Oral Literature. A Hunter, when the world began
A very long time ago, in the beginning of the world, there lived a famous hunter. He had killed so many wild animals that he had been given the title of King of All Hunters. The King of All Hunters had two sons. When one of the sons wished to marry a young girl in […]
World military expenditure reaches new record high
According to new data on global military spending published recently by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) the total global military expenditure increased by 3.7 per cent in real terms in 2022, to reach a new high of $2240 billion. Military expenditure in Europe saw its steepest year-on-year increase in at least 30 years. […]
A Home for Children with Special Needs
The Servants of Charity in the Philippines have been providing a home to indigent and abandoned children and young adults with intellectual disabilities. The Guanella community in Quezon City is also a place for discovering, cultivating, harnessing, and enjoying their talents and skills. The Servants of Charity in the Philippines opened the doors of Guanella […]
World Youth Day Lisbon 2023. Open Arms
WYD Lisbon 2023 is less than four months away. We talked with Monsignor Américo Aguiar, auxiliary bishop of Lisbon and president of the WYD 2023 Foundation (Local Organising Committee, LOC). “If the WYD Lisbon were described in two words, these would be ‘generosity’ and ‘welcome’. The Portuguese capital is extending its open arms to the […]
Oral Literature. Mayan myth. On nights of the full moon
Legends narrate that there was a time when the gods were so angry with men that they decided to exterminate them. “We will make so much rainfall on the earth that the world and all its inhabitants will drown – they said angrily -. We will save only the animals, revealing only to them the […]
Peru. The Asheninka cultural identity and spirituality
The Asheninka live in the departments of Pasco and Ucayali, which are part of the central jungle of Peru. They are estimated to be around 15 thousand people. The term Asheninka has to do with blood family and community family and means “Our kinfolks”. The social environment of the Asheninka is based on family, which […]
Mozambique. Living the missionary spirit
He received the appointment as auxiliary bishop with “fear and trembling”. But with a great desire to serve the church. We spoke about it with the Combonian Msgr. António Manuel Bogaio Constantino was recently consecrated as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Beira. The archdiocese includes the entire province of Sofala in the central part […]
Sixty years later. The encyclical “Pacem in Terris” taught that war is always irrational
Today, the atomic threat is less feared, but the risk of an increasingly widespread and devastating conflict is real: from Europe to the Pacific, from the Middle East to Africa. Sixty years ago, John XXIII’s encyclical “Pacem in Terris” was published, arousing surprise and enthusiasm throughout the world. Everything about that encyclical seemed new and […]
World Youth Day: “There’s a Rush in the Air!”
The official anthem of World Youth Day is entitled “There’s a Rush in the Air!”. We talk about it with Father João Paulo Vaz, author of the texts. There is an official anthem at every World Youth Day (WYD). It is a song that marks every meeting of young people from all over the world […]
Oral literature: the hunter with a good heart
There was a good and peaceful young man named Ponga. He was also an excellent hunter. One day he caught in a trap a ‘mugumbi’, a small forest animal that burrows underground. The poor beast begged him: “Let me go. You will see, one day I will help you!” The next day he found rain […]