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Monthly Archives: November 2020

“Brothers and Sisters All”. We share dignity, rights and respect.

The latest letter of Pope Francis, his Encyclical, Fratelli Tutti “Brothers and Sisters All,” is one that should touch every heart, stimulate our minds, awaken our conscience, warm our emotions and motivate us to do good and make this a happier, just and better world. Can we humans ever unite as one humanity to change…

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The Tijaniyya Brotherhood. The Way of the Koran.

Today, there are 40,000 inhabitants in Tivaouane, 100 km north-east of Dakar, the holy city of the Senegalese Tijaniyya. Each year, it receives millions of the faithful coming for the Gamou, the great pilgrimage during which the birth of the Prophet of Islam is celebrated. As many as 49% of the Senegalese are members of…

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DR. Congo. Street children. A home for a better future.

A project that tries to return street children to their families. Stories that seem to come from the Gospel.  It is early morning but the sun is already hot. The streets of Kinshasa are already full of people. The large number of youngsters wandering about is striking. “The street is their home, their family”, Kasongo,…

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Madagascar. Famadihana, the feast of Return.

On the Madagascar plateau the bodies of the dead are exhumed from their tombs and brought out for a day of celebration which, with singing and dancing renders homage to their dead. Close to the edges of the rice fields connecting the valleys of the central highlands, flickering lights can be seen in the darkness…

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Nicaragua. Street Children’s Circus.

They are at the traffic lights, juggling their torches and coloured balls and performing acrobatics. The street children have invented a new approach to raising funds by amusing the motorists. It is evening and the traffic flows along the brightly lit street of Managua. At the traffic lights, children both large and small have exchanged…

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Witnesses. Father Manuel. “I hitched my wagon to a star”.

“I am totally paralysed, but I feel a fullness of mind and heart that surprises me, and I dream of an accomplishment that I have not yet experienced… This wheelchair has become the best of the pulpits for me”. Manuel Joao Pereira Correia was born on 27′” October 1951, in Penajoia, a village on the…

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A Journey into Islam in Senegal.

More than 90% of the population of Senegal, an officially secular country, profess the Islamic faith. Besides being Sunnis (like the majority of Muslims), the dominant form of Islam is Sufi: this means it belongs to the mystical trend whose adherents (talibé) of the brotherhoods (tariqa) follow the directives of the spiritual guides (sheikhs, better…

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The Layeniyya Brotherhood. The Meaning of Equality.

On one of the Atlantic beaches of Yoff, rises the Great Layene Mosque-Mausoleum. The low cube-shaped, white building surrounded by golden sands and crowned with a green cupola, contains the tomb of the founder of the Brotherhood, Seydina Limamou Laye and his two sons, Seydina Issa Laye, the first Khalif of the Brotherhood (1909-1949) and…

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Niger. Elections on the frontier of jihad.

The country is at the crossroads. Presidential and parliament elections are scheduled for the next 27 December in a country which is facing a number of serious challenges including jihadism, climate change, migration and the fall of uranium prices. The parliament elections and the first round of the presidential elections are due on the next…

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The real aims of the United Arab Emirates in Africa.

The country invests its capital also to diversify its oil-based economy. To contain Turkey, Qatar and Iran may cause an increase in the instability of the continent. For some years now, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been seen as a relevant geopolitical actor on the African scene. Many believe this to be a good…

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Power Games at the expense of Libyans.

What has become of Libya? Nine years ago, NATO launched a military offensive that destroyed the country. A country now without a state. Before 2011, Libya was the most prosperous country in Africa. Today basic supplies are in short supply and water and electricity are lacking. In the past eight months, oil production, a primary…

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Ghana. Togoland and the future of the nation.

In September, separatist attacks took place in the Volta Region of Ghana. These events represented an escalation in terms of action for the autonomist movement. They are the consequence of historic grievances and of an increase in political violence in the country. The competition for the 7th December presidential and political elections could worsen this…

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Advocacy

Sister Rosita. Four Decades of Refugee Advocacy.

When asked how a farmer’s daughter who became a Catholic nun ended up as one of Brazil’s most influential refugee advocates, Sister Rosita Milesi, 79,…

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Baobab

Kalulu and the Great Spirit of the Forest.

Vusi was an honest man and a hard worker. He had cleared a large piece of moorland and turned it into a beautiful fertile field. He…

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Youth & Mission

Towards World Youth Day 2027 in Seoul with the courage…

On 24 November, the Solemnity of Christ the King, on the occasion of World Youth Day in the Particular Churches, in St. Peter's Basilica the traditional…

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