East Asia

During a 40-minute meeting, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Pope Francis discussed terrorism and arms trafficking, as well as “the importance of interreligious dialogue and the responsibility of religious communities in promoting reconciliation, tolerance and peace." Upon leaving, the Iranian leader asked the pontiff to pray for me."

The title of the papal Lenten message for the Holy Year is ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice” (Mt 9:13). The works of mercy on the road of the Jubilee’. For the pope, “sinful structures” are “linked to a model of false development based on the idolatry of money.” And, “the danger always remains that by a constant refusal to open the doors of their hearts to Christ who knocks on them in the poor, the proud, rich and powerful will end up condemning themselves and plunging into the eternal abyss of solitude which is Hell.”

Peter Dahlin was in jail since 4 January on charges of "damaging national security". The NGO he founded provides assistance of various kinds to Chinese lawyers who intend to work in rural areas of the country. Stockholm is "very concerned" about the fate of another of its nationals in Chinese prisons, Hong Kong editor Gui Minhai.

On the final day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Francis said that “there can be no Christian unity without mercy and forgiveness.” Christians are making “important steps towards unity” listening “to the Word of God together and seek[ing] to put it into practice”. As they share the mission of proclaiming God’s merciful love as well as walk and work together, they realise that they are "already united in the name of the Lord.”

The Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation will hold a joint ceremony on 31 October in Lund. The event will include a common worship based on the recently published Catholic-Lutheran “Common Prayer” liturgical guide. This will be followed in 2017 by the 50th anniversary of the international Lutheran-Catholic dialogue, which led to significant ecumenical results, including the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification.

It is the wish expressed by the new bishop, Mgr. Stephen Lee Bun-sang during the ceremony of installation in his new diocese. The pastoral commitment "will start from the family and the education of young people, key to a harmonious society." Relations between China and the Vatican not purpose of his appointment, but "I will keep an eye on". The Church of Macau is and will be a help to the Catholics of China ".

“Students for a Free Tibet” organise a mock recruitment drive for China’s so-called 'Authentic Living Buddha list’. Wearing a mask of Chinese President Xi Jinping, they rallied against government interference in Tibetan Buddhism. To be recognised as an “authentic lama”, all it takes is being “’Anti-Dalai Lama’,” and “‘Pro-Chinese Communist Party’.” For them, Beijing has “no right to interfere in religious affairs”.

Little is known yet about the attack, but one of the people involved worked in the mining industry. Relations between Beijing and Vientiane are based on natural resource development and shared ideological outlook since both are ruled by a one-party Communist regime. This year, the US president is expected in the country.

Before the Angelus, Pope Francis reaffirmed that evangelising the poor is "the mission of Jesus" and "the mission of the Church, and of every baptised person", asking “are we faithful to Christ’s plans?” May Mary “help us strongly feel the hunger and thirst of the Gospel that is in the world, especially in the heart and the flesh of the poor.”

The victim, a migrant worker from Yunnan, fell into a vat of boiling slurry after 13 hours of non-stop work. He has burns on 99 per cent of the body, and has had one leg amputated. His employer has not paid the medical fees for months. The family now has a debt of 90,000 yuan.

Christian marriage is not "an ideal for the few, this despite modern models centred on the ephemeral and the transient,” but is a reality that “can be experienced by all the baptised faithful.” However, “those who, by choice or unhappy circumstances of life, live in an objective state of error, are still the object of Christ’s merciful love and thus of the Church itself."

Pope Francis chose ‘Communication and Mercy: A Fruitful Encounter’ as the theme for the 50th World Day of Social Communications. Indeed, “Words can build bridges”. For him, a society rooted in mercy is not “hopelessly idealistic or excessively indulgent.” Yet, “Listening is much more than simply hearing. Hearing is about receiving information, while listening is about communication, and calls for closeness."