Witnesses: Cardinal Van Thuan, Freedom to Pray
Cardinal Van Thuan was arrested in 1975 and spent 13 years in prison, nine of them in solitary confinement in Hanoi. He used his time not only for personal prayer but also to write a reflection that continues to inspire. Van Thuan had been appointed as Coadjutor Archbishop of Saigon just seven days before South […]
Mission Diary: The Library of Hope
The library is called “Youth, hope of tomorrow.” The idea of instilling the love of reading and to offer the students an appropriate space to study. A Comboni Sister talks about this project. It is three in the afternoon and I need to open the library. Marcelina and her sister Susan are waiting for me […]
Oral Literature: The Hyena, the Goat, the Leopard and the Hare
The hyena’s home was near a river, and he owned a little canoe of which he was exceedingly proud. Most hyenas are very greedy and this one was no exception. He also happened to be very hungry, for he had not eaten for several days. So early in the morning he climbed into his canoe […]
Herbs & Plants: Lantana Camara, a Therapeutic Plant
Plants have been a source of effective therapeutic agents for various diseases. Globally, there is a growing interest in the development of medicinal drugs of plant origin. Lantana camara (family Verbenaceae), common name lantana, is one of the plants known to have great therapeutic potential. It is an erect or subscandent, vigorous shrub which can […]
Brazil: Dom Pedro Casaldàliga, Prophet and Poet
Pedro Casaldáliga, Bishop emeritus of São Félix do Araguaia in Brazil, a fervent defender of the indigenous people of the Amazon and one of the best-known exponents of liberation theology, has died at the age of 92. “At the end of the road they will say to me: Have you lived? Have you loved? And […]
Witnesses: Charles de Foucauld, Spirit of the Desert
One century after his death as a martyr, the priest who brought the Gospel to new places and lived among the Tuareg people in the Algerian desert will soon be proclaimed a saint. Blessed Charles de Foucauld will soon be canonized. A little more than a century after his death, a miracle attributed to his […]
India: The Diocese of Bagdogra
The serious crisis in the tea plantations. Alternative forms of working. Commitment to education. The role of the laity. We discuss these topics with Mons. Vincent Aind, Bishop of Bagdogra. The district of Darjeeling, in the region of Western Bengal, is one of places most famous for the quality of its tea. Traditionally, Darjeeling is […]
The Catholic Church in Algeria: Weavers of Brotherhood
“This is no longer the time for clashes between believers. Following the example of our martyrs, we are apostles of dialogue and peace in an Islamic land.” A conversation with the Archbishop of Algiers, Mons. Paul Desfarges. The Basilica of Our Lady of Africa looks out over the blue Mediterranean from the top of a […]
The Arms Trade is Killing Thousands of Women and Children
The United States, Russia, and China, despite being in the middle of a pandemic that is killing hundreds of thousands and infecting over a million, continue to build up their armed forces and supply weapons to nations of the Saudi-led coalition making war on the Houthi in Yemen. The drums of war are beating ever […]
Global Witness records the highest number of land and environmental activists murdered in one year
Global Witness has just revealed the highest number of land and environmental defenders murdered on record in a single year, with 212 people killed in 2019 for peacefully defending their homes and standing up to the destruction of nature. The NGO’s annual report also shed a light on the urgent role land and environmental defenders […]
