Who would have thought that we would be back in lockdown in Melbourne as we prepare the July edition of The Far East magazine. Whilst it is easy to focus on the negative things in such times, editing the positive stories of Columban Mission is always uplifting.
One such story is from Pakistan, where the only Home-Based Palliative Care service operates from St Elizabeth hospital.
Columban Fr Bobby Gilmore gives us an insight into the desperation of trafficked people and asks why is migration still a crime.
From Fiji, we hear how the pandemic did not stop a young couple from celebrating their wedding on June 6. The date was as important as the venue, where a coconut tree had been planted when the bride, Hilda, was born.
After 30 years as a Columban lay missionary, Columba Eun-Yeal Chang has retired. From Korea, she served in the Philippines, Myanmar and Korea and was a member of the Columban Lay Leadership team in Hong Kong. She says that while the life of a Lay Missionary is not all roses, it has been a fulfilling and enlightening life for her.
From Peru, we hear from Columban Fr Ed O’Connell that the Coronavirus mortality rate is the highest in the world. The Warmi Huasi (Women's House) project, founded by Fr Ed, has set up communal kitchens that feed more than 80% of families in the area.
Mission World features Columban Fr Robert McCulloch who joined a high-profile delegation at the residence of the British Ambassador to the Holy See to discuss religious freedom in Pakistan and the Middle East in May 2021.
Fr Trevor reflects on the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives and questions how we Christians cannot but acknowledge the power and the presence of the spiritual in human history.
Travelling from Peru to the UK turned out to be an experience that Columban Fr John Boles had not anticipated. The witty account of his time in quarantine is full of surprises.
After a long wait, Wuhan's international community of Catholics were granted permission to attend the baptism of a six-year-old girl from the Philippines. It was a joyous occasion for the family and the congregation.
The final article features Columban Fr Bill Moran who will celebrate his Emerald anniversary of ordination to the priesthood on July 23. Few celebrate an emerald anniversary but Fr Bill Moran will be looking back to that day of 60 years ago when he knelt before Archbishop Justin Simmonds at St Patrick’s Cathedral in his home city of Melbourne. Congratulations Bill.
I pray that as we move through COVID-19, we can take heart that we are lending a helping hand, through our support of Columban Mission, to those who are hungry, desolate and forgotten.
Editor - The Far East
Related links
- Read more from The Far East - July 2021
