Yangon (Agenzia Fides) - "We urgently ask the parties for a ceasefire. We ask that they lay down their arms and seek a peaceful solution. We see many people suffering and it is necessary to create humanitarian corridors in areas of extreme humanitarian crisis, which allow all organizations, local and foreign, to assist displaced people", says to Agenzia Fides Joseph Kung, a lay Catholic from Yangon, head of a private university institute, interpreting the feelings and desires of Catholics and many other citizens of other confessions, in the country tormented by an internal conflict between the army and the Popular Defense Forces (PDF), born in the aftermath of the coup.
Currently, he notes, there is an urgent need "to alleviate the suffering of the millions of people who, in many areas of the country, have been forced to flee their homes and seek precarious shelters".
 
Ishtiaq Saleem is accused of posting pictures of the Prophet Mohammad’s name in Arabic tattooed on his body. Upon his arrest, he was beaten. His wife proclaims his innocence, saying that he is illiterate and the victim of a "conspiracy" based on religion. Pakistan’s electronic crimes law as well as blasphemy legislation are used to target religious minorities.
 

Head of Maronite Church to visit UK

Cardinal Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi is to travel to the United Kingdom on an unprecedented journey to bring the voice of Middle Eastern Christians to the fore. The pastoral visit promises to play out as a multi-dimensional event.
 
Рано утром 2 января останки Папы на покое Бенедикта XVI были перенесены из часовни его ватиканской обители Mater Ecclesiae в собор Святого Петра.
 

Natale ed Epifania tra Oriente ed Occidente

Il ciclo liturgico di Natale ed Epifania muove essenzialmente da due tradizioni: quella occidentale che ha dato vita alla festa del Natale e quella orientale che si è sviluppata nella festa dell’Epifania. Le nostre informazioni al riguardo sono ovviamente frammentarie, spesso congetturali, basate su accenni negli scritti degli autori antichi e raramente su rubriche liturgiche non sempre facili da interpretare. Ma a partire da questi dati è possibile ricostruire una storia con molti «forse».