News in World Issues

Asia's suffering millions can count on King Charles III

Britain’s King Charles III will be more constrained in what he can say, now that he is monarch. Under Britain’s constitutional arrangements, the sovereign must stay above party politics and generally avoid political comment. During his more than six decades as Prince of Wales, he indicated there are certain issues about which he is deeply passionate. The environment is one, and he was prophetic in his warnings about climate change. Religious freedom, inter-faith dialogue, human rights and humanitarian causes are among the others.

The British Monarchy – What will King Charles III stand for?

How fortunate were the British people to have as their figurehead a person of such dignity and grace, humility and faith, as Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Indeed, she redefined the concept of majesty to emphasise its essentially effortless nature. Part of the mystique of royalty, majesty has nothing to boast of nor need it do so; but worn lightly, as she wore it, it elevated her without diminishing the dignity of others. It is a spiritual charism, a reminder that in the theology of kingship the person so anointed, however unworthily, stands in the place of Christ himself.

Five Hundred Years of Philippine Christianity: Living Heritage and Social Project

Five hundred years ago Christianity arrived in the Philippines. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) began celebrations with a Mass on April 17, 2021, to mark the first Easter Sunday on native soil. The Covid-19 pandemic pushed a key moment for the Church in the Philippines, the International Mission Congress, ahead to April 2022, while other events moved online for accessibility.

Pope's call to Zelenskyy marks change of tack

The Vatican’s diplomacy with regard to Ukraine took a new turn last week after Pope Francis on Friday spoke by telephone to the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Mr Zelenskyy said in a tweet that he told Francis that Ukraine needs the support of “world spiritual leaders who should convey to the world the truth about acts of horror committed by the aggressor in Ukraine”.

Seven Pictures of the Invasion of Ukraine

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is thus the latest tragic piece of a bloody puzzle. The poor people are the ones who pay the price, as always. After the Angelus of February 27, 2022, the pope said: “Those who make war forget humanity. They do not start from the people; they do not look at the concrete life of the people, but put partisan interests and power before everything.” 

Russia 'violating all norms of war' says Ukraine archbishop

Ukraine’s Greek Catholic archbishop has accused Russian forces of violating all norms of war, stating that they have destroyed one of the country’s most historic religious sites. “This attack shows nothing is sacred for the Russian occupiers - the whole of Ukrainian territory is a target for Russian rockets, and no town or village can feel safe”, said Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kyiv-Halich, whose church combines the eastern rite with loyalty to Rome.

Francis, a pope who saves the creation

As we see ecological disasters caused by climate change, we must heed Pope Francis’s call to save the planet. Pope Francis, who took the name of the Italian saint, has vowed to defend the rights of the poor and the creation. His 2015 encyclical, Laudato si’, was both a wake-up call and an inspiration to Christians and the world to save plants and animals from extinction.

Save Myanmar from absolute hell

 Myanmar has known many, many dark chapters in its history, especially over the past 18 months since the latest coup d’etat. But the execution of four pro-democracy activists — the first judicial executions in more than three decades — plunges the country into even greater darkness.

'Pro-life' is 'pro-women', says Archbishop of Armagh

The head of the Irish Church has warned that the desperate situations of women with a crisis pregnancy, who feel isolated, neglected and alone in their distress, “do not go away no matter how widely available abortion is made”.

The Treaty to Ban Nuclear Weapons Enters into Force

Building Peace with the Refugees

2022: The Mediterranean, a Frontier of Peace

At the end of 2018, this journal wrote about a major state of  world disorder: “More than ever, this state of disorder requires a strong international stance from Italy and an active foreign policy, especially in the Mediterranean, the meeting point of Europe, Africa and Asia. Perhaps a call for a ‘new Mediterranean order’ is necessary.” Today, thirty years after the Balkan crisis, this is more urgent than ever as Europe experiences the tragedy of war on the borders of the European Union.

Euthanasia, Another Wave Sweeping Across Europe

A petition with more than 1.2 million signatures was delivered to the Italian Supreme Court last October 8, calling for a referendum with the aim to legalize euthanasia. Of these almost 400,000 were gathered online. The referendum aims to repeal the regulation in the criminal code that prevents the introduction of legal euthanasia in Italy.

Covid, Faith and the Fallibility of Science

Five Hundred Years of Philippine Christianity: Living Heritage and Social Project

Five hundred years ago Christianity arrived in the Philippines. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) began celebrations with a Mass on April 17, 2021, to mark the first Easter Sunday on native soil. The Covid-19 pandemic pushed a key moment for the Church in the Philippines, the International Mission Congress, ahead to April 2022, while other events moved online for accessibility.

Putin’s Russia

Twenty years after the election of Vladimir Putin as president of Russia, the country is at a crossroads, a critical juncture due to the invasion of Ukraine. The situation prior to the conflict was essentially positive. Despite strong state monopolies, Russia basically has a capitalist economic system and can operate much more efficiently than its predecessor, the USSR.

Mob lynching in Indian state worries Catholic activists

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 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. 

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

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

 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.