South Asia

She provided assistance to more than 50,000 patients in her 157 centres across the country. Every year, 12,000 patients with tuberculosis are treated and some 7,000 cataract operations are performed. Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbassi announced a state ceremony. Sr Pfau received the highest honours in the Islamic Republic. For Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, "It's a big loss. We must continue her mission."

For the bishop of Niigata, tensions on the Korean peninsula go back 70 years, but new political leaders "have been fueling the existing fire." A solution involving US military aggression would only bring devastating results to everyone. Ten days of praying for peace are being held. Japanese and Korean bishops are working together.

Thousands of people mark International Day for Indigenous Peoples with dances, music and candlelit processions. For writer and educator Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, diversity is beauty. The government has however forgotten minority rights.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India organised a conference to promote tribal groups on International Day of Indigenous Peoples. The latter represent 8.6 per cent of India’s population but live on the margins of society, victims of violence and backwardness. Bishop Mascarenhas calls for action to “protect and preserve the identity of tribal communities."

The Ella Model School in Bandarawela offers this experience. This is “a great way to teach students’” said project manager Nandika Sirisena. Some garden beds were set up near classrooms with flowers and vegetables. “The proceeds went to the School Development Committee,” the school principal said. Students “really like this project, which does not interfere with their study,” some teachers said.

In today’s general audience, Pope Francis noted that "Jesus saw a possibility of resurrection even in those who have accumulated so many wrong choices." Forgiven sinners are "psychologically relieved", but especially receive "a new life, a life marked by love" like Matthew, Zacchaeus, and the Samaritan woman. "We are all poor sinners, in need of of God's mercy." A Hail Mary is recited for Christian victim of violence in Nigeria and the Central African Republic.

Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, leader of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), is under house arrest for terrorism. For Saifullah Khalid, head of the new Milli Muslim League (MML) party, Saeed is “Pakistan's leader." For UN and US, he is linked to the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack, which killed more than 160 people.

A study found that in 2015 ten times more people died from suicide and murder than in war: 1.4 million vs 144,000. There has been a "sharp increase" in cases of mental illness, but the region lacks specialist to treat them.

The organisation of Asian Youth Day (AYD) in Indonesia was a big challenge. Over the last few months, the country saw a sharp increase in acts of intolerance against religious minorities. “Indonesia and its Muslims have a responsibility for the success of this event,” one young Muslim said. Young Asian Catholics and the Muslims exchanged directly on the third day. “This meeting means that our tolerance is not a silent tolerance," a volunteer said.

The lack of rain has hit eight of Sri Lanka’s nine provinces, affecting more than a million people. Reservoirs and farmland have dried up. Electricity is in short supply. The authorities are providing water but the need is huge.

The pontiff calls on young Asians to look at the Mother of the Lord, and listen “ever more attentively to God’s call and respond with faith and courage to their vocation.” More than 20,000 Catholics from the island of Java join participants for the AYD’S closing ceremony. The 8th edition is slated for India, in 2020.

He is the only son of the family. His father died a few years ago. His sister is already nun. His mother encouraged him to follow his vocation. The example of PIME’s Italian missionaries in Bangladesh will help him become a true missionary. Fr Regan John Gomes, from Tumilia parish in Gazipur, is the fifth PIME missionary from Bangladesh.