It is unclear whether it was a ballistic rocket. The Japanese government has expressed concern. Yesterday, the North Koreans did not respond to daily calls from authorities in the South.
Millions of deaths from poor hygiene and health could be avoided each year. We should not “project our priorities onto populations who live on other continents, where other needs are more urgent; where, for example, drinking water and daily bread are in short supply”.
Francis' message for the 36th World Youth Day. Some find "in the virtual environment and social networks the new battlefield, unscrupulously employing the weapon of fake news to spread venom and to wipe out their adversaries ". "Stand up and defend social justice, truth and righteousness, human rights, the persecuted, the poor and vulnerable, those who have no voice in society, immigrants."
"Don't close the doors to hope". "The Holy Spirit does not want closures; he wants openness, welcoming communities where there is room for everyone". "Every closure, in fact, keeps at a distance those who do not think like us. This - we know - is the root of so many great evils in history: of the absolutism that has often generated dictatorships and so much violence towards those who are different".
Postponed due to the pandemic, it is being celebrated to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Emirates. Running from 1 October to 31 March, it offers over 60 events each day. The Apostolic Vicar of Arabia invited among speakers. Doha and Riyadh vying for leadership in the region. Migrants from East and West.
The adjunct secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples: "Missionaries given to the world, a living presence even where numbers are small, dialogue with the great religions: the prophecy of John Paul II on the continent of the third millennium is coming true".
Francis celebrated Mass with participants at the plenary assembly of the Council of European Bishops' Conferences. The 'dictatorship of consumerism, whimsical but suffocating, attempts to quench' the thirst for Christ. "Leaving behind the conveniences of the immediate in order to return to the farsighted vision of the founding fathers, a prophetic and comprehensive vision, because they did not seek the consensus of the moment, rather they dreamt a future for all".
At the general audience, Francis retraces the stages of the trip to Budapest and Slovakia, "a pilgrimage of prayer, a pilgrimage to the roots, a pilgrimage of hope." Roots "not as museum exhibits, not ideologized and instrumentalized for interests of prestige and power, to consolidate a closed identity. No." "Violence against women is an open sore. It’s everywhere."
‘The Congregation for Religious is examining the religious congregations and associations created in this period.” Among the latter, many have been placed under external control. Positions of governance in lay groups are a “call to serve” that runs up against a hunger for power and disloyalty.
Christians “are weavers of dialogue where hostility is growing; models of fraternal life where society is experiencing tension and hostility; bringers of the sweet fragrance of hospitality and solidarity where personal and collective selfishness too often prevails, protectors and guardians of life where the culture of death reigns.”
“Judgement and prejudice only increase distances. Hostility and sharp words are not helpful. Marginalizing others accomplishes nothing. Segregating ourselves and other people eventually leads to anger. The path to peaceful coexistence is integration,” said Francis. What is more, “Bombarded by virtual messages, we risk losing our real roots,” he added. “To grow disconnected from life, or to fantasize in a void, is not a good thing; it is a temptation from the evil one. God wants us to be firmly grounded, connected to life.”
"How many generous persons suffered and died here in Slovakia for the name of Christ! Theirs was a witness borne out of love of him whom they had long contemplated. To the point that they resembled him even in their death. I think too of our own time, in which there is no lack of opportunities for bearing witness.”
“Even as battles for supremacy are waged on various fronts, may this country reaffirm its message of integration and peace,” said Pope Francis. “[M]ay Europe be distinguished by a solidarity that, by transcending borders, can bring it back to the centre of history.” For the pontiff, the Church must teach “inner and responsible freedom”. She must know “how to be creative by immersing herself in history and culture;” she must know “how to engage in dialogue with the world, with those who confess Christ without being one of ‘us’, with those who are weary of the religious quest, even with those who do not believe.”
Third missile test of the year for the communist regime. Analysts say Korea not testing ballistic missiles to avoid provoking the United States. The US Indo-Pacific Command and South Korea monitor the situation.
Francis closed the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress. "The cross is never in trend of fashion: today as in the past. Rather it it heals within. It is before the Crucified One that we experience a beneficial inner struggle, the bitter conflict between 'thinking according to God' and 'thinking according to men'." "The threat of anti-Semitism still lurks in Europe and elsewhere".
