East Asia

The PIME missionary is among the priests, men and women religious in the diocese of Hong Kong celebrating their jubilee of 70, 60, 50, 25 years of consecration. This year, due to the pandemic, the celebration took place online.

"At times we can believe we do not need anything, that we are enough for ourselves, and we live in total self-sufficiency. Sometimes this happens. But sooner or later this illusion vanishes”. And "one day" this inner voice "wakes up and screams". "In this season of Advent, marked by the pandemic, we make our own the prayer of supplication, which Jesus encourages us to.

The Democracy activist was sentenced to 10 months in prison for her role in last year's anti-government demonstrations. Eight Democrats were arrested yesterday for participating in a march on July 1st. They are added to the eight arrested for protests at the Chinese university.

Despite calls for a global ceasefire, violence and persecution on the rise. Unhcr: “another tragic milestone” passed which is destined to “increase”. The international community "has failed" in its task of "safeguarding peace". In the first half of the year, the number of vulnerable refugees resettled in third countries fell by half.

Pope Francis publishes the Apostolic Letter "Patris corde" 150 years after the declaration of Saint Joseph as "Patron of the universal Church" by Pius IX, "moved by the grave and mournful circumstances in which a Church was beset by the hostility of men”. His figure is important in this time of pandemic, where "ordinary people" live with "patience" and offer "hope". A decree for plenary indulgence during the Year of St. Joseph.

The Lord “knows our heart better than we do ourselves. Let's take advantage of the present moment! Yes, this is the Christian sense of 'carpe diem'. Do not enjoy life in the fleeting moment, no, this is the worldly meaning. But grasp today to say 'no' to evil and 'yes' to God; open up to His Grace; finally stop withdrawing into ourselves, dragging ourselves into hypocrisy ".

The foreign ministries of the two countries have announced accord on the height of the Himalayan giant: 8848.86 meters. In the past, China and Nepal differed by a few meters. For Xi Jinping the joint measure is "an eternal symbol of friendship between Nepal and China".

The traditional public prayer in front of the statue was cancelled due to the Covid-19 measures in place. Traditionalist sectors of the Church denounce the "minimization" of the dogma. The Pope also celebrated Mass in St Mary Major in the chapel of the Nativity.

Military sales reached US$ 361 billion in 2019. Four Chinese companies are in the top 25, three in the top 10. The US accounts for 61 per cent of the market; China for 16 per cent. The modernisation of the People’s Liberation Army is driving China’s military industry. Russian production is decreasing whilst those from the Middle East is increasing.

The announcement says that Francis will go to Baghdad, the plain of Ur, which is linked to the memory of Abraham, to the cities of Erbil and Mosul as well as Qaraqosh in the plain of Nineveh. Francis will thus make the visit that John Paul II was unable to make.

Those arrested, including two district councillors, shouted slogans and displayed independence banners. Acts in support of secession are punished by Beijing's security law. The bank accounts of Ted Hui, a former Democrat MP who is seeking refuge in Great Britain, are frozen.

At the Angelus, Pope Francis speaks of the desire to free oneself from sin: rejecting "the worldly mentality, excessive esteem for comforts, for pleasure, for well-being, for wealth "; renouncing the "superfluous and seeking the essential", like the Precursor. “Conversion is a grace, therefore, to be asked of God with strength”. "The Christmas tree and the crib ... signs of hope, especially in this difficult time". "There is no pandemic that can extinguish" the light that God has ignited in the world.