Papuan protests and unrest against Jakarta's ‘racism’

At the Angelus, Pope Francis explains that "the fire" that Jesus came to ignite, pushes disciples "to abandon every attitude of laziness, apathy, indifference".  Christianity has spread "overcoming every division between individuals, social categories, peoples and nations".  It is urgent to live in "adoration of God" and in the "willingness to serve others".  One cannot "combine Christian life and worldliness", "superstitious practices" and "a hostile attitude to one's neighbor".

At the Angelus, Pope Francis explains the words used by Mary in the Magnificat: Magnify and rejoice.  "If we want our life to be happy, God must be placed first, because he alone is great".  Closeness to the peoples of South Asia affected by the monsoons.  The rosaries blessed by the Pope will be distributed to Syrian families.

Rosemarie Perez and her 13-year-old son Rohan, born in Israel, repatriated after a brief legal battle.  The boy has never seen the Philippines.  A similar situation to hundreds of other immigrant workers and which worries the Church.  Bishop Marcuzzo: a "very serious" problem, the result of "extreme right" policies to reduce the non-Jewish population.

Last year the island welcomed over 6 million tourists, about 40 per cent of the 15.8 million tourists who visited the country. Indonesia’s president wants to expand the Indonesian tourist industry via a ‘10 new Bali’ initiative. In 2018 Indonesian tourism grew by 7.8 per cent, twice the global average.

In a message published today, the pontiff expresses closeness to all those who have been touched by the tragedy and acknowledges that he does not have "pre-packaged answers". He does however reach out to the people of the city, saying "you are not alone", entrusting to Christ "our questions, our pain, our anger", urging people to look “towards the Madonna della Guardia", and calling for reconstruction in solidarity, together with the Church of Genoa.

Repatriation will take place over the course of a year in two or three batches. In Thailand, the victims of trafficking are mainly exploited workers, beggars or sex slaves. Thailand will also send irregular migrants back to Myanmar.

The festivities began three days ago with a procession. Yesterday, a solemn mass was held at the Cathedral of Saint Gemma Galgani. OSA missionaries arrived in West Kalimantan from Heemstede (Netherlands) on 6 December 1949. Over the years, they opened a hospital, six rural clinics and as many schools.

The Islamic-Christian dialogue movement released a message of good wishes, inspired by the Document on Human Brotherhood signed by the Pope and the Great Imam of Al-Azhar. The “Abrahamic faith shared by Jewish people, Christians and Muslims can help us and people of other faiths to reaffirm the priority of God, accepting the differences of religions.”

Vietnam wants to be the first country in Southeast Asia to provide the service.  The government has granted the license to test the new networks to Viettel, a state-owned group.  But despite the success, citizens do not yet enjoy freedom of communication.

During the Angelus, Pope Francis suggested attitudes to "grasp God’s passage in one's life". Like pilgrims, we must “be ready with clothes tight around the hips” and keep “lights burning” to enlighten with faith "the many ‘nights’ of life". The eternal joy of heaven means that “the servants, that is, us, will no longer serve God, but God himself will put himself at our service." The pontiff cited the 70th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions, which "impose limits on the use of force and are aimed at protecting civilians and prisoners in time of war." War and terrorism represent "the great human defeat".

The new statutes of the Institute for the Works of Religion will be valid for two years ad experimentum. Changes were necessary to adapt them to the needs of the times and use the collaboration and responsibility of experienced lay Catholics.

For the World Resources Institute, Qatar, Israel, Lebanon, Iran and Jordan are among the countries at risk. They use over 80 percent of their total water resources. Prolonged droughts and ever-rising temperatures are compounded by inadequate investment in wastewater reuse. Waste must be limited to avoid a catastrophe.

Pupils in Tamil and Mandarin schools can choose to study Khatt. The Education Ministry wanted to make it compulsory in elementary schools. Critics had accused the government of trying to "Islamise" education. Identity policies play an important role in the country.

Some non-Muslim communities criticise addition of Khatt calligraphy in Malay language course. Protestant leader wonders why Christians cannot study Arabic Christian calligraphy. For the sixth time, court postpones the decision as to whether Christians can use the word "Allah". Radical Muslims consider the word of exclusive use in Islam.