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The Global Week of Action Against Gun Violence, that will take place from the 10th to the 16th of May, highlights the international campaign to stop the proliferation and misuse of small arms. Each year, activists around the world use the Global Week to raise awareness, campaign for better gun laws and push for stronger regulation of the global arms trade.
The following figures, compiled through local Church sources in Iraq, provide a comprehensive picture of the suffering of Iraqi Christians: – Since 2003: about 2,000 Iraqi Christians have been killed in several waves of violence; – Between February 27 and March 1,2010: 870 families, a total of over 4,400 faithful, left Mosul due to anti-Christian violence; – October 2008: more than 12,000 Christians fled Mosul due to a wave of violence; – 40% of Iraqi refugees abroad (a total of about 1.6 million) are Christians (Source: UNHCR); – 44% of Iraqis who have applied for asylum in Syria are Christians. Asylum applications are growing in Jordan, Turkey and in Western countries (especially Sweden and Australia); – The total number of Christians in Iraq: in 1987, 1.4 million; in 2003, 1.2 million; in 2009, 600,000, many of whom were internally displaced; – Iraq’s total population: 27.5 million – 97% Muslim (65% Shiite, 35% Sunni), 3% Christian and other religious minorities. www.fides.org
Anti-Christian violence during the past two years has been a wake-up call for the Indian Church, says Jesuit Archbishop Stanislaus Fernandes of Gandhinagar, secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI). What shocked Church leaders and others was that areas they thought were safe from the “antagonism of fundamentalist groups” also experienced violence, he added.
On the occasion of the World Cup 2010, which will be held in South Africa from June 11 to July 11, a five-year campaign to stop violence against women (VAW) and girls will be launched. Organized by the international group “Man Up,” it will gather together 200 young men and women from 50 countries around the world. Man Up’s goal is to support organizations that combat violence against women, establish a network of young supporters and defenders, and combine the efforts of grassroots communities with those of international organizations, businesses, the sports world, and the entertainment world.
A British bishop and a climate change campaigner are urging people to go on a carbon fast this Lent – abstain from meat, eat by candlelight, and cut down on computer, mobile phone and iPod use. These steps, part of the “Tearfund campaign,” can minimize each person’s carbon footprint, Inspire Magazine reports. It quotes the Anglican Rt. Rev. Richard Chartres, the Bishop of London; and Joel Edwards, International Director of the group Micah Challenge.
Msgr. Thomas Menamparampil (photo), Archbishop of Guwahati and chairman of the Office of Evangelization of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC), while speaking about the challenges and obstacles priests must face in a multicultural and multifaith society like India, said that, in order to cope with “the painful realities of the day,” we must recover the “lost mysticism.” And added: “If a realist theologian like Karl Rahner could say that the Christian of tomorrow would need to be a mystic or else cease to be even a believer, we can see how much more important it is for a priest to be a ‘mystic.’ Rahner’s statement has proved to be prophetic in this respect. We have witnessed the loss of faith amidst large sections of Christian believers in different parts of the world. Many who wanted to set the world right without the help of their Christian faith have found themselves unequipped for the mighty endeavor.”
The “repatriation” of two pandas born in captivity in the United States became a celebration of Sino-American friendship. The two animals, born and raised in the U.S., headed for Sichuan. The event took place after highly-tense weeks that saw the two countries at loggerheads over the internet, human rights, exchange rates, Dalai Lama and arms sales to Taiwan. “Panda diplomacy” remains one of the few channels of dialogue and cooperation between the two world superpowers.
For the first time in Chinese history, an animal rights proposal has been made, which would ban selling, cooking and eating dogs and cats. If adopted, it would make such commerce a criminal offence carrying a maximum 5,000 yuan (US$ 730) fine and 15 days detention. The proposal’s main advocate is Chang Jiwen, a social law researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He has spearheaded animal welfare legislation for the past 11 years. His 181-clause proposal was presented last September for public consultation.
While the nation is still reeling from the tragic story of Shazia – the young Catholic girl brutally murdered in Lahore by her Muslim employer, the Catholic Church in Pakistan launches a warning, in light of this tragic case: “There are more than 10 million child laborers in the country, an obvious violation of Child Labor Laws,” says a document by the Justice and Peace Commission of the Pakistani Bishops’ Conference.
Leprosy is still a plague, with 210,000 new cases of infection per year (not counting those long-infected, only recently diagnosed). But the world is indifferent and oblivious, even though the disease can be easily eradicated. In a message for the 57th World Day of Leprosy, Msgr. Zygmunt Zimowski, President of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Health Care Workers, demands that the international community strengthen its efforts for the treatment and prevention of this scourge.
