News in World Issues

Pope Francis, Vaccines and Global Health

As we live through the tragic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is useful to reflect on the current vaccination process and, in particular, the innovative contribution of Pope Francis’ teaching and action. Michael Rozier, a Jesuit professor of health management and policy, has reflected on the importance of commitment to health care and identified three significant areas: traditional health care practice; public health; and global health.

The Crisis of American Democracy

Finally, the crisis of the U.S. democracy results from dysfunctions in its constitutional system. Compromise is presumed to be the way democracies do business. The U.S. Constitution had its origin in a number of compromises, but over time compromises can become weak points in the political process. Two such problematic arrangements contribute to the current crisis in American democracy.

The Global Compact for Migration

Toward a Culture of Care: COP26 climate and policy issues

The 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP26) takes place from October 31 to November 12, 2021, at the Scottish Event Campus, Glasgow, UK. It was postponed by a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Extreme climate events are becoming more numerous and intense and the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Working Group One has just published an alarming report. This conference, organized together with Italy, marks a crucial step in the implementation of the Paris Agreement. What can we expect?

Crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo

For almost 25 years, the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has continued to make headlines for the large number of civilian victims and refugees. Today, the province of North Kivu has become the powder keg of Central Africa, trapped by a regional system of conflicts that has made Congo “the rape capital of the world.”

The road to Glasgow must not be a dead end

The fight against global warming is a race against time and yet the hypocritical world fails to lift a finger to end this ecological Armageddon. With fire, drought and floods striking at will, how much longer can the Earth hang in climatically? Life has become threatened on an alienated planet that is exploited merely to maximize profits for corporations with governments acting as facilitators while people are tied to the compliance culture, molded by the invisible hand of market forces.

India-China border conflict risks spiraling out of control

Indian and Chinese soldiers will remain in forward areas on their disputed border after commander-level talks this week failed to end a 17-month standoff. The conflict has a long history of political ambitions and diplomatic complications. And the peace and stability of local people have become the obvious casualties. 

Boris Johnson - the only show in town

The prime minister presides over a government with no identifiable ideology, which implements policies with inherent contradictions and which is derided by its own natural allies. Yet there is no credible opposition in sight. What is to explain the failure of Labour to cut into the Conservatives’ lead in the public opinion polls? And that despite the earlier Labour conference having also resulted in a positive outcome for the party leadership?

Afghanistan and the Limits of American Power

The tribal nature of the Afghan war joins a list of factors the U.S., NATO and many others failed to appreciate in 20 years of war. John Sopko, the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), in a report issued July 30, accused the U.S. political and military leaders of the failure to understand Afghanistan’s history and culture and of fashioning American solutions to fit an impoverished, landlocked country.

Afghani Idealism and the Games of the Great Powers

Knowing the history of Afghanistan is important because it helps us understand what happened. It gives us a clear picture of the ethnic diversity in the country – Pashtuns 42 percent, Tajiks 27 percent, Hazaras 9 percent, Turkic populations, such as Uzbeks, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, Kazakhs, 12 percent – and allows us to get to know the Hazaras (Shiites, unlike all the other inhabitants of Afghanistan), who have lived in these lands since the time of the Mongol conquest.

Climate catastrophe and the future of faith

Over the centuries, religions have been dramatically reshaped by sudden climate shifts. As the world faces an unprecedented ecological crisis, a historian sees the possible emergence of new religious movements and new faiths. Climate change and global warming are now an inescapable feature of the headlines, and that presence will only increase as the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26, draws closer.

The Climate Crisis: Badgers at dusk

 I’m writing these words an hour before sunset. At my back is a veteran oak tree whose immense girth suggests it’s about 300 years old. Below me, down a steep bank, lies an ancient badgers’ sett. I can see the great mounds of earth dug out by the ­tunnelling animals, and the fallen tree trunk on which their cubs play.

Looking back on India's 75 years of freedom

Bishops reprimand anti-vax Catholic priests

Catholic clergy who question Covid-19 vaccination policies are being reprimanded by bishops across Europe. In England, where bishops’ conference guidelines describe vaccines as “an important breakthrough in protecting others and oneself”, some clergy in the Portsmouth Diocese have reprimanded Franciscan Father George Roth for telling parishioners in an email their lives could be endangered by vaccinations. 

Young adults 'deeply concerned' by climate crisis

Young adults across England and Wales have sent an open letter to the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales saying they are “deeply concerned about the impact of the climate crisis on younger generations and the most vulnerable”. They urge the bishops to “take urgent action to divest from fossil fuels ahead of the crucial UN climate talks, Cop26, in November”.

Considerations on Power and International Aid Relations

This present study considers international aid, that is, the institutionalized forms by which people’s conditions are improved. It examines charity systems from the point of view of political power, starting from the concept that international aid was historically born along with the appearance of the idea of public affairs and public service, in the spirit of international relations.

Return of Taliban triggers new hate wave in India

The Indian government has been faced with a strange dilemma since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan. This triggered a debate about India toeing a pragmatic line and heading toward establishing formal relations with the Taliban, though the MEA said the discussions focused on safety, security and the early return of Indian nationals stranded in Afghanistan.

What Does the Future Hold for Europe?

It is the crucial question for Western European countries: Is there still a future for the European Union? For this Union that gives weight and backbone to a hard-to-define geographical Europe? In the face of criticism and mistrust, is it possible to imagine a plausible future for Europe without the European Union? Must the Union be a political and not just economic entity for Europe to be an effective part of human history? And should it not also have a cultural and spiritual dimension?

Afghanistan catastrophe: Lessons from a wasted sacrifice

A tiny dot appeared in the clear blue sky as a giant American Air Force jet climbed away from Kabul airport on Monday. It was a falling man, who had been clinging to the outside of the aircraft fuselage. This horrific image, as one American TV commentator remarked, was almost a visual echo of the jumpers who fell from the burning Twin Towers in New York that September day 20 years ago.

Populism and Terrorism, the Illegitimate Heirs of Nihilism