South Asia

Francis meets and celebrates Mass with the Missionaries of Mercy. Mercy frees us from sin restores dignity and "infuses the certainty that the love with which God loves defeats every form of solitude and abandonment".

Mgr Thomas K. Oommen is the moderator of the Church of South India. With 4.5 million members, it is the second largest Christian denomination in the country. For him, “the current government [. . .] follows the Hindutva supremacist ideology", and the federal administration is "pro-corporate and unkind to the poor".

In the presence of world leaders and economists, the Chinese president promises "a new phase of opening up" with greater liberalization of the Chinese economy, easing restrictions on foreign companies, reducing taxes, more attractive environment for investments. Greater defense of intellectual property; the new Silk Road without "geopolitical calculations". Scholars and experts fear that everything will remain the same: it is just propaganda.

The project was launched yesterday. At least 70 thousand poor fishermen and farmers will benefit from aid. India offers economic assistance for a total of 2.3 billion euros.

The new apostolic exhortation "on the call to holiness in today’s world" is of a spiritual and confidential nature. It overcomes the barriers between heroism and daily life, consecrated and lay people, Catholics and other Christians. The beatitudes, going against the flow, a way to witness to faith in the modern world. Gnosticism and neo-Pelagianism present in the Church. Traditionalists and "bergogliani" progressives. The devil is not a myth, but someone who poisons us "with hatred, with sadness, with envy, with vices".

The number of obese children under five jumped 38 per cent between 2000 and 2016. In spite of malnutrition, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand are among the most overweight countries. The causes are economic growth, increased consumption and a sedentary lifestyle. Overweight or obese citizens cost the region US$ 166 billion a year.

Daniel Bashir, who coordinates young lay missionaries, is about to enter the seminary. As a child he could not speak and this gave him pain in the heart. It “is in the Bible that we find the answers to our questions.” He urges young people “to be reconciled with the Lord through the sacrament of confession."

A special ceremony was held with candles lit in front of the desecrated grotto in the village of Salangabahal. For Mgr Kujur, “our hearts are full of hope that Mary will continue to build the Church and keep us united.” The Christian presence dates back more than a hundred years. Here “people of different religions, cultures and languages ​​have always coexisted in peace and harmony.”

Francis’ apostolic exhortation is called "Gaudete et exultate" (Rejoice and be glad). A journey made difficult by "risks" of modern culture, such as nervous and violent anxiety, consumerism, individualism and "many forms of false spirituality devoid of an encounter with God". The devil is "something more than a myth". In fact, to be a good Christian "is clear: We have to do, each in our own way, what Jesus told us in the Beatitudes".

The Christian places attacked during the Easter Vigil. Episodes in the district of Sundargarh. The delegation was led by Msgr. Theodore Mascarenhas, general secretary of the Episcopal Conference. "A systematic plan to ruin peace".

On the Sunday of Divine Mercy Francis said "may the Lord give us the grace to understand shame, to see it not as a closed door, but as the first step of the encounter". He noted that "The tragedy is when we are not ashamed of anything".

The Church’s Doctrinal Commission released a report on ‘Yoga and Catholic beliefs’. The practice is mandatory in schools. Hindu nationalists "try to exploit yoga to achieve their political and sectarian goals." The Church warns against equating “physical experiences stemming from yoga with the workings of the Holy Spirit.”