Geographical areas In the spotlight

In the spotlight:
 
Pope: a special synod for the Amazon region

It will be held in October 2019. "The main purpose of this convocation is to identify new paths for the evangelization of that portion of God's people, especially indigenous people, often forgotten and without the prospect of a peaceful future, also because of the crisis of Amazon rainforest".

| 15/10/2017
| VATICAN
 
Pope: 35 new saints, people who have said yes to God with their lives

They are mostly martyrs and related to Latin America, witnesses of the Gospel "to the end". The wedding guests in the Gospel story "are all of us". "The Lord desires us, seeks and invites us, and we does not content Himself with our fulfilling our duties and observing His laws, but wants with us to have a true communion of life, a relationship of dialogue, trust and forgiveness" .

| 15/10/2017
| VATICAN
Editor's choices
 
Catholic Church tells politicians, not to put Christian sectarianism in the constitution
While the country is getting ready to welcome Pope Francis in September, amendments have been proposed to assert the country’s Christian identity. For the Catholic Bishops' Conference, this is a “dangerous” step that “obscures ...
| 24/04/2024
| PAPUA NEW GUINEA
 
Sipri: never before has arms expenditure been so high in Asia
Not only Gaza and the war in Ukraine: the global arms race is also driven by Chinese pressure on Taiwan.. The 6.8% growth represents "the highest year-on-year growth since 2009". China, Russia, India and Saudi Arabia among the world's top five with ...
| 22/04/2024
| ASIA - MIDDLE EAST
 
Palestinian Christian in 'administrative detention'. Rev. Isaac: a victim of injustice
by Dario Salvi
Layan Nasir, a 23-year-old native of Birzeit, is the only Christian woman under "administrative detention". She was taken, blindfolded and handcuffed, overnight by a military patrol without an arrest warrant or charges against her. The Bethlehem ...
| 19/04/2024
| ISRAEL – PALESTINE
 
Unequal law, the suffering children of Chinese dissidents
Chinese Human Rights Defenders released a report detailing the stories of children and young people victims of human rights violations, like He Fengmei's daughter, who was separated from her mother a month after her birth and kept in a psychiatric ...
| 16/04/2024
| CHINA
 
Amina and Bedouins, the hidden victims of Iran’s rockets and Hamas’s attack
Currently in intensive care, the seven-year-old is the only person to be seriously wounded by Iran’s attack against Israel because her house and village were not covered by Israel’s Iron Dome defence system. Nothing is known of the fate of ...
| 15/04/2024
| ISRAEL – GAZA - IRAN
 
Bishop Shomali: Jordan’s solidarity with Gaza, but relations with Israel remain fundamental
by Daniele Frison
The auxiliary bishop of Jerusalem and patriarchal vicar for Palestine looks at the protests in Amman. Diplomatic relations with Israel allow aid to be sent to Gaza. Some students from Gaza’s Holy Family Parish arrived in Amman thanks to the Patriarchate’s ...
| 12/04/2024
| JORDAN
 
Pope Francis will be in Southeast Asia and Oceania from 2 to 13 September
The Holy See has officially announced the long journey to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and Singapore. Card Goh of Singapore hopes the pope will bring to his predominantly Chinese city, “renewed fervour to all Catholics [. . .], especially ...
| 12/04/2024
| VATICAN
 
Cardinal Poola: Don't ignore the parts in Dignitatis Infinita about the poor
by card. Anthony Poola *
The Archbishop of Hyderabad looks at the media reaction to the declaration released by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on human dignity. The media are “focused on gender theory, sex change, surrogacy etc., but” people who “struggle ...
| 11/04/2024
| INDIA
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”