Xi Jinping downsizes the Ant Group (and Jack Ma)

Pope Francis and the universal Church are called upon to stop the closure of Catholic orphanages for mentally and physically disabled children. It is time to review the Sino-Vatican Agreement. After hopes were raised, everything is now being betrayed in the name of politics.

"We see it in certain groups that come to an agreement to bring about changes in the life of the Church, all the media that inform ... But prayer is not seen". General audience dedicated to "The Church teacher of prayer". Monasteries "vital cells, not only for the ecclesial fabric but for society itself".

The perspective of synodality "active participation of all the faithful in the mission of the Church". For women "an important role to play in the human formation of future priests". The issue of celibacy "must be addressed on the horizon of vocation". Clericalism "a danger for both priests and the faithful: it identifies the priesthood with power and not with service".

On Divine Mercy Sunday, Pope Francis celebrates mass in the church of Santo Spirito in Sassia with a congregation of missionaries of Mercy, prisoners and detainees, migrants and refugees, nurses and hospital nuns. "Jesus brings about “the resurrection of the disciples” through his mercy. The peace of Jesus makes the disciples pass "from remorse to mission". Pooling resources "is not communism, it is pure Christianity". " Let us not live a oneway faith, a faith that receives but does not give, a faith that accepts the gift but does not give it in return." The Regina Caeli and the greeting to those present.

A commentary on the Gospel of the Second Sunday of Easter, B (John 20, 19-31).

Message from Francis to the global symposium "Faith and Flourishing: Strategies for Preventing and Healing Child Sexual Abuse." May the initiative contribute "to a greater awareness of the gravity and extent of child sexual abuse".

In a letter sent to the participants in the 2021 Spring Meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, Francis calls for the search for the common good to guide finance. Wealthy nations should pay their "ecological debt", "We particularly need a vaccine solidarity that is rightly financed".

In a demonstration in Kalay, soldiers "fired in all directions" and ambushed demonstrators. Three of the killed were not part of the protest. In Bago two killed in a residential area. In the villages there is forced recruitment of men or young people. Anyone who refuses is arrested. Many villages are abandoned because people flee. Kyaw Zwar Minn, the Burmese ambassador to Britan and former military officer speaks in favour of Aung San Suu Kyi.

WHO inquiry in China slanted by political factors and failed to provide credible responses to the hypothesis of "leak from a laboratory". The WHO compromised to obtain a modicum of cooperation from the Chinese. Investigators did not have access to vital data.

“When we pray, we never do it alone: ​​even if we don't think about it, we are immersed in a majestic river of invocations that precedes us and continues after us”. Francis recalled "in prayer the victims of the floods that hit Indonesia and East Timor in recent days". Vatican Athletics continue in their commitment to "spreading the culture of fraternity in the sports field".

Cautious optimism after the first (indirect) meeting yesterday in Vienna, under the aegis of the EU. The restoration of the JCPOA "will not be immediate" and "will take time", but positive signals are coming from Iran and the United States. The White House is ready to remove the sanctions "contrary to the agreement".

Young people killed in Myanmar, oppressed in Bangkok, imprisoned in Hong Kong, with no prospects for the economic crisis ...Pope Francis’ long list of social "plagues". Easter is not a vague symbol or psychological consolation. Nor is it just a past event.

Analysts and experts speak of an encouraging "small step forward". Indirect talks, mediated by the European Union, could open today in Vienna. Ayatollah Khamenei withholds go-ahead for direct meetings. But unresolved issues such as support for Hamas, Hezbollah and Assad weigh on the future of the negotiations.

Since 2014, a "low intensity" conflict continues in the Donbass. The provinces of Donetsk and Lugansk regularly use the Russian ruble, Russian weapons and Russian passports. Ukraine perhaps the victim of a geopolitical game.