The Tajik president’s trip has confirmed just how strategic a region Central Asia is for China today, a strategic importance made all the more vital by the various geopolitical fault lines. Beijing is banking on the gas pipeline running through the region, but also on its significance for the security of its own borders. And in relations with local governments, its proximity – not just geographical – gives it an advantage over its Western rivals.
Today, Pentecost Sunday, Pope Leo XIV spoke about the Shrine of Sheshan, Shanghai, on the day the Church dedicates to China. He invited Chinese Catholics to pray as a sign of "communion with the universal Church”. He also mentioned the Christian communities in the Middle East. Commenting today’s Gospel, he said: “The Spirit opens the doors of the Church so that it can be welcoming and hospitable to all”.
Created 40 years ago, the association contributes to the development of the Diocese of Shanghai in the current context. The goals set out in its latest assembly include research on prominent Catholic figures and improving members’ skills to help vulnerable groups.
The pontiff visited Acerra this morning, a part of Italy where illegal toxic landfills resulting from criminal trafficking have caused the deaths of at least 150 children and young people from cancer and respiratory diseases. For the pontiff, “crime, corruption, and indifference still kill,” but “no injustice can erase beauty.” And “families struck by death, [can] generate new life”.
The charge by the Attorney General’s Department follows questioning of a new witness in France. The position of the former head of military intelligence has worsened. Starting in 2017, he allegedly financed Islamic and Tamil extremist groups to be used for suicide attacks and actions against Rajapaksa's adversaries, including the murder of journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge and the disappearance of Prageeth Eknaligoda.
Archbishop Petrus Canisius Mandagi weighs in on the criticisms of the Catholic Church contained in the documentary denouncing national strategic projects launched by the Indonesian government in South Papua. “The accusations against me and the archdiocese are entirely baseless,” the prelate says. For years, the Church has struggled “to uphold the dignity of Papuans” with “schools, healthcare, agricultural programmes, livestock farms, credit unions” in some of the remotest areas.
