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The faithful can now partake in Sunday Mass and other rites on solemn occasions in the many shopping malls that dot the landscape of the Philippines, this according to Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales, Archbishop of Manila.
For the Holy See, eradication of poverty is a priority for the benefit of rich and poor countries alike. Archbishop Silvano Tomasi said this recently at a session of the U.N. Economic and Social Council in Geneva. In his address, the Archbishop called for a re-examination of the reasons why developing countries are unable to rise above poverty, noting that the number of people living on less that $2 a day continues to rise.
Saying that the “time for simple promises has passed,” the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace has supported a call from new British PM Gordon Brown to mobilize governments, business and faith-based organizations in a bid to cut poverty. Mr. Brown called for an international United Nations summit in 2008 to pressure governments to meet their commitments for reducing poverty and promoting development.
Beijing has applauded the UN Security Council’s decision to send a new peace force of 26 thousand troops to Sudan to stop the Darfur massacre. Just after the decision, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi commented: “This is the result of concerted effort and should be fully recognized and encouraged.” The Security Council also voted on the use of force in protecting Darfur civilians. Sudan said it considered the decision to be “practical” following changes brought in shortly before the vote; among them the withdrawal of the power of peace forces to requisition arms.
In a message marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Pope Benedict pleaded for nuclear disarmament but backed the increased peaceful use of nuclear energy to promote development for the world’s poor. The pope noted that, among its objectives, the IAEA seeks “to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health, and prosperity throughout the world.”
Southeast Asian foreign ministers have agreed to set up a regional human rights commission. They have also urged military-ruled Myanmar to make quick progress on its repeated promises to implement democracy and free political prisoners, above all Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who is still under house arrest.
The letter of Pope Benedict XVI to the Church in China is the beginning of a new phase, and one of the two most important and historical documents ever written by Rome to the Chinese Church. The key words are reconciliation, unity and dialogue.
Stripped of their dignity and deprived of their land, the poorest segments of the Indian population are getting nothing out of the country’s booming economy. Sometimes they are even forced to pay for it with their lives, according to Fr. Nithiya Sagayam, Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Justice, Peace and Development of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India.
Those who have contributed least to the problems of climate change are the ones who will suffer its consequences the most, says an official from the U.S. Bishops’ Conference. John Carr, Secretary of the Bishops’ Panel on Social Development and World Peace, addressed a Senate committee with the message that the poor are those made most vulnerable by climate change.
It is not every day that one sees a priest tinkering his way around an airplane, but that has been a regular sight for the last couple of years at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Thurgoona in southern NSW. A light aircraft has been built by Father John Fowles who hopes to fly it around Australia to raise money for those less fortunate in East Timor. He explains: “The ‘Fly Away to Heaven’ project is an initiative that is inspired by the idea of giving back. We have received many blessings in our parish here and now we feel there is a need to give back and help someone else. At the time, the cause for East Timor and the situation there came to my attention and I thought we should give something from here. The idea is to get sponsorships for flying various legs to circumnavigate around Australia in this little airplane. Also, it is a way of reaching out and making people aware of what we are doing.”
