These have no defined front line and fighting is frequently opportunistic rather than strategic. In order to sustain conflict, these wars deliberately seek to involve, exploit and control a significant proportion of the civilian population.
The painter of Hapag ng Pag-asa (The Table of Hope), Joey A. Velasco, made this artwork barely six months after his initiation as a painter. He thinks that he was merely God’s paintbrush, portraying underprivileged children who, eventually, helped him to make a U-turn in his life. The painting gained fame and became a symbol of the fight against extreme poverty in the Philippines.
A decade after Blessed Teresa’s death, her dream of sending her Missionaries of Charity nuns to work in mainland China remains unfulfilled. But her successor, Sister Nirmala Joshi, a Hindu convert, says that dream will be fulfilled in its own time.
Fr. Giancarlo Bossi was kidnapped in his parish of Payao (Mindanao) by armed men under orders – he believes – of a supreme, Mafia boss style, and spent 39 days in captivity in the forests. He was prepared to endure a long captivity, but was confident that, eventually, he would be freed by his captors.
