Asia

Philippines - A Catholic priest who led a group of tribal and community leaders in 2009 in an 11-day hunger strike to protest large-scale mining in Mindoro is among the six recipients of the 2012 Goldman Environmental Prize, the foundation announced.

According to statistics that the Study Center of Faith in He Bei managed to collect up to 19 April, which was sent to Fides, during Easter 2012, a total of 22,104 baptisms were administered in the continental Catholic communities.

Love for God and neighbor must be the hallmark of all missionary efforts, against the difficulties and accusations of proselytism. Archbishop Emeritus of Calcutta and postulator of the cause of canonization of the first Missionary of Charity, remembers the path of the blessed.

Before with John Paul II, and especially today with Pope Ratzinger, the Church in India has changed from being a "needy" Church to one that "goes" on mission...

Fr Edwin Gariguez has been fighting mining on Mindoro Island for years. He has also promoted development among tribal peoples and the preservation of protected areas. This year, he was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize during a ceremony held last Monday in San Francisco, United States.

At first the young people seem suspicious of us, they watch us, study us, but then, when they realize that we only want their own good, they are open and begin to work together...

The freely and informed baptism some people underwent on the eve of Easter shows that the Church is alive, that Jesus is alive and that Christianity is alive. Jesus' message is always alive and always brings peace and joy. Every Christian has drawn strength from the historic event of the Resurrection, which is above all an invitation to deepen our faith and not to fear proclaiming and spread the message.

Hundreds of Catholics were forced to gather and celebrate Easter without a priest outside their chapel in a parish bordering Thailand on Sunday following its recent closure by the government.

Nepal’s small Catholic community is preparing to celebrate Easter for the first time without fear of attacks from Hindu extremists. As it did for last year's Christmas celebrations, the Nepali government has adopted important security measures to protect Catholic and Protestant churches and places of worship.

With a cross hanging on the walls and an olive branch the sign of the "presence of God", families prepare to celebrate Easter. Chrism Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, Stations of the Cross and Passion the most significant moments. On Sunday hundreds of catechumens will be baptized.

Mgr. Dal Toso, secretary of Cor Unum, arrived in Syria to bring the offering to the local Catholic community. Meetings with the Patriarch of Antioch and the upper ecclesiastical hierarchy.

Son of a Muslim and a Catholic convert to Islam, a childhood lived in contact with Christianity and a Catholic wife. His decision comes after the suicide of his only daughter, aged 16. Today, he says, “I know that Christ has guided me through the dark and difficult moments of my life.”

Du 15 au 18 novembre 2011, un colloque s’est tenu à Shijiazhuang, dans le Hebei, sur le thème « Liturgie et Inculturation ». Le P. Jean Charbonnier, des Missions Etrangères, y a pris part. Il en rend compte dans le texte ci-dessous.

Répondre à l'objectif de sanctification de soi-même indiqué par l'Année des Laïcs ; promouvoir le triple ministère prophétique, sacerdotale et royal des laïcs ; encourager l'échange d'expériences entre les membres de la communauté catholique chinoise éparpillée au quatre coins du monde : tels sont les motifs du Congrès sur le Ministère des Laïcs qui se tiendra à Hong Kong du 27 octobre au 1er novembre prochains...

Ivan Luna, a Focolare youth, celebrates life with its joys, failures and successes.

In a seminar sponsored by the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences, members of the clergy and the laity formulated the guidelines Catholics must follow to help the downtrodden. In order to further the understanding of the problems, participants visited refugee camps and HIV/AIDS centres. Dioceses, parishes and local communities will receive information about the guidelines.