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“God’s gifts are for all. the so-called ‘cowboy capitalism’ – which seeks profit at any cost – doesn’t respect fundamental human rights.”
The situation of religious freedom in Asia is worsening, especially in China and in democratic India, according to the annual report of the U.S. State Department on religious freedom in the world.
It is time to allow and encourage Africans to take a sense of ownership in leading the development of their continent, said Archbishop Celestino Migliore, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, in an address to a U.N. high-level plenary meeting on the theme: “Africa’s Development Needs: State of Implementation of Various Commitments, Challenges and the Way Forward.”“The successes achieved in the consolidation of independence, the overcoming of the ideological conflicts of the 20th century, the abolition of apartheid and, more recently, the strengthening of the African Union and many other regional structures of cooperation, are a sign of hope for the potential of Africa,” the prelate said. “It is now high time to allow and encourage an African sense of ownership in leading a sustained and sustainable developmental process that frees all the peoples of Africa from the scourge of extreme poverty.”
The Pontifical Biblical Commission has published a new document entitled “The Bible and Morality” ahead of the Synod of Bishops on the Word of God. It states, according to a Catholic News Service report: even when it comes to morality, Catholics are not biblical fundamentalists, although they view the Bible as an important source of moral guidance; the various books of the Bible were written in different epochs, in different cultures and by different authors, the scholars said, so when looking for moral precepts, a Christian cannot focus on just one line.
The financial crisis under way in the United States should remind us that the human person must be at the center of the economy, affirmed the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Cardinal Renato Martino, during a visit he made recently to Chile.
Caritas Internationalis president Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga has told the United Nations that a lack of leadership is delaying the achievement of Millennium Development Goals and appealed to leaders of industrial nations to lower carbon emissions. The Cardinal was addressing the summit on development and climate change at the invitation of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. The Cardinal urged the world leaders to make “courageous decisions and fulfill past promises,” so as to achieve the development goals by the original deadline of 2015.
A Korean Catholic parish has donated over $100,000 or 15% of its annual income to build houses in Bangladesh and to provide food for people in Burundi. Pungam-dong Church in Gwangju (Kwangju), 270 kilometers south of Seoul, made the offer through Caritas Coreana. Fr. Thomas Koh Eul-sik and three of his parishioners went on purpose to Seoul to deliver the funds.
The only real growth registered in the current financial crisis has been “the commissions, profits of the banks and bonuses for the managers,” Italian economist Ettore Gotti Tedeschi says in an article in Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano.
Mathis Wackernagel knows better than most of the threats our planet is facing. The executive director of Global Footprint Network believes it is possible to study and solve our ecological problems. His non-profit organization, which works with everyone interested in sustainable development – from governments to corporations and NGOs like the World Wildlife Fund – has no magical solutions, just a well developed tool that is still being perfected. It aims to measure humanity’s demand on the Earth’s resources and the capacity of the planet to deal or not to deal with human activities.
The selfless commitment of Christians of all denominations to live, risk their lives and suffer for the Gospel values, human rights and to live out the mission of Jesus Christ to save the poor and the oppressed from pain and exploitation inflicted on them by the irresponsible rich and powerful, is at the heart of Christianity. Hundreds of thousands of Christians are living this idea by serving the poor, the sick, defending human rights and taking a stand for social justice all around the world. They have given their lives throughout history and do so today for these sublime goals that raise humans to a level of nobility and spirituality.
