Santosh Digal

One hundred Catholic families in the archdiocese of Manila meet every weekend to read and comment on passages from the Bible together. The aim is to strengthen the faith and pass it on to their children.

Filipino Catholics hold prayer vigils and collections, to support the work of priests and study of seminarians. Prayer for vocations.

Students and teachers spend their week-ends teaching street kids about culture and faith, keeping them away from drugs and crime.

The Bishops’ Conference organises a conference to find ways to integrate tribal groups. Forgotten by the public authorities, the Church provides them with a point of reference and a way to bridge the gap between their cultures and the rest of the world.

Coral reefs and fish stock in South-East Asia are threatened by pollution and global warming. The lives and livelihoods of about 100 million people could be irremediably damaged. In the last 40 years about 40 per cent of coral reefs and mangroves have been lost.

Children work in fishing, farming, mining and domestic work (with salaries of US$16 a month). More than 100,000 of them are involved in prostitution. The Catholic Church has called on the government to implement effective measures to fight this problem.

The International Red Cross worker is no longer in the hands of kidnappers who moved him around, but rescue operations are hindered by the hostage’s poor health conditions (hernia) which prevent him from walking easily. He spoke with relatives in Italy for a second time last Friday.

Thailand promotes use of condoms and registers 570 thousand cases of HIV infections compared to 9 thousand in the Philippines. Doctors denounce pressures from members of parliament to promote family planning methods. Yesterday the European Parliament rejected an amendment to condemn the pope for his views on condoms.

The meeting is scheduled for 2-3 July in Marawi, a city in the autonomous region torn by decades of fighting between Muslim rebels and the military. Religious leaders are to continue the process of dialogue that began in Butuan conference. Rebel leader calls on religious leaders to remain independent and not be swayed by the government in Manila.

An initiative of the Communication Foundation for Asia (CFA). Six days of coexistence that involved 48 young people from four high schools in the Filipino capital.

Fighting between the Filipino army and rebels forces 600,000 people to flee their homes. Muslim Moros and indigenous people are the most affected by the violence. Children suffer the most from malnutrition and human trafficking. Sudan has the largest number of refugees, 4.9 million.

Contacts with Muslim leaders continue to secure the humanitarian worker’s release. Military continue their pressure in the area on Sulu Island where abductors and hostage are thought to be. Bandits split into four smaller groups.