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The convent of the Comboni Sisters in the West Bank is surrounded on three sides by the Israeli separation wall, but the missionary nuns are trying to build bridges of peace rather than walls.
Father Jacques Mourad is a Syrian-Catholic priest. In 2015, he spent five months as a hostage of jihadist terrorists in Syria. He describes it as a spiritual experience and says it was praying the Rosary that gave him peace and strength.
In Indonesia, with its mainly Muslim population, seminaries are overcrowded with candidates. On the island of Flores lies the world’s largest seminary. More than 1,000 students study at Ledalero, and at least 600 of them are candidates for the priesthood.
Pope Francis endeavored to make great gestures at the peace meeting for South Sudan in the Vatican. But the two counterparts, Salva Kiir and Riek Machar, have little control over the struggles in the country, says Comboni missionary Gregor Schmidt.
More incidents of attacks, intimidation and harassment have raised the level of fear among journalists across the region. Asian Church leaders have voiced alarm over press freedom’s decline.
Founded by a young Italian woman, Chiara Lubich, during World War II, this lay movement constitutes possibly the most original initiative in the scenario of contemporary Catholic Church. With members belonging also to other Christian denominations and even non-Christian religions, it now champions the ideals of unity and universal brotherhood.
Many new movements have emerged in the Catholic Church following the Second Vatican Council. They represent the awakening of the laity, the people of God. They came into the open on Pentecost Day in 1998 in the presence of Pope John Paul II to the surprise and amazement of the world.
Inspite of being a predominantly Buddhist country, the people of Sri Lanka celebrate Christmas (Nattal) in their own unique way, using native products. For Sri Lankans, Christmas is a time for celebration thriving in an atmosphere of unity regardless of religious beliefs and culture.
In power for twelve years, Daniel Ortega rules without listening to the Nicaraguans. And the people got fed up and rebelled. The Sandinista leader is isolated and does not have many exits.
The turning away of 629 migrants by Italy and Malta signals a growing trend of discrimination and rejection of the poor and wretched from the Middle East and Africa by Europe and the U.S. Yet Spanish authorities opened their frontiers to welcome them in an act of solidarity.
