The Major Archbishop visiting communities in the region. After a first stop in the northern vicariate, the second in the south between Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Apostolic vicar Msgr. Martinelli: ‘Collaboration “virtue” of the Gulf Church’. Among the unresolved knots mentioned by the prelate is ‘jurisdiction in the Middle East, even if the modalities have not yet been defined’.
Msgr. Martinelli told AsiaNews that it is ‘urgent’ to relaunch the Church's ‘presence’ in the country tormented by conflict and violence. The testimony of the nuns, the work of Caritas and the local Christian reality. The Houthi missiles towards Israel, the neutrality of the Gulf and the fragile balance with Riyadh and Tehran. The Abrahamic House a model of encounter, confrontation and prayer.
Some two thousand children took part in the initiative promoted by the vicariate. The camps provided an opportunity to play, learn and grow in faith. Sharing experiences in a migrant reality is fundamental, building a Church on the move and synodal. For Archbishop Martinelli, participants “experienced the freedom of life”.
Archbishop Martinelli stresses to AsiaNews the link that makes the declaration signed yesterday in Jakarta and the 2019 text on human fraternity‘different and complementary’. In a world marked by war ‘the danger is getting used to dehumanisation’. Strong ‘symbols’ such as the Tunnel of Friendship or the Abrahamic House are essential. From the Pope also the call to look in depth’ in interreligious dialogue, returning “to the question of God as a fundamental human question”.
Today's news: Police in Laos rescue 17 girls (as young as 10) from sex slavery for Chinese tourists; UN report denounces "institutionalized" forced labor in North Korea; Six Vietnamese men poisoned in a Bangkok hotel room; Recruitment among ultra-Orthodox begins next week, clashes in Tel Aviv; Hindu group offers prayer for Trump's "health" after attack.
The Vicar of Southern Arabia officiated at the inauguration of construction work on a new pastoral centre in Ghala. Msgr. Martinelli: 'For children, young people and adults to grow in the faith'. The sultanate's diplomatic work in a conflict-torn Middle East. There are still steps to be taken in the area of rights and gender equality.
