Today's news: Xinjiang authorities block demolition order in old city of Kashgar, heart of Uyghur culture; Schools reopen in Bangladesh despite exceptional heatwave; Thai foreign minister resigns, negotiations with Myanmar at risk; India and Oman aim to strengthen trade agreements.
First pastoral letter by Bishop Martinelli, who urges the faithful not to be "slaves, but sons". The faith must be transmitted "no longer by convention, but with conviction" by communicating "the reasons why one believes". The call for an 'intercultural' path that allows the different Church realities present in the Gulf to interact, to get to know each other, and to train for cooperation.
For Card Sako, the time of fasting and prayer offers a “new horizon" that invites us to let "the Holy Spirit change us from within." The vicar of southern Arabia speaks of a "path" of hope, mercy and forgiveness. The Maronite patriarch asks the faithful to pray for the "divisions, conflicts, hatred" in Lebanon. Mar Younan mentions the "process of repentance through the Holy Spirit.”
US and British air raids against pro-Iranian rebels first act of a possible widening of the war. An operation in response to assaults on ships bound for the Red Sea by the rebels. Mgr. Martinelli: difficulties in reaching "a stable equilibrium", the "great concern" for the situation in the Holy Land remains. In Yemen "the nuns' work for the poor and sick continues".
Beijing is reportedly planning a greater role in the Middle East, as part of its global military challenge to US dominance in the Persian Gulf. So far, senior government officials have not commented. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is accelerating plans to build a blue-water navy.
From Yemen, the Houthis attack southern Israel with drone strikes. Iran's supreme leader calls on Muslims (and Arabs) to rally against the Jewish State, starting with an economic boycott. Faced with the risk of an expansion of the war in Gaza, Msgr. Martinelli speaks of a "prophetic place" of "confrontation and peace". Do not bend religion to a "purpose of conquest". The Pope returns to the Emirates for COP28.
