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Category: World Touch
World Touch

Sant’Egidio Hails Decline in Executioner Nations

Abolitionists have welcomed data that show an increasing number of countries are taking the death penalty off their statute books. A three-day World Congress Against the Death Penalty in Geneva was told that roughly four countries a year, especially in Africa and Central Asia, have done away with the death penalty recently. A South Korean court ruled the death penalty as constitutional, although there has not been an execution for 12 years. Many others are taking steps to restrict it, the international lay Catholic association, the Sant’Egidio Community, vigorous campaigners against the death penalty, told the Conference.

www.ucanews.com
World Touch

Ricci is Model for Dialogue and Mission in Globalized World

Italian Father Matteo Ricci, the 16th-century Jesuit known for his positive relations with the Chinese, is a model for dialogue and evangelization in the 21st-century globalized society, underlined speakers at a conference in Rome. Father Ricci’s experience and writings remind people “that there are basic similarities in all human beings, in human nature: hope, suffering, questioning the meaning of life. We all share those whether we are Westerners or Chinese,” said Jesuit Father Augustine Tsang Hing-to.

Cindy Wooden
World Touch

Stop Small Arms’ Epidemic

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.

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Iraq

2,000 Deaths and 600,000 Christian Refugees

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

www.fides.org
World Touch

Violence is a Wake-up Call for Church

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.

www.ucanews.com
World Touch

Campaign to Fight Violence Against Women

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.

www.fides.org
World Touch

Do a Carbon Fast this Lent

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.

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World Touch

Priests Must Recover the “Lost Mysticism”

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.”

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World Touch

Panda Diplomacy

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.

www.asianews.it
World Touch

No More Dog or Cat Meat on the Menu

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.

www.asianews.it and Agencies
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