Ecclesia in Asia

Camay Lam, gravely ill with cancer, made hundreds of greeting cards using Chinese characters for Chinese New Year. the proceeds from the sale were earmarked for a youth centre in Vientiane and other works in the Apostolic Vicariate of Pakse. “The most important thing now is to do my part and continue to do more evangelisation work,” she told the Sunday Examiner.

Israel has reopened its borders welcoming the first groups of pilgrims after two years of closures due to Covid-19. The Latin Primate reflects on a time in which "we have come to terms with fragility and solitude", but the desire "to start again" defining "objectives and prospects" is strong. The importance of a "synodal path" of "participation and mission".

In Japan bishops condemn the Russian invasion citing John Paul II who in Hiroshima said that, “resorting to war is neither inevitable nor indispensable”. Likewise, “We really pray ardently that everybody sees the senselessness of violence,” said Card Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Bombay. In China Catholics will heed the appeal Pope Francis made for a day of fasting and prayer on 2 March.

On the Sunday of the Word of God , the story of Thailand-s mountain tribes who are preparing a Bible dictionary, the first step towards a complete translation of Scripture. In Asia there are still 751 languages spoken by 124 million people who do not have any Sacred Scripture in their own tongue.

This year the Council of Churches of the Middle East has been tasked with preparing the texts for the Week of Prayer that is celebrated around the world from 18 to 25 January. For its part, the Taizé community is calling on young people to come to the Holy Land in May for the new stage of its “Pilgrimage of Trust on Earth".