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Pakistani Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti (photo) has said that the government plans to revise its laws against blasphemy this year. Bhatti said religious reconciliation was a little-noticed priority for President Asif Ali Zardari’s civilian government in Pakistan, Samaa TV reports.
War is irrational and inhuman, and nonviolence needs to become a language, reconciliation a style of life. These were some of the conclusions at the Italian Episcopal Conference’s convention on “For a World of Peace: the Dream of Isaiah and the Proclamation of Christ.” Caritas-Italy and Pax Christi co-sponsored the event.
Climate change, associated with a four-fold increase in natural disasters in the last decade, and the growth of world population, which is expected to reach nine billion by 2050, pose new challenges for aid initiatives like those of the United Nations World Food Program (WFP). This warning comes from Gemmo Lodesani, head of the WFP office in Brussels, who is in charge of relations with the European Union and of fund-raising to fulfill the organization’s primary commitment: fighting hunger worldwide.
China Travel Service (CTS, a Chinese tourism giant) has announced it has opened negotiations with the city of Dengfeng, Henan, to transform the ancient monastery of Shaolin into a successful brand. The meeting was confirmed by municipal leaders, who have stressed, however, they “have not yet signed any contract with the company.” The Hong Kong branch of the CTS is responsible for the ongoing negotiations.
The largest survey ever conducted of the Catholic Church in mainland China has indicated that the Catholic population has not kept pace with overall population growth. According to the results of the study conducted by the Faith Institute for Cultural Studies (FICS), a Church-run organization based in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, there are now about 5.71 million Catholics in mainland China, served by 3,397 bishops, priests and deacons. A total of 3,268 priests are serving in more than 100 dioceses.
The world’s tallest building opened its doors in Dubai with a superb show of fireworks and colored lanterns. To the surprise of many, the skyscraper measuring 828 meters that was called “Burj Dubai” during the construction, has been called “Burj Khalifa,” after the head of the federation of the Emirates, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahayan, Emir of Abu Dhabi.
In 1960, the “Year of Africa,” when most African states became independent, there was only one city in sub-Saharan Africa with a population of more than 1 million inhabitants (Johannesburg, South Africa). Now, in 2010, it is estimated that at least 33 African cities have over 1 million people.
The US Postal Service has recognized Mother Teresa’s humanitarian work with a stamp, as part of its 2010 program. Noted for her compassion toward the poor and suffering, Mother Teresa, who was an honorary US citizen, served the sick and destitute of India and the world for nearly 50 years.
A 13th-century letter from Genghis Khan’s grandson demanding homage from Pope Innocent IV, and another from 20th century Japanese Emperor Hirohito are among a collection of documents from the Vatican’s secret archives that have been published for the first time. The Holy See’s archives contain scrolls, parchments and leather-bound volumes with correspondence dating back more than a thousand years.
Thirty-seven priests, nuns and missionaries were killed worldwide in 2009, nearly twice as many as in 2008 and a record high for a decade. Most deaths occurred in Latin and North America, where 23 of the Catholic workers were killed, 11 died in Africa, 2 in Asia and 1 in Europe.
