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The drama of child trafficking is a plague for Yemen, where about 1.2 million children are sold every year to criminals in Saudi Arabia and in the rich Gulf countries. For millions of young Yemenis, beyond the borders of their country the gates of hell are opened: they end up begging on the streets, working as domestic servants in the homes of the more prosperous, exploited as factory workers, or as camel jockeys.
Benedict XVI’s personal commitment to safeguarding the planet, shown in part by his numerous public appeals, has inspired a change in lifestyles in favor of the environment, affirmed Archbishop Celestino Migliore, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations. “The ongoing debate on climate change has helped put into focus the inescapable responsibility of one and all to care for the environment, thereby building consensus around the common objective of promoting a healthy environment for present and future generations,” he noted.
As India develops economically, its citizens face the temptation of putting money-making too high on the priority list, says the president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum. Cardinal Paul Cordes affirmed this during his five-day trip to India, which coincided with the plenary assembly of the bishops’ council.
Qatar has it first church in 14 centuries, and it opened just in time for Easter. Costing $15 million raised from donations from the Christian community, the Our Lady of the Rosary Church has been built on land donated by the Emir of the Gulf State, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.
The number of Catholics in the world is increasing – albeit not much: they were 1.31 billion in 2006, an increase of 1.4% compared to the 1.15 billion in 2005. And there is a continuation of the trend that, since 2000, has seen an increase in the number of priests, both diocesan and religious, who went from 406,411 in 2005 to 407,262 in 2006, an overall change of 0.21%. These are some of the figures contained in the Annuario Pontificio for 2008 presented by the Pope.
In his message for Lent, Benedict XVI writes that it is foreign to the Gospel perspective to do good deeds expecting a personal return, perhaps in terms of public image. The entire Gospel is summed up in the commandment of charity, and according to the example of Jesus, what gives value to all almsgiving is love, which inspires different forms of giving, according to the opportunities and conditions of each one.
The Society of the Divine Word’s Philippines Central Province (SVD PHC) began its two-year celebration of 100 years of missionary presence in the Philippines at Quezon City, highlighting mssion challenges today. The Order is planning the creation of a missiology institute as part of the centennial project.
Science and religion together play a crucial role in humanizing and neutralizing the ill effects of globalization, two Indian Jesuit scholars contend. Religious values can give a human face to globalization by making people all over the world see themselves as members of a single society linked by global trade, technology and new socio-cultural concepts, they maintain. Fr. Job Kozhamthadam, president of Jnana Deepa Vidyapeeth (Light of Knowledge University), a pontifical seminary, and Fr. Kuruvilla Pandikattu, associate director of Indian Institute of Science and Religion (IISR), presented their views at a recent seminar.
Climate change is taking place even faster than the worst predictions made by the UN’s panel, Al Gore said at the enlarged World Economic Forum meeting that once more took place at Davos (Switzerland). The former US vice-president and winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize warned that there were forecasts that the North Pole ice cap could disappear during summer months within five years.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the world to put the looming crisis over water shortages at the top of the global agenda this year and take action to prevent conflicts over scarce supplies. He reminded business and political leaders at the World Economic Forum that the conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan was touched off by drought – and he said shortages of water contribute to poverty and social hardship in Somalia, Chad, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Haiti, Colombia and Kazakhstan.
