Alessandra De Poli

The PIME missionary studied at CTU with Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV. He remembers a quiet, practical man, able to listen, the American PIME priest told AsiaNews. His election is a sign of hope for the American Church. The new pope spoke of peace, he is a missionary, he “could give hope to the Catholic Church in the United States.”

Cardinal Prevost, a spiritual son of St Augustine, was elected pope on the very day the Church celebrated the liturgical feast of the martyrs of Algeria, among whom were two Augustinian nuns. And in the description of the “disarmed and disarming” peace of the Risen Christ proclaimed by the new pope in his first Urbi et Orbi blessing, there echoed the prayer once written by Christian de Chergé, the prior of Tibhirine.

As clashes between India and Pakistan intensify after the attack in Pahalgam on 22 April, military operations are increasingly seen as testing the most advanced weapons on the market. Today India struck Pakistani air defences, risking further escalation. Pakistan has promised a response “at a time and place of its own choosing” with the risk of causing the worse confrontation between the two countries since 1971.

The situation has not yet stabilised in the areas where fighting broke out recently between Druze militias and Islamist groups. The Christian village of Khabab was not directly involved, but faces an equally precarious situation due to drought and economic deprivation. The war “didn't end just because the regime was overthrown,” said Sister Mona of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Jeanne Anthida Thouret, speaking to AsiaNews. For her, “our hope is in the Lord, not in men.”

Travel remains difficult with people still gripped by fear after Friday’s devastating quake in the country’s central regions. In addition to the aftershocks, people face ongoing military operations. “It's like shooting a wounded person,” said Sister Valentina Pozzi, the mother superior of the institute founded by Fr Carlo Salerio, which today has 380 local members. “It is a miracle that there were no victims among the sisters we were able to contact,” she told AsiaNews.

Myanmar’s military regime has extended the state of emergency again, but its control over the country is faltering as ethnic militias and resistance forces now control 95 cities. Meanwhile, the UN is reporting war crimes, highlighting the imminent risk of famine. China is involved with ethnic militias, but backs the generals.

The number of suicides among Japanese minors is up despite an overall drop. The PIME missionary runs an outreach centre for hikikomori, people who pull back from society, including minors, victims of bullying and crushed by the pressure to excel.

An Irish missionary in South Korea for almost fifty years, he explains to AsiaNews how current divisions within South Korean society have developed. For Fr Donal O'Keeffe, the situation is progressing "slowly", and is not a total stalemate. The country lacks prominent figures capable of taking over the reins of power and give it a clear direction.

With the end of the Assad regime, there are questions about the possibility of a change of government even in Tehran, which appears increasingly weakened. As Prof. Pejman Abdolmohammadi, professor of Middle East international relations at Trent University, in the new U.S. view of the region, the Houthis and the Shiite militias in Iraq are the next elements of the so-called Iranian "Axis of Resistance" that could be affected

What are the repercussions in Asia of the deployment of Kim Jong-Un's troops in Ukraine? Prof Andrew Yeo told AsiaNews that geopolitical lines are being redrawn. Ukraine may be encouraging North Korean soldiers to desert, but support for Ukraine in South Korea is a divisive issue. For its part, China is trying to avoid being identified as part of the Russia-North Korea bloc.

Forced to abandon the cathedral in November 2023 due to fighting, the bishop of Loikaw continues to care for the faithful of his diocese, now scattered in 200 refugee camps in remote areas. Speaking to AsiaNews, he talked about the tragedy of young people fighting and reflects on how these communities in Kayah State, despite their great difficulties, today remind him of the first Christians. For him, the Church is where people share and love each other.

While an Internet and communications blackout continues, the number of arrests topped 2,500. Unlike in the past, dissatisfaction with the government affects all segments of society. This has to do with a stagnant economy and changes to the workplace, Fr Gian Paolo Gualzetti reports. The PIME missionary runs a youth labour centre outside the capital Dhaka.