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Monthly Archives: February 2018

Visible And Invisible Walls.

In the course of his pontificate, Pope Francis has not ceased to fight against the walls of the world, the result of fear, aggression and selfishness, pointing the finger at those ‘visible and invisible walls’ that break the world into incoherent pieces, a world which, paradoxically, is increasingly globalised. From the so-called Israeli security barrier…

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Latin American Elections 2018. A Number Of Unknowns.

The largest Latin American countries go to the polls to elect their presidents. Almost 80% of the Latin American population are eligible to vote. Elections will be held in Brazil with its 208 million inhabitants, in Mexico at the other end of the continent with 127 million, as well as Colombia (48.65 million) and Venezuela…

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Europe. The New Interest For Africa?

The German Federal Government did not show much interest in African affairs in the period after World War II and preferred to leave Africa to the French and the English who had much closer connections to their former colonies. One exception was Horst Köhler. As President of the Republic, he frequently travelled to Africa, brought…

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In The Shadow Of The Wall.

Twenty nine years have passed since the most famous wall in Europe ceased to divide the German capital in two. It was 1989 and the imminent entry into the nineties seemed to be the dawn of a new world; the fall of the wall had indeed decreed the unification of Germany together with the crush…

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Latin America, A Treasure Called Lithium.

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Argentina, Bolivia and Chile boast the world’s largest reserves of lithium. The three countries, however, have taken different approaches to this source of wealth. Australia and Afghanistan have also large deposits of this precious metal. Experts consider lithium one of the most promising commodities, in fact this is a reactive metal with a high heat…

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Walls Separating Peoples.

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Walls are like an infection, made of bricks, nets and barbed wire that prevent the wound of neighbouring peoples from healing. Wounds that separate groups of people or persons would need connecting bridges based upon dialogue and knowing each other. Nevertheless, the train of barriers breaking up the world, renewing and making visible the fear…

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Madagascar. Games: Ties Of Friendship.

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Every year, young students from Madagascar participate in the sports and cultural competitions that take place on the occasion of the National Days of Catholic Education. Inhabitants of Toamasina, the populous port city of eastern Madagascar, formerly known as Tamatave, are not particularly interested in the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. They are much fonder…

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Peru. Mission At The Foot Of The Volcano.

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A Comboni missionary describes how his life became more meaningful when he was assigned as parish priest on the outskirts of a town in Peru, at the foot of an active volcano. Mission work has filled my life with meaning, so much so that today I feel fulfilled as a person and as a Christian.…

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Syria. Sowing Seeds Of Hope.

The shooting has stopped in Aleppo. The city is totally destroyed.  The difficult process of reconstruction. The traumas of the children. The Church is involved helping people. “The children have felt the effects of this absurd war. Every day there is death and destruction before their eyes. They sleep very little at night. They still…

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Tanzania/Maasai. The Woman Of The Oxen.

The Maasai have a saying: “you cannot touch what belongs to a woman”. Indeed, the Maasai – who live in a patriarchal society – are nonetheless very respectful of women’s private property. The proverb came about because of an event that happened years and years ago … Long ago, when the Maasai had just climbed…

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Burkina Faso. ‘The Ants Can Carry An Elephant’.

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The Mossi are the most numerous ethnic group in Burkina Faso with 6.2 million members making up 40% of the population. Mossi wisdom notes. For the Mossi, wisdom consists in respecting traditional practices and customs. ‘If you go to a village and find everyone walking heads down, do the same yourself ‘, and do not…

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USA. Montclair Sanctuary Alliance

Bnai Keshet is a Jewish community founded in 1978, and at the same time a Synagogue. It defines itself as representative of the broader community: mature couples, singles, “traditional” Jewish families, interfaith families, and gay and lesbian Jews. It is now renovating an apartment with the support of partners, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Montclair (UUCM),…

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Advocacy

Adriano Karipuna. The Amazon. Protecting our territory.

He has inherited the legacy of his father, one of the few survivors of the genocide half a century ago, and represents a "people" that…

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Baobab

The cat... with a bag.

One day, a penniless farmer from an oasis went to a rich merchant in the neighbouring village to ask for a loan. The old harvest was…

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Youth & Mission

Peace in the Holy Land.

God of Comfort, send your Spirit to encompass all those whose lives are torn apart by violence and death in Israel and Palestine. You are the Advocate of the…

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