Category: World Touch

Child Labor Shows Disturbing Trends

Between 2004 and 2008 the number of child laborers decreased from 222 million to 215 million, with a drop of just 3%, whereas between 2000 and 2004, the number decreased by 10%. For some age ranges, the struggle against child labor during those years actually went into regression. In the age range between 15 and 17, there was an increase of 20%, from 52 million to 62 million child workers. The greatest progress was made in the age range between 5 and 14 years, with a significant reduction of 10%. The number of children in this age in hazardous work decreased by 31%. At the moment, the worst situations are found in Sub-Saharan Africa, where one child out of four is obliged to work, often in dangerous situations. “Progress is uneven: neither fast enough nor comprehensive enough to reach the goals that we have set,” said ILO Director-General Juan Somavia. “New and large-scale efforts are needed. The situation calls for a re-energized campaign against child labor. We must scale up action and move into a higher gear.” The director added that the economic downturn should not be an “excuse for diminished ambition and inaction. Instead, it offers the opportunity to implement the policy measures that work for people, for recovery and for sustainable development.”

www.zenit.org

Ricci Brought The Gospel To China

After noting that Ricci is still held in high esteem in China today, the Pontiff said that the missionary’s work “must not be separated” from his commitment to “Chinese inculturation of the Gospel message and his introduction of Western culture and science to China.” Indeed, many events celebrating the fourth centenary of his death risked presenting Matteo Ricci as a mere cultural mediator. “Fr. Ricci” – said the Pope – “went to China not to bring science and Western culture, but to bring the Gospel to make God known.” He added: “And as he proclaimed the Gospel, Fr. Ricci found, in his interlocutors, the desire for a wider confrontation, so that an encounter motivated by faith became a dialogue between cultures, a disinterested dialogue free from the ambitions of economic or political power, lived in friendship, which made the work of Fr. Ricci and his disciples one of the highest and happiest points in the relationship between China and the West.” Benedict XVI also recalled “the role and influence” that his Chinese friends had in the work of Ricci (Xu Guangqi; Zhizao Li, Yang Tingyun, Li Yingshi): “His choices did not depend on an abstract strategy of inculturation of the faith, but from all the events, encounters and experiences that he made so all that he achieved was also, thanks to his encounter with the Chinese, an encounter he lived in many ways, but which was deepened through his relationship with some friends and disciples, especially the four famous converts, ‘pillars of the nascent Chinese Church.’” The memory of Ricci and his friends, continued Benedict XVI, should be an occasion for prayer for “the Church in China and the entire Chinese people, as we do every year, on May 24, turning to Mary, venerated in famous Shrine of Sheshan in Shanghai, and may they also be an incentive and encouragement to live the Christian faith intensely, in dialogue with different cultures, and in the certainty that, in Christ, true humanism is realized, open to God, full of moral and spiritual values and able to respond to the deepest longings of the human soul.” The Pope concluded expressing his appreciation and greeting to China and the desire for a deeper relationship between it and Christianity: “Like Father Matteo Ricci, today I express my profound respect to the noble Chinese people and its ancient culture, convinced that their renewed encounter with Christianity will bring abundant good fruits, and that, like then, it will favor peaceful coexistence among peoples.”

www.asianews.it

Losses Of $200-400 Billion A Year In Capital Flight

South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said that the continent remains the most competitive in terms of returns in investment, but cautioned on capital flows. Mr. Gordhan dismissed some international investors who describe Africa as a risky place to do business as people who were out of touch with the reality. He also expressed concern over businesses that made super profit, but refused to execute statutory obligation of paying taxes to governments. In this manner, the African people hardly benefit from the wealth produced in their countries. “Businesses have the responsibility to pay taxes, to pay fair taxes,” noted Gordhan. Some representatives of multinationals operating in Africa have also criticized local governments for the lack of clear tax rules, which they say discourages many traders from investing in the continent. African ministers have, however, indicated that the corporations themselves are often opposed to fiscal rules, especially in mining and in the mobile telephone business, two areas showing the highest profits in the last decade.

www.fides.org

Martyred Monks’ Film Nabs Second Prize

Kate Muir, a film critic for the London-based Times Online, called the film the “most intensely passionate” one of the Cannes event, and according to her, during the movie’s premier, the “audience wept.” In her review, Muir discussed Beauvois’ depiction of the monks, who lived contemplative lives in the service of the poor in the Atlas Mountains. In the film, the seven men build strong friendships with their surrounding community and live in relative peace until conflict arise between the local government and extremist groups. Though the monks are advised by everyone involved to leave, each one decides to stay and is eventually held hostage and murdered by the fundamentalists. “The deep humanity of the monks, their respect for Islam and their generosity towards their village neighbors make (up) the reason for our choice,” stated the festival jury who issued the award. “This movie of great artistic value benefits from a remarkable group of actors and follows the daily rhythm of work and liturgy.”

www.catholicnewsagency.com

Award For World Mission

Among the stories submitted to the judges were the following reportages published in World Mission: A Farm of Hope (April-May 2008 issue); The Dialogue Mission (February 2009 issue); Saving Children and Fighting Sex Slavery (February 2010 issue). They are small tributes to magnificent missionary projects being implemented in the Philippines. The publishers of World Mission feel honored and congratulate the magazine’s editor for the distinction. The award is an implicit recognition of the outstanding work being done by the magazine’s editorial staff, collaborators and friends, to bring about missionary awareness and a better world for all God’s children. The triennial awards that honor outstanding media professionals, publications and institutions worldwide and recognize their exemplary contributions, will be conferred at the World Congress to be held at Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, this coming September.

