South East Asia

Card. Hummes presents the Assembly, opening on October 6, saying that "there are not two crises, one ecological and one social, but only one socio-environmental crisis", "the solutions require an integral approach, to fight poverty, restore dignity to the excluded and take care of creation, because everything is inter-connected ".

Puan Maharani, a former Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Cultural Affairs in the first Widodo administration, is the daughter of Megawati Sukarnoputri, Indonesia’s first woman president, and granddaughter of Sukarno, the country’s founding father. After the swearing-in ceremony, she said that politics should not be a taboo for Indonesian women.

Caritas Saigon has organised several seminars on Laudato si’. Youth in Hàng Xanh parish have become involved in collecting and reselling recyclable waste to fund useful projects. The city administration has welcomed the Church’s environmental efforts.

The foreign secretary orders the move on social media and not through reserved channels. US Think thank: "In the last year, 14 Chinese coast guard ships identified". For the experts, the boats want to be seen. In 2016, the Hague Permanent Arbitration Court ruled that China "has no right" to sovereignty.

The program of the visit is published. After John Paul II, Francis will be the second pontiff to visit the two countries.

"It it’s not enough to read the Scripture, one must understand the meaning, find the “juice” by going beyond the “rind,” draw the Spirit that animates the letter". "What is the sign that you, Christian, are an evangelizer? — Joy, even in martyrdom. May the Holy Spirit make you men and women lovers of Christ, and joyful in announcing His message of hope ".

Francis celebrated Vespers and the missionary vigil. “But how does one set about being a missionary? By living as witnesses: bearing witness by our lives that we have come to know Jesus. Witness is the key word: a word with the same root as the word “martyr”. The martyrs are the primary witnesses of faith: not by their words but by their lives. They know that faith is not propaganda or proselytism: it is a respectful gift of one’s life.”

Francis issues a video message to launch the extraordinary missionary month October 2019. "Reaching the peripheries – the human, cultural, and religious settings still foreign to the Gospel: this is what we call the “missio ad gentes".

Today is the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. A US-based think tank releases the latest poll results on attitudes in 32 countries over China. The communist regime gets a negative assessment from most of its neighbours in the Asia-Pacific region.

Pope Francis points to Benedict XV's Apostolic Letter Maximum Illud issued 100 years ago. The need to redevelop the mission and the announcement of Christ the Savior, warning against a mission reduced to "rituals" or "NGO activities", without life and without Christ. Today mission requires the commitment of all the baptized, especially the laity, in a world indifferent to God and to man.

In his meeting with the delegations of missionary institutes of Italian foundation, Francis, said: “Do not be afraid to bear witness to Jesus even where it is uncomfortable or inconvenient. Witness Him with your whole life.”

Francis established the "Sunday of the Word of God". It will be celebrated on the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, "at that time of the year, when we are encouraged to strengthen our bonds with the Jewish people and to pray for Christian unity. ". "The day dedicated to the Bible should not be seen as a yearly event but rather a year-long event, for we urgently need to grow in our knowledge and love of the Scriptures and of the risen Lord, who continues to speak his word and to break bread in the community of believers".