Pope Francis on Wednesday opened a new chapter in his ongoing catechetical series on virtues by pivoting to a reflection on the three theological virtues — faith, hope, and charity — which he noted form the key pillars of Christian life. The Holy Father bolstered his analysis by looking at the legacy of St. John Paul II. “Looking at his life, we can see what man can achieve by accepting and developing within himself the gifts of God: faith, hope, and charity,” the pope said to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square.  Saturday will mark the 10th anniversary of St. John Paul II’s cano ..read more

Water is life. Each culture has its own way of recognizing the value of water as part of rituals and practices, either for bathing, washing, drinking or as a sacrifice. Water covers 70% of the earth’s surface and is vital for all known forms of life. The cells in our bodies consist of 65 – 90% water. We cannot survive without it. Water has many functions in religions: there are rituals to call forth more water and others to stop the deluge of water.  There are lakes, rivers, and springs that by religious people are regarded as having the power to heal the sick and overcome ..read more

Like many Nepalis, Surendra Dhami left his home village in Darchula District in the Sudurpashchim Province of Nepal for Malaysia in the hope of improving his family’s quality of life. He returned in a few months because the work and pay were not what he had been promised by the recruiter. But there were no jobs in Darchula, and farming in the rugged, arid mountains would not feed his family. Location of the Kailali District in Nepal. Map created by Rarelibra via Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 3.0. So, like many other mountain farmers, Dhami, 36, migrated with his family dow ..read more

Record heat in the Philippines this month has forced schools to send children home for online classes, reviving memories of COVID lockdowns and raising fears that more extreme weather in the years to come could deepen educational inequalities. Pupils at 7,000 public schools in the Southeast Asian country were sent home last week due to unusually hot weather in many areas that forecasters have linked to the effects of the El Niño weather phenomenon. Teacher Erlinda Alfonso, who works at a public elementary school in Quezon City near the capital, said she did not know what was worse f ..read more

Justice remains elusive for the 290 people who lost their lives in the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka, as the fifth anniversary of the tragedy approaches and calls for accountability persist.  Despite the time elapsed, the demands for justice from the Sri Lankan people continue, with little closure achieved. The bombings on April 21, 2019, involved explosions at several churches and international hotels, leaving a nation in mourning and demanding answers and accountability.  The local church, led by Colombo’s Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, has been vocal in calling for an independen ..read more

April 22 became the most daunting moment for all Indonesians who had been awaiting the nation’s Constitutional Court’s (MK) ruling on whether Gibran Rakabuming’s bid for power is legitimate. Gibran is the eldest son of the country’s President Joko Widodo.  His decision to run for power as the country’s next Vice President has been widely considered a result of nepotism due to the ruling previously made by MK’s former chairman Mr. Anwar Usman who is Jokowi’s brother-in-law. MK rejects all claims as groundless Since the MK’s ruling legitimized the candidacy of government officials under 40 ..read more

It was a shocking and painful “no” vote by the United States to veto a draft declaration at the United Nations (UN) Security Council recognizing Palestine as a full member of the United Nations. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the U.S. veto and said it was “unfair, unethical, and unjustified.” Twelve members of the Security Council approved the recommendation to the 193-member UN General Assembly for its approval that “the State of Palestine be admitted to membership” of the UN. Only the conservative British and neutral Switzerland abstained.  The United States is more and ..read more

Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar’s Rakhine state were subjected to “ethnic cleansing” by security forces working with vigilante groups in 2023, says a report released by the United States on Monday. About 1 million Rohingya refugees have lived in Bangladesh since 2017, when an operation by Myanmar’s military drove them across the border. Hundreds of thousands more, though, remain in Myanmar, and have been designated as “stateless” by the United Nations. In its annual human rights country reports, which detail the rights situation in each of the world’s countries and were released Mo ..read more

Pope Francis urged global responsibility for ‘our common home’ and emphasized the critical connection between environmental stewardship and global peace. In his Earth Day post on the X social media platform, the pontiff expressed concerns over environmental degradation and ongoing global conflicts, suggesting that despite the wealth generated by his generation, little has been done to protect the planet or maintain peace. “Our generation has bequeathed many riches, but we have failed to protect the planet and we are not safeguarding peace,” he wrote, calling on people to become “artisans and ..read more

Catholic bishops have condemned a recent attack by a radical Hindu group on a Catholic school in southern India. On April 16 a mob of activists assaulted a priest and vandalized the Mother Teresa English Medium School in Telangana state after school administrators reprimanded students for wearing Hindu religious clothing instead of the school uniform. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) released a statement on April 16 following the violent attack. “The assault, carried out by a mob of antisocial elements, is a reprehensible act of violence against an educational instit ..read more