Bishops Declare “World Cup Sunday”

The bishops suggest that priests, in the homily of the Mass on June 13, stress the need to cure the ills of South Africa and throughout Africa, especially in light of the indications of the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops. The bishops also asked for prayers that the spirit of sportsmanship prevails and that all believers give their contribution to prevent and combat crime, vandalism, hooliganism, and the exploitation of persons.

www.fides.org

Slavery: Hidden Crime Of The 21st Century

Migrants represent 3% of the global population. Put another way, 200 million people live in a different country from the one in which they were born. If put together, this population would be the world’s 10th largest country. Nearly half of all migrants are women – a new phenomenon as more women move independently of their families or male partners. This “feminization of migration” has resulted in other problems, known as the “care drain” where families are left without their womenfolk. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees has 33 million people under its mandate – refugees, asylum seekers, exiles, internally displaced persons and stateless persons. At least 15% of all migrants are estimated to be involved in illegal immigration which is often fed by a parallel market of human trafficking and smuggling, and frequently run by organized criminals. These are some of the stark facts and figures presented in Rome at the Sixth World Congress on the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees. The challenge is put before the Church – how does a body that represents Jesus and continues His mission respond to such an overwhelming need? The response offered at the Congress could be summarized as twofold: to assume a theology of abundance and to engender a culture of solidarity. A theology of abundance says there is more than enough on earth for everyone to live with dignity. We just have to share what God has given us, recognizing that God has given creation for the use of all. A culture of solidarity says that we all belong together as members of the human family, interdependent, each with a place and a part to play. There is no need to feel threatened by newcomers to our patch as there is enough for everyone and we all belong together. So don’t turn migrants and refugees into the bad guys. They have a place and have something to offer just as the rest of us do. Rather, see them as an opportunity for society to be enriched and grow. As they come our way, they are not simply taking from what we have but are potential assets for our societies as they develop. There would be fewer cases like Ms. A’s if we approach the whole question in a different way, as the Church’s Congress hammered home in Rome. The Eternal City itself holds a message. It is a magnet attracting people from around the world to its glories, its treasures, its culture, its history and as a center of faith. There, is a place where everyone can feel that they belong. We don’t have to be exceptional, just human and in touch with our humanity.

www.ucanews.com; by Augustinian Father John Murray, who works with migrants in Thailand.

Obama Receives Nobel Peace Prize

In a speech at the award ceremony in the Norwegian capital, Obama said violent conflict would not be eradicated “in our lifetimes”, and there would be times when countries would need to fight just wars. “Where force is necessary, we have a moral and strategic interest in binding ourselves to certain rules of conduct. And even as we confront a vicious adversary that abides by no rules, I believe that the United States of America must remain a standard bearer in the conduct of war,” he declared. While acknowledging the message of non-violence of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Obama, the first sitting US president in 90 years to win the Nobel Peace Prize, said sometimes force was necessary. “I face the world as it is,” Obama said, insisting that he is obliged to protect and defend the US. “A nonviolent movement could not have halted Hitler’s armies. Negotiations cannot convince al-Qaida’s leaders to lay down their arms,” Obama said. “To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism, it is a recognition of history.” At a news conference earlier, Obama reaffirmed that US troops would begin transferring responsibility for Afghan security to local forces in July 2011 but said there would be no “precipitous drawdown.” Days ago, Obama announced that he was ordering 30,000 more US troops to Afghanistan, disappointing those who had hoped that he would disengage America from an increasingly unpopular war. The Nobel peace committee has been criticized for awarding Obama the prize before he has any major accomplishments in international relations. But its chairman, Thorbjørn Jagland, praised Obama for doing more than anyone else this year to promote peace, citing his efforts to reach a new agreement on nuclear weapons with Russia. Acknowledging the controversy surrounding his prize, Obama said: “I have no doubt that there are others who may be more deserving. My task here is to continue on the path that I believe is not only important for America but important for lasting peace in the world.”

www.guardian.co.uk

Iraqi Parliament Approves Electoral Law

With the approval of the law, the date of elections remains to be discussed, originally planned for January 16. The vice-president of Parliament announced that it could be held February 27, 2010, but is not yet clear if all the necessary steps will be completed in time for the vote to be held. Sunni Vice-President Tareq al-Hashemi has congratulated “all the Iraqi people for this historic victory” and adds that the compromise “will pull the country out of the impasse” into which it had slipped. He had rejected the previous reform of the electoral law, because it did not provide enough seats for the ethnic Sunni minority in Iraq, even if it held power under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. Another element of contrast is Kirkuk, a city in the north, the centre of a dispute between Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen over its vast oil reserves. The new law provides for an increase in the number of parliamentary seats, from the current 275 to 325. Kurds will get 41 seats for the three northern provinces and a further dozen additional seats. Iraqis abroad can also vote for the provincial college of their place of origin. The Christian minority will have eight seats. One-third of Parliament will be formed by women. Sources in Baghdad show a cautious optimism about the signing of the agreement. “The tension – they explain from the capital – among the ethnic groups remains high.” Its ratification seems more like a “truce,” because the leadership has understood “that the Iraqi people are tired of quarrels, divisions and violence that blood the country.”

www.asianews.it

200 Million Children In Danger Of Death

The general picture shows a dramatic situation: in developing countries, one in four children are malnourished; more than 72 million do not attend school; and each year, worldwide, 9 million children under 5 years of age die from preventable or curable causes, almost 2 million of them on the day of their birth, while everyday over 4 thousand children under 5 die from lack of drinking water. Worldwide, there are more than 15 million orphaned by AIDS. The majority of malaria deaths are in sub-Saharan children under 5 years of age. Two million children are involved in child prostitution rings and over 215 million spend their childhood working.

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