Hong Kong

The Occupy Movement's last occupied site of Causeway Bay, a business and shopping district, was cleared by police today. Yesterday PIME fr. Franco Mella presided the Mass: "Don't be upset. We should have hope, like John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus Christ".

The "tasks" of those involved in social communication include speaking freely, without submissions to politics or economics; choosing the "path of understanding" the whole of reality; and avoiding attention-grabbing the user. "Genuine communication is not concerned with attention-grabbing. Alternating catastrophic alarmism and consolatory detachment - two extremes that we see continually in today's communication - are not a good service media offer to people."

Jesus teaches us that Christians should have a strong heart, a firm heart, a heart built on the rock, that is Christ and then, in the way it goes out, it goes out with prudence: 'In this case, I do this, but..." "When Pius XII freed us from that heavy cross that was the Eucharistic fast".

After the Angelus prayer, Pope Francis gave the crowd a pocketbook of prayers "for the various times of the day and for different situations in life". Earlier, he had blessed the "Baby Jesus" figurines for Nativity scenes brought by the children from Roman oratories. He also said, "With Jesus, joy dwells in us". He also shared the Christmas candle in solidarity with Polish faithful.

Mar Louis Sako calls on the faithful not to celebrate Christmas and New Year in a "worldly" fashion, with pomp and abundance, out of solidarity with the people who fled the Nineveh plains, persecuted by the Islamic Army. AsiaNews is joining the fast proposed by the Patriarch and calls on all readers to give what they would have otherwise spent in support of the campaign 'Adopt a Christian from Mosul'.

On the feast day of the patron saint of the blind, Francis Pope stresses the "human" values to which ​​she bore witness, which are important even for a "non-denominational" association. What are needed are courage not to take on an attitude of "victimisation," and a sense of community by way of "supporting one another". Giving oneself to others is the secret of happiness.

Since last June, the price per barrel has almost halved. The price war caused by high US production and the crisis in Europe, Japan and China.

After a night in jail, pan-democrat legislators and Student Federation secretary are released. Although they refused to post bail, they were freed unconditionally. A few diehard remain in in Causeway Bay; for them, "The clearance of occupied areas cannot extinguish the fire of democracy."

Receiving in audience Ignace Youssif III Younan, Patriarch of Antioch and of the Syriac Catholic Church, Pope Francis speaks of the diaspora caused by the conflicts in the region. "This movement towards countries considered to be safer impoverishes the Christian presence in the Middle East", "Witnessing to the Gospel when in discussions, is sometimes not easy, with people of different religions and ethnicities and religions."

Francis led today's Mass celebrating Our Lady of Guadalupe, the "great missionary who" brought "the Gospel to our America." The Marian canticle "professes that God delights in subverting ideologies and worldly hierarchies. He lifts up the lowly, comes to the aid of the poor and the little, he fills with goodness, blessings and hope those who trust in his mercy from generation to generation, while he casts down the rich, the powerful, and rulers from their thrones."

Cardinal Tong's appeal to police and students to renounce violence and return to dialogue on democratic reforms. Student leaders, parliamentarians, sit-in supporters in the area prepare to undergo arrest. University professors oversee the use of force by police. Some students cry. Others say that they will find new ways to fight for democracy.

God's grace "is closeness; it is tenderness. This rule is forever useful. If you are in a relationship with the Lord and you do not feel that He loves you tenderly, you are missing something; you have not understood what grace is; you have not received the grace that is this closeness." [. . .] If we had the courage to open our hearts to this tenderness of God, how much spiritual freedom we would have! How much!"