News in World

Sinn Fein becomes largest party in Northern Ireland

Sinn Fein becomes largest party in Northern Ireland

by: Sarah Mac Donald - The Tablet in World News,

Ahead of the vote, Northern Ireland’s bishops lamented that for many people the hope of a new era of equality and prosperity promised by the Belfast Agreement had failed to materialise. In a reflection, the bishops noted that Northern Ireland has “some of the highest levels of social inequality on these islands”, including some of the highest levels of child poverty, fuel poverty and an increasing number of ‘working poor’.

Mob lynching in Indian state worries Catholic activists

Mob lynching in Indian state worries Catholic activists

by: UCA News reporter in World Issues,

Concern is growing among Catholic activists in India over repeated incidents of mob lynching in the eastern state of Jharkhand, which has a sizable tribal Christian population. The latest case was reported on May 6 when Shamim Ansari, a 45-year-old Muslim man who headed a village forest protection committee in Gumla district, was killed by a group of men for trying to stop them illegally felling trees.

When empires collapse – how history is repeating itself in Ukraine

When empires collapse – how history is repeating itself in Ukraine

by: Dominic Lieven - The Tablet in World Issues,

When great empires collapse, and when emperors lose touch with reality, trouble tends to follow. An eminent political historian is not shocked by current events in Ukraine. The present war in Ukraine is largely rooted in a Russian nostalgia for empire and in the territorial and geo­political conflicts that usually erupt when great empires – of which the Soviet Union was a modern variant – collapse. 

'Keep your Catholic faith until the end of your life'

'Keep your Catholic faith until the end of your life'

by: Asami Ohmoto - UCANews in Reporters,

Hai, who is now 27, came to Japan from Vietnam six years ago as a student, having borrowed money in his home country to cover expenses for his studies abroad. After coming to Japan, he worked part time while studying at a Japanese language school for two years and then studied design at a vocational school for three years. 

A former diplomat in Moscow asks how Russia might climb out of the abyss

A former diplomat in Moscow asks how Russia might climb out of the abyss

by: Christopher Granville - The Tablet in World Issues,

How might Russia as a nation respond to the calamity of Vladimir Putin’s decision to make war? Amid the present agony of Ukraine, the question may seem insensitively beside the point. But the answer could affect the length of that agony and, in any case, will determine the future direction of this troubled and troubling country.

Sri Lanka on verge of becoming failed state, say bishops

Sri Lanka on verge of becoming failed state, say bishops

by: UCA News reporter, Colombo in World Issues,

 Catholic bishops have called for unity among politicians to save Sri Lanka from becoming a failed state. "The country is fast approaching the precipice of a failed state that will in its wake inflict irreversible injuries on the people," the prelate said in a statement on behalf of bishops.

Crucifix leads an Indonesian Muslim to Catholic faith

Crucifix leads an Indonesian Muslim to Catholic faith

by: Ryan Dagur - UCANews in Reporters,

When Vicky gathered enough confidence to share his transformation with his parents, he had expected opposition from his father, who might see his move as detrimental to the family’s reputation. But his father surprised him. “He told me if I was serious, I should go ahead,” Vicky said. It was his Protestant-turned-Muslim mother who opposed his plans to embrace Christianity. "Maybe she feared a backlash from my father's extended family,” he said.

Ukraine’s Russian Invader

Ukraine’s Russian Invader

by: Giovanni Sale, SJ-La Civiltà Cattolica in World Issues,

Vladimir Putin does not want to be remembered as the president who lost Ukraine, the most important state of the old Soviet Union, considered by Russian nationalists to be the original home of the Russian nation, the so-called “Kyivan Rus.” In 2014, without firing a shot, Russia invaded and annexed the Crimean peninsula and its important Black Sea naval base, which had been transferred to Ukraine by Nikita Khrushchev in February 1954. This alleged “reunification” was not recognized by the international community.

Italy’s unholy war

Italy’s unholy war

by: Ian Campbell - The Tablet in World Issues,

A veil of silence was historically drawn over atrocities committed by Italian soldiers in Ethiopia. Now, finally, the collective amnesia is lifting – revealing the complicity of the Catholic hierarchy in Mussolini’s deadly campaign. Hidden away inside one of highland Ethiopia’s greatest canyons, remote, silent and seemingly ­inviolate, the thirteenth-century Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church monastery of Debre Libanos beckons the faithful who want to renounce the world.

I wonder if a miracle is happening in the person of Volodymyr Zelenskiy

I wonder if a miracle is happening in the person of Volodymyr Zelenskiy

by: Shelagh Fogarty - The Tablet in World Issues,

 Saint John Paul II spoke about Divine Providence leading him, a Slav who had survived Nazism and Communism, to the papacy. His message to his fellow Poles was “Do not be afraid”. I have no doubt the Spirit he cried out for in Warsaw’s Victory Square in 1979 has now descended on Kharkiv and is coursing through the brave men, women and children of Ukraine. May they prevail.