The pontiff opened the meeting with the presidents of bishops' conferences from around the world to reflect on the ten years since the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia. Among the topics he raised was the disconnect between young people and the Church's view on sexuality. As with the synods, two bishops from the People's Republic of China are also in attendance.
On 6 October 1976, dozens of students were killed during the crackdown on protests at a university in Bangkok. It remains a painful chapter in Thai history, marked by brutal violence, thousands of arrests, and perpetrators who largely went unpunished.
Published in April and celebrated by the official press, a book by businessman Nguyễn Thành Nam was banned following accusations that it distorted the history of the revolution and the image of the Communist Party's founder. Subsequently, a new publishing law was passed, mandating three levels of oversight.
Today’s headlines: Some South Korean churches are investigating large-scale cyberattacks against them; Tensions with the US military in Okinawa have led to the imposition of a curfew; China is seeking to fill the void left by the US within the WHO; In Kyrgyzstan, influencers dealing with religious topics must hold a ‘preacher’s’ licence.
Hiyam Taha, a pharmacy graduate born in 1997, is running with Masar Jadid in the November election. The face of a new generation, she is fighting for the Palestinian territory’s future against the Fatah-Hamas dichotomy. She calls for shedding the needy label, noting that ordinary Palestinians want to rebuild peace and freedom.
For nearly five years, the union leader has been mobilising workers at Phnom Penh’s NagaWorld casino laid off in 2021. Amid protests, arrests, and legal proceedings, the dispute has become a symbol of the challenges facing independent unions in the country.
In a region traditionally associated with pastoralism and mining, Beijing is relocating the facilities required for artificial intelligence because energy and land are cheaper there. However, there is little water available for cooling during the summer months, and 90 per cent of the jobs created are held by non-residents.
In his catechesis on Gaudium et Spes, Pope Leo XIV said that the Church’s purpose is not "political" in nature, but rather to bear witness to faith, charity, and peace. Believers “cannot accept the oppression of the weak and the poor.” The pontiff highlighted the disconnect between professed faith and daily life. In the afternoon, a meeting will mark the 10th anniversary of Amoris Laetitia.
The final farewell to Bishop Devprasad Ganawa, who passed away at the age of 74, provides an opportunity to remember his significant contribution to the empowerment of indigenous communities within the Indian Church.
The court dismissed a petition challenging the eligibility for office of Indonesia’s vice-president, the eldest son of former President Widodo, on the grounds that the plaintiffs lacked legal standing to bring the case. Yet doubts persist over the lack of evidence regarding his educational credentials, an essential requirement for the position.
The artist, of Lebanese origin and now living in France, performed at the Stade de France during Leo XIV’s apostolic journey. Her bond with the family that passed on her faith to her and with her homeland, ‘trodden upon by Christ’. Speaking to AsiaNews: ‘A new generation of Christians is showing hope’.
Historian Pakhaluk analyses a concept that has become increasingly central to Putin’s propaganda, which seeks to transform the memory of the victims of Nazi crimes not only into a tool of political propaganda, but also into a justification for the crimes of the Stalinist system and the aggression against Ukraine
Thousands of young people are back on the streets to protest the actions of the Election Commission following investigations into the purging of the voters’ list. The auxiliary bishop of Bombay calls for democratic participation that is “impartial, transparent and accountable”.
The Sri Lankan government marked World Habitat Day observed yesterday by announcing 30,000 new homes by 31 December. Yet, some people in the Western Province have been waiting for generations for a real solution amid countless promises.
Starting today, every Monday, AsiaNews will feature voices, stories, and in-depth reports to explore, step by step, the South Korea that will welcome young people for World Youth Day (WYD) next August. The perspective will be one of “memory and hope” focused on the mission, an approach suggested today by Pope Leo XIV to South Korean priests and religious sisters living in Rome.
Grappling with collapsing real estate revenues, local governments are delaying payments to businesses, which is reverberating along the supply chain to small suppliers. Beijing is trying to contain the problem but, without new resources, there is a risk of simply shifting losses from one entity to another.
For this year's World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Pope Leo XIV focused on the situation of migrant children. A South Korean Catholic weekly heeded the call, focusing on the issue of children unregistered at birth because they are foreign, consequently deprived of essential rights like healthcare and education.
Each summer the French Dominican friar and official at the Dicastery for Christian Unity completes a new stage of an uninterrupted pilgrimage on foot that has now taken him from Rome all the way to Antioch. He reflects on the pilgrimage as a synthesis of life, the hospitality received in monasteries and mosques, and the encounters along the way. “Patriarch Bartholomew told me: ‘Go all the way to Jerusalem’.”
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