Pope warns booming Mauritius against “idolatrous economic model”
Vatican CityRNS Known as a beach bum’s paradise and a millionaire’s tax haven, the island nation of Mauritius welcomed Pope Francis, who encouraged its people to embrace their rich diversity as the country struggles with past and recent forms of colonisation. “You possess an authoritative voice, one that has taken on life,” Francis said while […]
Clean energy or food? Asian nations grapple with new demands on land
Bangkok, ThailandThomson Reuters Foundation Huge renewable energy projects planned in Asia, such as solar parks and hydropower dams, risk accelerating the conversion of farmland, uprooting communities and destroying livelihoods, energy experts and human rights activists warned on Tuesday. As they look to curb climate changing emissions, some of the most rapid transitions to renewable energy […]
More than 1,000 people celebrate opening of new Catholic Church in Oman
More than 1,000 people attended celebrations surrounding the inauguration of a new Catholic Church in Oman last weekend, Agenzia Fides reports. Located in the southern city of Salalah, construction of the 600 seat church, which is dedicated to St Francis Xavier, was completed in just 18 months. The Catholic news agency reports that among guests […]
Australians flee homes as police investigate suspicious fires
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Hundreds of Australians have fled their homes in the eastern states as 140 fires ravaged parts of Queensland and New South Wales, officials said on Tuesday. Strong winds have fanned bushfires in the two Australian states since Monday, with flames out of control in some areas, ravaging thousands of hectares of land. At […]
GRACE
At 14 I joined senior men’s cricket. PICTURE: Alessandro Bogliano/Unsplash It was pretty intimidating at first, but I watched the boys. They used to bait each other in the nets. The batter claiming each shot went for four, the bowler, that any miss-hits resulted in a wicket! So second week I got into the […]
US: IN NEW MEXICO TOWN, SINGLE PARENTS GET FREE RENT, BENEFITS – IF THEY GO TO CHURCH
BOBBY ROSS, Jr, in an article first published by ‘The Christian Chronicle’, reports…
One person dies every 40 seconds from suicide globally – WHO
One person around the world dies every 40 seconds from suicide, according to the latest data from the World Health Organization. The data reveals that 79 per cent of suicides occur in low and middle income nations but that high income countries have the highest rate of suicide at 11.5 suicides per 100,000 people. The […]
ESSAY: LESSONS FROM THE UN PEACEKEEPING MISSION IN RWANDA, 25 YEARS AFTER THE GENOCIDE IT FAILED TO STOP
US scholar SAMANTHA LAKIN, in an article first published on The Conversation, looks at what her research shows can be learned from what happened in Rwanda a quarter of a century ago…
POSTCARDS: EXHIBITION IN JERUSALEM CHALLENGES PERCEPTIONS OF MODESTLY DRESSED WOMEN
MICHELE CHABIN, of Religion News Service, reports…
Pope encourages vast crowds in Madagascar in fight against poverty, climate threat
Vatican CityRNS Over the weekend in Madagascar, Pope Francis greeted packed stadiums full of celebrating locals, spoke to crowds numbering up to a million people and was embraced by many of the country’s youth, who traveled and waited for hours to catch a glimpse of him during his trip to the country. But while the […]