Leo XIV spoke at the Angelus about developments in Latin America, calling for “Overcoming violence” and pursuing the “paths of justice and peace”. He urged respect for "human and civil rights." On the Jubilee of 2025, which ends in two days, he said that hope “is the incarnation of God," who calls for "the promotion of fraternity and communion.”
Some 15,000 people gathered in Hanoi at the shrine of the Vietnamese martyrs to celebrate the conclusion of a Holy Year marked by more than a thousand pilgrimages. Celebrations were also held in dioceses in mainland China. In Japan, Cardinal Kikuchi addressed the Church of Tokyo: "May the flame of hope never be extinguished.”
The famous formula of 19th century tsars, Autocracy-Orthodoxy-Nationality, is being reinterpreted today by Putin's ideologists as the new triad: Sovereignty-Traditionalism-Welfare State. Yet, it is precisely "moral and spiritual values" that are the least clear reference, incapable of going beyond the opposition to the “destructive and degraded” values of the West.
Special Envoy for Asian Affairs Deng Xijun said that the vote (to guarantee Chinese interests) was a condition Xi Jinping imposed on Min Aung Hlaing. The results from the first round on 28 December released by Myanmar’s military regime confirm the expected victory by a wide margin for the military-backed party. In Myanmar, however, China is walking a tightrope, continuing to support ethnic militias that control border areas.
Cardinal Ranjith and the country's Buddhist leaders marked the New Year, calling on people to overcome ethnic and political divisions to heal the wounds caused by Cyclone Ditwah. More than 270,000 people remain displaced by the natural disaster, which left 643 dead and 183 missing.
Today's news: South Korean President Lee visits Beijing amid China-Japan tensions over Taiwan. A health emergency is reported in the Indian city of Indore due to contaminated water. An elderly Philippine woman is facing deportation from the United States, where she has lived for 40 years. Russian bombings in Donbass killed a priest member of the pro-Moscow Church who wanted to stay close to his congregation.
