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Church articles from the past 3 months

The Earth, “The Common Home” of humanity.

The encyclical Laudato Si’ offers a new way of thinking about our understanding of the current planetary crisis of environmental degradation, the causes of this situation and the path to recovery. The new vision of reality offered by Laudato Si’ can be defined as integral ecology. It is a new paradigm or manifesto that Pope…

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Safeguarding the Environment: Costs and Benefits.

“Do we want our children and their children to ask us: ‘Why did your generation destroy our home, when you knew that what you were doing was harmful?’ We would go to great lengths to safeguard them from anybody who would hurt them. So, we also have to protect them from living in a dysfunctional…

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The Guarani. The great family of creation.

For indigenous peoples, the earth is like a mother who offers her children the best that she herself can produce. Women are the producers and guardians of the common home. At Guarani ceremonies in Paraguay, shamans perform prayers in the form of a sacred dance to the rhythm of the beating (with the tacuara) of…

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Syria. A Light in the darkness.

Thirteen years of war. The earthquake and the consequences of the conflict in Gaza. A forgotten country. The Church is still a point of reference for many people, as Father Bahjat Karakach, Latin parish priest of the Syrian city of Aleppo, tells us. The voices of the children sound in the courtyard of the parish…

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African ecological spirituality. Drinking from the wells of tradition.

In Africa, there is no separation between the sacred and the profane. According to common African spirituality, all life is sacred, and the entire creation is sacred, as it is an expression of divine force. African spirituality is rooted in the belief in a mutual interdependence – indeed, a oneness – of all creation, in…

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Syria. The courage to make a fresh start.

A journey to the last Christian village in the mountains of Syria where the language of Jesus is still spoken. Islamists almost wiped out the pilgrimage site during the war. Now there is hope again. Thanks also to a courageous nun. As Ilias tells his story, he repeatedly strokes a wooden beam with his hand.…

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Brazil. Resistance and Resilience of a People.

Two young lay Comboni missionaries talk to us about their experience among people fighting for their rights and dignity. About 25 minutes have passed since the last whistle of that endless train with 300 carriages and 4 km long, and now another one is already arriving. As time goes by, we pay more and more…

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India. A mission among the tea-growers.

Among the ethnic groups of the Indian state of West Bengal, the missionaries accompany a Christian community that is very poor but proud of its roots. A single asphalt road winds through the brilliant green of tea shrubs. Arriving in the evening, along the way you come across motorbike headlights or cell phone flashlights. Groups…

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Kenya. Turkana. Land, Lake and People

To cope with increasingly recurring droughts and animal deaths, the northern ethnic group, equipped with a solid culture, is changing its habits. Agriculture takes the place of pastoralism, due also to targeted initiatives by the missionaries of Saint Paul. From the rocky hill, the view of the semi-arid plain is of a beauty that is…

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The Philippines. Preserving Nature in a Filipino Hermitage.

Four religious people have chosen to live in a hermitage community in the southeast of the Philippines, to live in silence and solitude, and to awaken people’s interest in preserving nature and making it more productive. The Mary Mediatrix Hermitage in the landlocked province of North Cotabato sets an example on how to preserve nature,…

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Angola. A common home.

The Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants (CEPAMI) and other civil society organizations have been working for years to give a dignified life to the thousands of migrants and refugees in the country. “The fundamental objective of CEPAMI is that refugees and migrants should move away from anonymity and invisibility and there is always…

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India. The life of the tea pickers.

Grasping the fresh, light green shoots in her hand, she separates them from the plants and tosses them into the cloth bag tied with a band around her forehead. A gesture that the women of Darjeeling will repeat thousands of times. A life made of sacrifices and suffering. But the Salesian schools try to give…

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Advocacy

Myanmar. Paul Sein Twa. Preserving Ancestral Territory.

“What we would like to achieve when we talk about peace. Peace means self-determination. Peace means biological conservation. Peace means revitalization of our culture and…

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Baobab

Inca. The Island of the Sun.

At that time Viracocha, the creator God, looked down upon the earth. He saw it was bare, shrouded in impenetrable darkness, for daylight did not yet…

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Youth & Mission

Celebrating African youth.

“Young Africans are playing an active role in bringing social change in the continent. They are contributing daily to the benefit of their communities and nations…

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