Vincenzo Faccioli Pintozzi

The Pope meets the youth who participated in the International Youth Forum, organized by the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life. Francis asks them to be "light in the night of so many peers who do not know Jesus". The theme of WYD in Lisbon 2022 has been chosen: "Mary arose and went quickly"

Those who study theology must be encouraged to learn about the great monotheistic religions and the languages ​​in which the sacred texts are written. Theology is not only rationalism, it must be lived in compassion with a heart fixed on the merciful God. The Mediterranean is a bridge "and not a border between the North and the South of the world": Without mercy, "our theology, our laws, our pastoral care, run the risk of collapsing into bureaucratic pettiness or ideology, which of its nature wants to tame the mystery". Francis in Naples, at a Conference on the theme:" Theology after Veritatis gaudium in the context of the Mediterranean ".

The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople sent a message to the ongoing conference in Naples on "Theology after Veritas Gaudium in the Mediterranean context". “We need to carefully examine they ways in which we welcome, why we welcome, but above all how to welcome, respecting the local populations. Reception must become mainly integration, but never syncretism".

The agenda of the two-day visit remains secret. Xi Jinping and Kim Jong-un will visit the Tower of Sino-Korean friendship, a monument celebrating the 600,000 Chinese soldiers who died during the Korean War. Denuclearization, peace with Seoul and relations with the United States at the center of talks between the two leaders. The video of Xi's arrival in the Korean capital.

General Xu Yuan, who teaches at the Defence University of the People's Liberation Army, says that the Chinese government fears what might happen in the former British colony. The freedoms granted in 1997 "must be revoked before it is too late". The key to indoctrination of the population is “education".

She had been jailed along with her husband and about 100 other Christians in December 2018. Another Christian, Li Xiaofeng, was also released. Both are free on bail but can be re-arrested at any time. The state of their health is unknown.

A Catholic source tells AsiaNews that 30 years since the massacre seem to have taught the Chinese and the world nothing. “China’s dictatorship has gotten more heavy-handed” whilst “the world seems to have forgotten us."

At the Regina Caeli, Francis comments on today's Gospel, centered on the Paraclete: "In order to realize the mission that God has entrusted to us, the Church cannot remain static. It is a question of freeing oneself from the worldly bonds represented by our views, our strategies, our goals, which often weigh down the journey of faith, and place ourselves in docile listening to the Word of the Lord "

The Pope meets the participants at the international conference "Yes to Life" and remembers how the teaching of the Church is "clear and unchanged. Human life is sacred and inviolable. Here religion has nothing to do with it is a human question". No human being "can ever be incompatible with life, for any reason".

Japan’s former "sad princess" yesterday acted in her official capacity as empress for the first time, visiting the headquarters of the charity, whose honorary president she has been since her husband Naruhito’s coronation. The stress that affected her life after marriage seems to be over.

Japan announced its honours for foreigners. The archbishop and librarian emeritus of the Vatican will receive the Order of the Rising Sun-Gold and Silver Star in recognition for his contribution to boosting relations and strengthening friendly ties between Japan and the Holy See.

Qin Guangrong, who led the southwestern province for years, is formally under investigation for "serious violations of the law and discipline" of the CCP. The investigations also involve the son Qin Ling, former president of Huarong Investment Stock Corp. He is the first leader of this level to spontaneously hand himself in to the authorities.