Bernardo Cervellera

Zhu Weiqun, vice president of the United Front rails against religious conversions in the Chinese Communist Party. At least one third of executives believe in some "religious superstition" because disillusioned by corruption and lack of ideals of communist ideology. The revival of Maoist tone is a sign of an internal power struggle ahead of the imminent change of leadership of Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao.

In his Message for World Day of Peace 2012, Benedict XVI places the foundations for a new "earthly city" and a new social pact. The current crisis – in the economic sphere - first of all is rooted in a "cultural anthropology". Defeating relativism with the search for truth. The forgetfulness of Christian peace movements.

Christmas 2011 is marked by economic crisis, unemployment, and anxiety, even among wealthy Chinese millionaires. Post-tsunami Japan, Post-earthquake Indonesia and Turkey, Post-flood Vietnam, Thailand and Laos show that there is also an ecological emergency. In all these situations the Churches of Asia are laying seeds of hope that help the fatigue of many churches of the West. Even God was born in an emergency.

The hospital’s foundation stone was blessed. The facility will work closely with the Faculty of Medicine of Fu Jen University. With 800 beds, it will provide outpatient services to 5,000 people a day. Local authorities are grateful for the new structure. The hospital will be inspired by papal teachings on the pastoral care of the sick.

Signed today, the agreement provides for mutual recognition of qualifications between ecclesiastical universities around the world, linked to the Holy See, and universities recognized by the Taiwan Ministry of Education. For Card. Grocholewski this is a contribution to the internationalization of culture, which also benefits Taiwan. For President Ma Ying-jeou the agreement helps make Taiwan "a centre of higher education for East Asia". Even the Catholic teaching will be part of the curricula in Catholic institutions.

The ceremony was attended by Cardinals Paul Shan and Joseph Zen, as well as bishops and political figures in Taiwan. The doctoral dissertation of Mgr. Hon was the figure of Card. Celso Costantini, the first apostolic delegate to the Republic of China, a passionate defender of the Chinese people against Western powers, an advocate of an indigenous hierarchy, patron of an integration between Chinese culture and the Gospel. Current challenges of secularism in Taiwan and the political control of the faith in China.

The arrest, kidnapping and self-immolation of Tibetan monks are only one of the many faces with which China reasserts its power over religion. Even Catholic priests suffer arrests, control, the disappearances of bishops, disdain for the Pope and the Holy See. Religious awareness is growing in Chinese society, but Beijing is trying to wipe it out. Yet, only religion can save China from implosion.

From bonds of friendship and solidarity between the Church in China and the Universal Church, to the battle for religious freedom. The attempt to understand the real reasons for the Arab Spring and denunciation of Islamic persecution against Christians. Faith in Jesus the most precious gift for the Christians of East and West.

New evangelization can be nourished by encounters and relationships with the Churches of Asia, among the most persecuted, but also among the most vibrant and growing. Many young people, visiting missions, have decided to dedicate their lives to evangelization. Missio ad gentes and new evangelization go hand in hand.

The death of a PIME missionary and simultaneously the announcement of the Year of Faith, invoked by Benedict XVI to rediscover the Christian faith and learn how to transmit it to the world. The life of the murdered priest is a sign of "good that makes no noise," but nourishes the fruits of faith and love. An alternative to the black bloc.

The results of the autopsies will be released Oct. 27. But Egyptian army trying to silence the issue by manipulating the truth and accusing the Copts of provoking the violence despite the eyewitness accounts and videos. Shenouda III is opposed to the military’s version. Obama also assumes that the Copts were violent. Not to forget AsiaNews publishes some pictures of the massacre, sent by Coptic organizations.

The United States, Israel and Europe are trying frantically to stop Abbas from asking the United General Assembly to recognise a Palestinian state on 23 September. Instead, threats to cut aid to the Palestinians could cause demonstrations and clashes in the territories. Following the failure of peace talks because of the ever-increasing land grab by Israeli settlers, a UN seat for Palestine is the best guarantee for peace.