06/17/2013ISLAM Oasis: with the death of secular humanism, it is time to build new bridges by Bernardo Cervellera On the first day of the Oasis Centre's annual conference, participants hear that secularism and the 'crisis of man'-that of an inward-looking man, stalked by radical environmentalism, man as an animal, a 'monkey'-appear to be at an end. Islamic parties brought to the fore by the Arab spring are failing. As new religious experiences emerge in the Arab world, states try to bring under their bureaucratic control. But, as Benedict XVI put it, faith and reason must engage in dialogue. In Najaf (Iraq), a Council for dialogue between religions has been set up for the purpose of promoting basic universal human rights and full citizenship for all of the country's religious communities. Milan (AsiaNews) - Ca'Granda, once one of Milan's oldest Church-run
hospitals, home since 1958 of the city's Università degli Studi, and scene in 1968
of students'...
06/17/2013SOUTH KOREA In Korea, religions march together for life by Joseph Yun Li-sun In Seoul, more than 3,000 people from different religious backgrounds call on the government to promote the sanctity of life. Inspired by the slogan 'Life says, Life listens, and Life walks!', protesters want change to boost births. "Let us give people an opportunity to do the right thing," said the president of the Pro-Life Commission of the Bishops' Conference.
06/17/2013VATICAN Pope: "Things mean everything to this world: wealth, vanity," but for Christians, this is nothing, Jesus is"everything" During the Mass celebrated this morning, Francis denounces that all Christians mistakes, all the mistakes of the Church, all of our mistakes are born here, when we say 'nothing' is 'everything' and that 'everything' does not count ... "." "A Christian is a person who widens his or her heart, with this magnanimity, because they have “everything”,, which is Jesus Christ. Everything else is 'nothing.' They are useful, needed, but when it counts we must know how to choose that ‘everything’, with that mildness, that Christian meekness which is the sign of the disciples of Jesus, meekness and patience. "
06/17/2013NEPAL Caritas Nepal against slave-like child labour by Kalpit Parajuli Nepali law bans child labour under the age of 14, but children are the most sought after domestic workers. Torture and abuse often go along with the job, especially if children spend too much time studying. For Caritas, children's rights should be respected, including the "right to practice one's own religion".
06/17/2013INDONESIA Jakarta: police rejects compulsory headscarf for female officers by Mathias Hariyadi Islamists want to impose the jilbab on women police officers. Some human rights groups and lawmakers back the request. However, police spokesman said the force's internal rules impose the same uniform on all officers and so the headscarf is inadmissible, except in Islamist-ruled Aceh province.
06/17/2013PHILIPPINES "Child labor is a scourge to be fought," the appeal of a Filipino bishop Over 5 million children between 5 and 17 years are employed to work inhuman hours. Appeal of a bishop: "We need more targeted social policies, to counter the irresponsibility of parents and poverty."
06/17/2013CHINA Sichuan: 386 pupils suffer food poisoning at school Students at the Meishan Yingtian School, which offers kindergarten, primary, junior and high school level education, suffer from food poisoning and end up in hospital. In the case of 50, their conditions is not good, but their lives are not at risk. Food safety is increasingly becoming a major public issue.
06/17/2013SYRIA Massacres by Islamic extremists bolster Bashar al-Assad Ignored for months by Western media, massacres by Islamist brigades have appeared on pro-rebel media with reports on summary executions, Islamic courts and the mass killing of Shias, justified in the name of the hatred against Assad. However, in al Qusair and Aleppo, residents have welcomed the return of the regular army.
06/17/2013IRAN Hopes for a new era in Iran as moderate Rohani wins presidential elections The new president won with over 50% of the vote. The turnout was 72%. Outcome welcomed by the United States, European Union and Gulf monarchies. The hope is that Rohani will put a definite stop to the nuclear ambitions pursued by his predecessor Ahmadinejad. Israeli government skeptical: "The international community must not indulge in dreams."
06/17/2013BANGLADESH Bangladesh Nationalist Party (and Islamists) wins municipal elections by Sumon Corraya The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) wins 60% of the vote in Sylhet, Barisal, Khulna and Rajshahi. Heavy defeat for the ruling party, the Awami League. Victory thanks to support of the Jamaat-e-Islami, the Islamic party for months fomenting violence across the country.
06/17/2013VATICAN Pope to G8: promote a ceasefire in Syria and economic measures "inspired by the ethics of truth" Pope Francis writes to the British Prime Minister Cameron. Peace "requires a farsighted renunciation of claims" Remember that man "is not simply an additional economic factor, or a disposable good, but is equipped with a nature and a dignity that cannot be reduced to simple economic calculus".
06/17/2013VIETNAM Further clamp down on web as third blogger arrested in less than a month On 15 June, 30 year-old Dinh Nhat Uy charged with "abusing democratic freedoms." He faces up to seven years in prison. In May, his brother was sentenced to eight years for propaganda against the state. In less than a year 46 people arrested for activism on line or on the streets.
06/16/2013VATICAN Pope: the Gospel of life is not replacing God with idols of our time, children with selfishness An immense crowd participates in the Mass celebrated by Francis in the day dedicated to Evangelium Vitae in this Year of Faith is. "Often the man does not choose life, does not accept the 'Gospel of life'," which brings true freedom, but "is guided by ideologies and a logic that block life, which do not respect it, because they are dictated by selfishness, self-interest, by profit, power, pleasure and not by love, seeking the good of others. "
06/15/2013INDIA By 2030 India will be the most populous state in the world. Despite forced sterilizations by Nirmala Carvalho 75 thousand children are born every day, but the baby boom also depends on a decrease in the rates of infant and child mortality. Member of the Pontifical Academy for Life criticizes "use of sterilization in family planning policies" and recalls the campaigns launched by Indira Gandhi in the 1970s. In just one year 6.2 million vasectomies and mandatory tubal 2.5 ligatures were carried out.
06/15/2013VATICAN Pope: Christians must live proclaiming Christ, not seeking peace until Heaven In his usual morning homily Francis emphasizes "the scandal of the cross: Christ became sin for me to bring my soul back to the Lord." Christian life "should not seek the peace of the philosophers but must be lived with zeal. We must live wandering the world preaching the Gospel. "