Crossing the Holy Door of St Peter's Basilica in his wheelchair, on Christmas Eve, the pope launched the Holy Year 2025. "For Christian hope is not a cinematic “happy ending” which we passively await: it is the promise of the Lord to be welcomed here and now. May a new time be opened for the Earth disfigured by the logic of profit, for the poorest countries burdened by unjust debts, for the prisoners of old and new slavery’.
Demand is growing in Europe, especially in the health and long-term care sectors. Migrants’ contribution to the Philippine economy is critical, but they need legal protection and support, as well as repatriation plans in case of need. In 2023, remittances hit a record US$ 37.2 billion, or 8.5 per cent of GDP, the largest amounts coming from the United States, Singapore and Saudi Arabia.
Pope Francis appointed a priest from Pakse to lead the small Catholic community of the Laotian capital, taking up the legacy of Card Ling Mangkhanekhoun who turned 80 last April.
Rescued by the Sri Lankan Navy, the refugees were crammed onto a fishing boat after more than two weeks at sea, probably blown off course by cyclonic weather. The group also includes 27 women and 49 children, who left camps on the border with Bangladesh where thousands of families have been living since 2017 due to persecution by Myanmar’s military.
As Christmas approaches, the community in the multicultural coastal city is dusting off its traditions, starting with its endangered creole language. Catholicism began to spread in Malaysia from Malacca City. For Sabine Ferrao, the play’s producer, although the language is in decline, “There is hope for the future.” The Star newspaper calls the play, a “Xmas to remember”.
The proposal put forward by the Indonesian counter-terrorism agency in the process of deradicalising the Islamist formation in South-East Asia. Two leading figures from prison are contributing to the process from their cells, while in a ceremony several thousand former militiamen swore allegiance to the state. Islamic colleges affiliated with the group have also promised to remove extremist content from their curricula.
