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“Squeezed between two extremisms and subject to religious and social discrimination, many Christians prefer to flee from their harsh reality of conflict and instability.”
“Religious freedom, the path to peace” is the theme chosen by Pope Benedict XVI for the celebration of the 2011 World Day of Peace.
Hope, joy and optimism is growing in Mongolia’s small Catholic community, in particular, because of a brand new community formed by six newly-baptized women in Arvaiheer, main town of the southern Mongolian Uvurhangai region, thanks to the missionary endeavors of the community of Consolata Missionaries.
Hundreds of children, victims of years of war in northern Uganda, are denied urgent assistance because of lack of funds and adequate medical service, according to the Northern Uganda Transitional Justice Working Group.
The blasphemy law and Islamic extremism “are obscure evils of Pakistan’s society;” “they disrupt stability, harmony and legality,” Muhammad Aslam Khaki, a Muslim jurist and lawyer, commented the day after the murder of the Emmanuel brothers in Faisalabad. Totally committed to defending human rights in Pakistan and eradicating religious extremism, he is presently defending persons, some of them Christians, charged with breaking the blasphemy law. Although because of this he is subject to “pressure and threats,” the lawyer is determined in his commitment to promote legality.
The first Christian radio station from the Holy Land will soon be on air, with the aim of becoming a bridge between people of different faiths in that region. Father Raed Abu Sahlieh, a parish priest in a small Christian community of Palestine, expressed the hope that the radio station will be “a bridge between different churches and religions.”
Fr. Sebastiano D’Ambra, PIME, the founder of the Silsilah Dialogue Movement, was honored on July 22, 2010 by the Ateneo de Manila University with the Bukas Palad Award. The awarding ceremony was held at the Erwin Shaw Theater on the Loyola Heights campus of the university. Other awardees at this year’s ceremony were Monsignor José C. Bernardo, Jr., also for the Bukas Palad Award; Federico Aguilar Alcuaz for the Gawad Tanglaw ng Lahi; and Dr. Alfredo R. A. Bengzon for Lux-in-Domino Award.
Tourism, by “bringing us closer to creation in its variety and wealth, can be an occasion to promote and increase the religious experience.” The Catholic Church, in the year the United Nations dedicated to biodiversity, is urging everyone to pay closer attention to humankind’s responsibility towards nature, even when people seek rest and leisure.
My first encounter with death by starvation was in Olongapo City many years ago when I was called out to bless a dead child. I was led to the hovel made of cartons and plastic sheet where the three year old was about to be buried. I found a little girl in a cardboard box covered with a dress cut out of paper. It was all the emaciated mother could afford. The family hadn’t eaten in days. It led me to ask why and what could I do to prevent it.
When someone is really kind and prepared to help and serve others, he is not expecting to be paid back. But gratitude is also a beautiful virtue, with a strong impact on those who give and those who receive. As it’s shown in the story of the kind doctor and the grateful Filipino couple.
