To mark this year’s jubilee, inaugurated at the end of December in Abu Dhabi, Bishop Martinelli released a pastoral letter to the faithful living in the Gulf region. In it he stresses Christian hope, founded on God's love, which stands and resists despite hardships. He urges the faithful to go on a pilgrimage to one of the shrine churches “to experience the mercy of God”.
The Major Archbishop visiting communities in the region. After a first stop in the northern vicariate, the second in the south between Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Apostolic vicar Msgr. Martinelli: ‘Collaboration “virtue” of the Gulf Church’. Among the unresolved knots mentioned by the prelate is ‘jurisdiction in the Middle East, even if the modalities have not yet been defined’.
The Moldovan-Israeli rabbi killed in Dubai was a member of a Hasidic group that, although not the largest, is known for its outreach. It boasts nearly 5,000 emissaries (shluchim) who run about 3,500 institutions, including Chabad houses. For Israeli activist, defining the rabbi’s death as an act of anti-Semitism is limiting. His movement is "very important", but with critical issues.
Coinciding with the UN's Day of Prayer and Action for Children, 20 November is also the Day of Prayer and Action for Children, an initiative born in Japan to harness the potential of religious communities to protect the welfare of the youngest children. In its sixth year, religious leaders, intergovernmental representatives and NGOs gathered in the United Arab Emirates to call for concrete action against violations of the rights enshrined in the UN Convention.
For the Jordanian scholar, the plan that led to normalisation with Israel ‘seems dormant’ but remains a valid ‘basis’. The Middle East is a different reality today compared to the Tycoon's first term. The ‘zero conflict’ policy pursued by Riyadh privileges the economic sphere and opens up dialogue with Tehran. The centrality of the Palestinian issue to stop conflicts.
Msgr. Martinelli told AsiaNews that it is ‘urgent’ to relaunch the Church's ‘presence’ in the country tormented by conflict and violence. The testimony of the nuns, the work of Caritas and the local Christian reality. The Houthi missiles towards Israel, the neutrality of the Gulf and the fragile balance with Riyadh and Tehran. The Abrahamic House a model of encounter, confrontation and prayer.
