In the afternoon Francis travelled to Iaşi to meet with young people and families. It's up to young people to pursue the “prophetic vision: without love and without God, no one can live on the earth.” Faith “does not show up on the stock exchange”. It is not for sale, but it “is a gift that keeps alive a profound and beautiful certainty: that we are God’s beloved children.”
Growth in January-March was 5.8 per cent, the lowest in 17 quarters. The unemployment rate is the highest in 45 years, a figure previously leaked to the press. Analysts criticise the delay in the publication of the results. ‘Modinomics’ fails to uphold promises.
With 51,909 members, Andong is the smallest ecclesiastical district in Korea. At the start of the 19th century, the first Christians who settled in the area were refugees from persecution. Bishop emeritus Mgr René Dupont (MEP) arrived in 1969, tasked with developing seven empty parishes with the help of a few priests. As a very rural area, the diocese is particularly affected by the aging of the population.
Francis celebrated Mass at the Șumuleu Ciuc shrine, in Transylvania, a Hungarian-speaking area, before at least 100,000 people. “To go on pilgrimage,” he said, “is to participate in that somewhat chaotic sea of people that can give us a genuine experience of fraternity, to be part of a caravan that can together, in solidarity, create history”.
The Sri Lankan government is thought to be negotiations deals over military bases with foreign powers to protect the country from international terrorism following the Easter Sunday attacks.
