South Asia

The history of persecution "ends, in the end, again, as the Lord: with a Resurrection, but through the Cross." "Many thinkers in the Church were persecuted". "There's the death penalty or imprisonment for the having the Gospel at home, for teaching the Catechism, today, in some parts". Father Matteo Ricci, an evangelizer of China, "was not understood. But he obeyed like Jesus."

A local source, anonymous for security reasons, talk to AsiaNews about the upcoming presidential poll. Amid a tense atmosphere caused by several Taliban attacks and tighter government security, people want "schools, hospitals, and prosperity for all".

Francis’ responses to a group of young Belgians who interviewed him. Love for the poor, "I heard that someone, said that this Pope is a communist. But that’s wrong. It is a commandment from the Gospel, not from communism". "In this moment in history, man is pushed out of the centre. He has been pushed to the periphery, and the center - at least right now - is power, money and we must work for people, for man and woman, who is the image of God".

In the Diocese of Bellary, the Catholic and other Christian communities are constituted largely of Dalits. Speaking to AsiaNews, the prelate noted that it is important for them to exercise "their right to vote," which they should do "with intelligence and good sense" by "choosing leaders who can really bring reforms to the country." At the same time, he calls on the authorities to improve education and health care.

Nandan Nilekani (Congress) and V Balakrishnan (Aam Aadmi Party) are former executives for Infosys, one of India's largest information technology (IT) companies. Both want to be a new and transparent alternative in the country's political landscape, far from the corruption that has tired so many voters.

"The Holy Spirit is in every prayer," "You cannot pray without the Holy Spirit . It is He who prays in us, He makes us change our heart, it is He who teaches us to call God 'Father'. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to teach us to pray, as Moses prayed, to negotiate with God, with freedom of spirit, with courage".

For 17 years, Vijitha and her husband, who survived the civil war, have tried unsuccessfully to have a child. Then, as has happened in other difficult moments of her life, she prayed to Mother Mary and started to go to Church. The Virgin "heard my prayers and gave me a beautiful little girl". Whom everyone in the village calls "Daughter of Our Lady".

Dharmesh is 40 years old, an ethnic Gujarati and a Hindu for whom money and security counted above all else. When his wife left him and took away their child, he felt "a loser, a nobody, an absolute nothing." He did not find the answers and the peace he was looking for in holy men, but "in Jesus, His love, and [in the fact] that Christ came to give us life and heal our wounds through his blood.

A sacrament that "takes us into the very heart of God's loving plan, which is a covenant with His people, with all of us, a plan of communion". The words "please, to avoid being intrusive", "thank you, for what you have done for me” and "sorry ", "because we all make mistakes that word is a little difficult, but must be said". The anniversary of the death of John Paul II, "in imitation of Christ, he was a tireless preacher of the Word of God, truth and goodness for the world".

Members of the Catholics parish in Mihintale visit three different places in the Diocese of Anuradhapura: a girls' orphanage, a senior citizens hospice, and a hospital cancer ward. This is one way, their pastor says, "to meet the suffering Christ in those people who still carry their cross."

Peaceful demonstrations took place today in Lahore and Islamabad to show solidarity with "persecuted Christians" and demand justice for the victims of the "black law". For a Lahore priest, the rallies are an "encouraging" response of civil society. "Disgusted" by the situation, a Muslim activist expresses his in solidarity for "our Christian brothers and sisters."

Nepali authorities are spending millions on Maha Kumbh Mela, a Hindu festival, helping set up free accommodations for 10 million people. Christians, Muslims and Buddhists are united in demanding equal treatment for all. Protestant leader slams the authorities for ignoring Christian demand for "land to turn to build a cemetery," something that "is not fair," he says.