Dario Salvi

As he talked about the saint, Francis called hypocrisy "the greatest danger", which ruins "even the most sacred realities". Speaking about the upcoming feast of the Immaculate Conception, the pontiff entrusts to Mary “our prayer for peace, especially for the tortured Ukrainian people". In his message for yesterday’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the pope said that the magisterium of fragility is “a charism".

The state’s ports minister is ready to deploy security forces to ensure the US$ 900-million project by the Adani Group gets done. Local priest is outraged by “police atrocity” and agents provocateurs acting on the company’s behalf. Despite threats, fishermen announce all-out action to defend the local economy.

Today's other news: North Korea publicly executes two minors for distributing South Korean films; Indonesia is set to approve a law that punishes extramarital sex with prison for both Indonesians and foreigners; China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Russia on the US "blacklist" for violations of religious freedom; the number of child brides is up in Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power.

The number reached 70,000 in 2022, double last year’s. Some 54 per cent comes from Russia, up 400 per cent over 2021; Ukraine follows with 21 per cent; and 5 per cent from the United States. This wave of migration and the Law of Return continue to fuel the debate over the country’s Jewish identity.

The Mecc met for two days at the end of November in Lebanon focusing on the future of the new generations. The plan for a special conference on kidnappings marking a decade since the two bishops of Aleppo were abducted. The invitation to continue dialogue for a common date on Easter.

Abu al-Hassan al-Hashemi al-Quraishi and a comrade blew themselves up during an operation by the Free Syrian Army in Daraa province. The Pentagon says no US forces took part in the operation. The new leader is Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Quraishi. For expert, the movement has been weakened.

Tomorrow the remains of the fidei donum priest killed in Trabzon in February 2006 will be translated to Rome. The choice to leave to live the Gospel "in a peripheral reality", building bridges with other Churches and Islam. Archbishop Bizzeti: "The Church in the Middle East is not a place to flee from, but a place to come to even from Italy".

For a second day, there was no large-scale military operation. Turkish and Kurdish forces exchanged some artillery fire. But a Turkish presidential spokesperson warns that a ground operation could occur “at any time". Even Christian militias are ready to resist a Turkish attack.

Mohammed Shia al-Sudani met with President Raisi and Supreme Leader Khamenei (unlike his predecessor al-Khadimi, who was too pro-U.S.). The talks focused on energy, the economy and security. A visit that comes at a time of tension over Iranian attacks in Kurdistan.

The flag affair dominates the pre-match phase after the US Soccer Federation posts an Iranian flag without the emblem of the Islamic Republic. Iran’s revolutionary guards tell the Iranian team to “behave”. The protests that followed the death of Mahsa Amini are overshadowing the sporting event. The two teams met once before, in France 1998, ending in an Iranian victory. Qatar is using the event to boost its regional role as a mediator.

The Maronite archbishop of Damascus talks about the suffering of people forgotten by the international community. Their faces are sad, worried, melancholic, and anguished. A UN report warns of "catastrophic risks” ahead of winter. The UN has raised so far only 42 per cent of the funds needed to help at least six million people at risk.

The former Patriarchal Vicar of Jerusalem underlines the pontiff's words that rekindle "peace and hope" in people's hearts. And they remind political leaders that "a solution is possible". Positive signs from the resumption of pilgrimages after Covid, with Indonesians among the top arrivals.