Mission World

28.11.2008

Caritas distributes relief to families made homeless by erosion

Pakistan (UCAN) - Muhammad Hussain lost his home and land to the Sindh River, so he is thankful for the food, winter clothing, household items and medicine he has received from a Caritas team.

Hussain, 52, is one of 350 badly affected farmers in four villages of Rahim Yar Khan district, where the Sindh has swept away more than 14,000 acres, close to 5,700 hectares, in the past year. "We used to grow seasonal crops and vegetables, but now most of us do not have land and go to nearby towns to earn daily wages," Hussain told UCA News.

Caritas Pakistan Multan (CPM) distributed relief and organised a medical camp  for 140 Muslim families of Basti (colony) Jannat in Chachran Sharif, 600kms southeast of Islamabad.

Bishop Andrew Francis of Multan applauded the Caritas relief effort during Sunday Mass at Holy Redeemer Cathedral in Multan, 420kms southeast of Islamabad."This is not the first time that Christians joined hands to help their Muslim brothers and sisters at a time of disaster," he told the congregation. "We hope such action will bring the two communities closer."

Diocese of Tai Yuan starts a Youth Centre to intensify youth ministry Tai Yuan (FIDES) - One hundred and 50 youth delegates from the parishes of the Diocese of Tai Yuan, in the province of Shan Xi, continental China, have come together for the grand opening of a Youth Centre in the Diocese.

An appeal was made to all the young people to place their youthful enthusiasm at the service of evangelisation.

The diocese of Tai Yuan is located in the province of Shan Xi, and holds a long and rich history of evangelisation, with many heroic martyrs. The area was evangelised by the famous Jesuit, a companion of Fr Matteo Ricci, named Fr Giulio Aleni in 1620, and by his successor, a Belgian Jesuit named Alphonsus A. Vagnoni, known as the apostle of Shan Xi. In 1890, the diocese was created with its first bishop, Bishop Gregorio Grasas, an Italian, martyred in 1900.

Today, the diocese has 27 churches, about 90 sites of prayer and missions, 50 priests, 30 religious and about 80,000 lay faithful. Two bishops, together with 24 priests, religious, and laity of the diocese, were canonised by the late Pope John Paul II in 2000. They had been beatified in 1946.

"Seeking the Truth, Restoring Integrity"

Manila (FIDES) - Amidst the "crisis of truth and the pervading cancer of corruption," the Filipino Bishops feel the need to intervene and offer a contribution to "seek the truth and... restore integrity" for the individual and for the entire nation. These are the main points developed in the statement issued by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, at the close of their Assembly, which met in recent days.

The Bishops spoke of "moral values needing spiritual and moral insights," offering an invitation to politicians and citizens to reconsider their own personal conduct and declaring their support for the investigations and control measures in regards to the corruption that has recently occupied the country’s political scene.

The Bishops’ statement: denounces "the continuing culture of corruption from the top to the bottom of our social and political ladder"; asks the President and government to "take the lead in combating corruption wherever it is found.

The Bishops also point out the need of the media to seek the truth, and combat corruption with reports that are objective, without bias and partiality. This is a crucial role.

Cardinal Bertone brings Pope Good News of Cuba Vatican City (ZENIT) - Benedict XVI’s secretary of state Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone has brought back a positive report after a pastoral trip to Cuba, saying the Church there is being reborn, above all in the enthusiasm of the youth.

The cardinal visited Cuba and met with the new president, Raúl Castro. He described the Church in Cuba as "a Church full of life, despite the difficulties with acting in certain circumstances.  Priests and men and women religious project themselves with a testimony of prayer in a great social action of aid to the poorest and needy, and work with the youth.

Mission Intention for April

That future priests in young Churches may be ever more seriously formed culturally and spiritually in order to evangelise their respective countries and the whole world.