In his latest apostolic exhortation, Laudate Deum, Pope Francis has highlighted the urgency of every person doing their best to minimize the effects of climate change. The exhortation, published on the Feast of St Francis of Assisi this year, is a follow-up on his profoundly significant encyclical, Laudato Si’, published at Pentecost in 2015. In…
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The Chacobos are a small indigenous people living on the banks of the Benicito river in the northeast of Bolivia. They organise festivals at the time of cassava and corn harvest. One of the members of the community is given the task to organise the festival, he is supposed to personally invite each man of…
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For many African countries, political independence from the colonial powers has not brought the hoped-for economic development. One positive exception is the island nation of Mauritius. What are the reasons for its success? Mauritius is a volcanic island of over 2000 km² in the Pacific Ocean, about 2000 km from the African coast. It is…
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What happened in Gabon on 30 August was only the latest coup attempt in Africa, a continent that has seen eight in the last three years. The first took place in Mali, a country that suffered two coups in nine months between 2020 and 2021, while the last one before Gabon’s took place in Niger.…
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In September, the United States undertook a series of initiatives aimed at reviving its complex relationship with the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The latter, in fact, has not appeared among the priorities of the American Administration for some time, which does not mention Pakistan in any of the latest strategic documents produced, including the strategy…
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Maria Cecilia Sierra Salcido is from Mexico and has been a Comboni Missionary Sister for 32 years. She has lived in many different countries. She shares her experiences with us. “The desert has become a sacred space for me.” Everything is grace. Divine gratuitousness and beauty are values that define and guide my life and…
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There are now about fifty scattered in thirty countries. They aim to change the connotations of agriculture. For now, they are notable for conflicts with rural communities. Agricultural growth poles, agro-industrial parks, growth hubs and corridors and special economic zones. They have different names but the same purpose: to activate agricultural development. Sponsored as a…
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It is called participatory genetic improvement of seeds, takes place in the fields, involves farmers, and stems from the reduction of biodiversity. It prevents seeds from being controlled by a few. The FAO defines food sovereignty as the ‘right of peoples, communities and countries to determine their own agricultural, labour, fisheries, food and land policies…
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In Cambodia, Songvat and Tharin, today Sister Marie and Sister Teresa, are the first women to enter the religious life since the bloody regime of the Khmer Rouge. A conversion that went hand in hand with the reconstruction of the country. A Church that is reborn thanks to the preaching of the Gospel in the…
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Repression, kidnappings, intimidation. The Catholic Church under siege. But ‘the hearts of the people resist’. We received this letter from a religious sister who writes under a pseudonym for security reasons. It is not easy to nourish hope in Nicaragua. Blow after blow, it seems that the intention of President Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo…
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The Yoruba people are one of the largest in West Africa; they live in southern Nigeria and Benin. They have developed a refined culture, at the centre of which is a religious world rich in symbols, mythologies, and ceremonies. One of the most characteristic aspects of the Yoruba religion is the masks. One of these…
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She has led a campaign to secure legal stewardship of 17,824 acres of tropical forest land for six Indigenous communities in North Sumatra. Her community’s activism reclaimed this territory from a pulp and paper company that had partially converted it into a monoculture, non-native, industrial eucalyptus plantation. The six communities have begun restoring the forests,…
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The river is sacred to the Kukama people, who believe that their ancestors reside on the river floor. They are ready to protect the Marañón…
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Like the other farmers, Taro also grew rice, wheat, and vegetables, living in peace and contentment. However, things never remain the same. One time, there was no rainfall,…
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From 24 to 27 July, hundreds of young people from the Comboni youth movements across Europe will gather in Milan, Verona, and Florence, Italy, in preparation…
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