Dossier articles from the past 3 months
If it is true that the Christian Europe of the Middle Ages was shaped by monasticism, more so it can be said of the Ethiopian Christianity. Ethiopia converted to Christianity around the year 330 through the work of two Syrian young brothers who were taken prisoners in the Red Sea and brought to the court…
Read moreFrom its very foundation, Debre Libanos grew in prestige and power until it surpassed all the other monasteries, thanks in the first place to the personality of its founder, Tekle Haimanot, but also to the permanent support of political power. It is still today at the head of the monastic life in Ethiopia. The data…
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Among the many Ethiopian monasteries Debre Damo deserves to be mentioned first. Not because it is the largest or the most important, but because it concentrates in itself certain original characteristics that do not occur in others. In the first place, its antiquity. Founded by Aregawi, one of the ‘Nine Saints’, at the beginning of…
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If we mention the monastery of Hayk (or Hayq) among the three chosen for this dossier, it is certainly not because of the importance it has nowadays, but because of the one it had in the past, especially during the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries, and because of its connection and that of its founder, Iyasus…
Read moreThe cancellation of the effective reforms imposed during the decade in which the social-democrat government was in power, gave rise to serious public protests culminating in an armed revolt in 1960 that was led by a conspicuous group of military people who remained faithful to Arbenz. It was joined by workers, union groups, and students…
Read moreThe country has always been at the centre of tensions and troubles, provoking a sequence of dictatorships, foreign interventions, military coups and civil wars. Part of this situation is due to Guatemala’s geographical position in the area of Central America which, together with Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, acts as a hinge between the Southern…
Read moreIt was the Maya who, long ago, inhabited those territories that were later colonised by Spain. The Iberian penetration was accomplished around the years 1523-24, through the work of Pedro de Alvarado who was the founder of the old capital, Antigua, of Guatemala. With the passage of time, the Spanish possession became a Captaincy General…
Read moreIn December 2006, thanks to the support of the international community, a new truce was agreed that brought about an agreement signed by the United Nations and the Guatemalan government The purpose was to establish an independent Commission whose remit it was to assist the office of the Guatemalan Procurator, the national police and other…
Read moreIt is now almost five years since the coup d’état that took place in Thailand on 22 May 2014. This year on 24 March, it will hold elections which could have serious consequences for the Country of the Smile, now grim and uncertain, led formally by civil institutions but inflexibly guided by the National Council…
Read moreBangkok seems to be a champion of futuristic architecture but its lights simply overwhelm without removing either its own multiple dark areas or the darkening shadows of the country. The present contingency, with the creation of a speculation bubble, the flight of capital, failed investments, populist policies and the rigidity of a self-referential system which…
Read moreThailand is now witnessing the disappearance of its myth as a ‘Teflon Country’, unmoved by any crisis and capable of regaining its solidity after temporary setbacks. Officially, such things are never due to internal reasons but only to international contingencies. Apparently immune to what it sees as from outside, Thailand is occupied solely with presenting…
Read moreThe nation, the monarchy and Buddhism are the pillars commonly attributed to the Thai identity. A mixture of doctrinal rigour contaminated in practice by many Hindu and animist elements, Thailandese Buddhism, which belongs to the Theravada current, is in substance a ‘religion of works’. Offerings, donations and almsgiving are its determining elements, associated for many…
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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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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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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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