Nearly all major religions of the world were born in Asia. Some characteristics of Asian spirituality – inner journey, search for depth, silence, detachment nonviolence, honesty – show their significance in today’s world. An inward pilgrimage has remained central to the Asian understanding of religion. Spirituality is the removal of all obstacles on this journey…
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Trade agreements have potentially very damaging impacts on health. They multiply precarious jobs, weaken working conditions and open up the health sector more widely to the market. Since the failure of the “Doha Round” (2004), which was to remove barriers to world trade in a variety of sectors and reduce agricultural subsidies, international trade negotiations…
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As we approach the Pan-Amazonian Synod, the importance the indigenous culture. Two Augustinians, who live in Iquitos (Peru) talked about their experience. When we first arrived in the Marañon River Valley, more than two decades ago, the first thing we experienced was miscommunication: we didn’t understand the way people talked. It first struck us in…
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The cards suggest that the final showdown in Syria is approaching. Daraa, the city where the anti-Asad revolt – or, better, the proxy war – broke out has been disputed between the Syrian army and the Islamist forces since March 2011. After the liberation of Damascus and surroundings, including Ghouta – that ended just after…
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Founded in Kerala fifty years ago, the Missionary Society of St Thomas is the first exclusively missionary Institute of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. This year is the fiftieth anniversary of the foundation, at Melampara (in Kerala, India), of the Society of the Missionaries of St. Thomas. Today it has grown to around 350 priests responsible…
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The Tibetan Buddhist leader Dalai Lama remembers a discussion he had with Thomas Merton on how the great religions of the world could learn from each other’s spiritual traditions. In this era of rapid secularisation it has become all the more necessary. It is often in encounter with others that we discover ourselves. Mahatma Gandhi…
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Africa is a continent ‘on the move’, a concept that refers mainly to the migration flows within and from the continent. Media often put more emphasis on intercontinental flows, while African migration remains overwhelmingly intra-continental. Although the exodus of young Africans to other continents, especially toward Europe, is on the rise, the largest number of…
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Along long time ago, when God made this earth, He chose the mighty elephant to be king of the world. The elephant and his subjects roamed through the dark green forests, and since there were no rivers in those days, God made a pond for them to drink from. Now one day the elephant trumpeted…
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The proximity of Yemen and its strategic geographic position have brought about the multiplication, in the region, of military structures of the various nations involved in the conflict or who have interests in commercial control. This concentration has contributed to increase tensions in a supremely unstable area. In recent years, the Horn of Africa has…
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It is not so much immigration as clandestine arms trafficking that renders the Mexico/USA border highly dangerous. The Mexican cartels are famous for all the wrong reasons and their incalculable determination is a fact that no longer causes surprise among the public. Nevertheless, not all the groups involved in selling drugs adopt the same strategy…
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Chinese spiritual outlook made Confucius remind his people of their own inherited ethical convictions. Ethical traditions develop in society in response to the human need for guidance for life together. A spirituality of responsibility reminds us that our fates are interlinked and that we all must be concerned for each other and develop sensitivity for…
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There is, in Scotland, a little island called Ulva, one of 790 Scottish islands, almost all very beautiful. Most are situated in four archipelagos, but there are also groups of islands in the estuaries and in the many fresh water lochs (the Scottish word for ‘lakes’). Only about 100 are inhabited, because of the lack…
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She is a leading voice among Brazil’s Indigenous youth. Her message is simple: Indigenous people must be involved in decision-making processes relating to the measures…
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Once upon a time, there was a potter, honest and diligent, who made jars of excellent quality and many sizes. He was also a very religious…
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The official anthem of World Youth Day is entitled “There's a Rush in the Air!”. We talk about it with Father João Paulo Vaz, author of the…
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