October Issue Index

Recently I re-read one of my favourite books, Paul Tournier’s The Violence Inside. I first read it 25 years ago and I have never forgotten his claim that, “the weak are very conscious of their weakness and the powerful are rarely conscious of their strength.” read more

I remember the first time I met Ko Tong-ju (Pio). I was going to a Mass in solidarity with conscientious objectors, in particular to support Pio, the first Korean Catholic who had refused to go to the military on the grounds of conscience. At the Mass he was sitting beside his mother - she appeared to be nervous and apprehensive and he seemed so young. read more

Fr Burger explains how the Columbans made the decision to move their headquarters from Ireland to Hong Kong. read more

Being a missionary is all about relationships. With each you can transform people’s lives by listening to their struggles, hurts and pains, dreams, hopes and most importantly, by sharing the way they express their faith. read more

On November 24 this year 188 Japanese martyrs will be beatified in a ceremony in Nagasaki. Preparations for the ceremony are being made across Japan. read more

Some years back, during my sojourn in Wakayaka-Kefl, Japan, for reasons I’ll never know, I was asked by the Osanaki Iesusu-kai Sisters to teach a course in Comparative Cultures to the young ladies of the senior class at the Shin-al Tankidai (Junior College) near Wakayama City. read more

Philippines (UCAN) - Young people in Oriental Mindoro province claim material needs keep them from entering the priesthood, but an indigenous local priest says it was in poverty that he found his vocation. read more

El Monton’ is a former garbage dump that people moved onto when they invaded the area from the mountains. Columbans are still there in 2008. read more

Pakistan is struggling with instability at the present time. Fr Robert McCulloch shares a few thoughts on the new Prime Minister. read more

“You always feel he really sees you.” The woman was talking of her parish priest who had the great gift of being truly present to the person before him. His was a ‘real presence.’ People left him feeling refreshed, their burden lightened. It was nothing he said - though he often spoke wise words - it was rather a sense of being fully received, of being valued in their own selves, unconditionally. read more

A little girl with her small brother strapped on her back gives us a glimpse of life in the mountains of Peru, especially for children. read more

“I arrived here in Lima a few days ago and was met by two Columban Fathers,” writes Father Joseph W. Shepherd, the first priest from the Auckland diocese to go to South America on loan for five years. “I am now part of the community at the Columbans’ centre house.” read more