Abortion, migrants, sex education, celibacy and abuse are the main themes faced by Francis in his presser with journalists during his flight back from Panama. To women who have had abortions: "Your child is in heaven, talk to him, sing the lullaby that you could not sing".
For about a million Catholics, the Pope's visit will be a "milestone" in interfaith dialogue and the local community’s development. The parish priest at Saint Anthony’s Cathedral describes the visit as the “crowning” of the country’s tolerance. Egyptian, Jordanian and Filipino migrants speak of their experience. The government wants the visit to be a «Strong message" against those who use religion to divide.
The reasons for Nahdlatul Ulama’s greater involvement in the country’ political life "are contained in the Qurʾān", says NU president. The world’s largest Islamic organisation wants the Religious Affairs Ministry. In April 2019, President Joko Widodo will face off against Prabowo Subianto, backed by Islamist political parties.
China rewards the envoys of Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Malta and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The China-Pakistani Economic Corridor is the flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative. However, South Asian countries are increasingly afraid of China’s debt trap. Former Italian PM D'Alema is one of the award’s recipients.
The pontiff will travel to the East Asian nation next November, the second pope to do so after John Paul II, in 1981. According to some sources, he will pray for the 220,000 victims of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear attacks. Local media are reporting he is also expected in Fukushima.
The authorities prohibit the use of trawling nets and dynamite near shorelines. Fisher associations had complained for a long time that such methods destroy ecosystems and coral reefs.