For the annual World Youth Day (WYD) to be celebrated this year on Sunday, November 21, on the Solemnity of Christ the King, Pope Francis has called on the young people to arise and be Christ’s witnesses. In his message for the 36th WYD the Pope promised to walk with the young people “on the…
Read moreThis year World Mission Sunday will be celebrated on 24 October. The theme the Holy Father has chosen this year is: ‘We cannot but speak about what we have seen and heard’ (Acts 4:20). A synthesis of his message. In his message, Pope Francis says: “Once we experience the power of God’s love, we cannot…
Read moreAnyone watching on television the images of burning forests, the raging floods destroying lands and villages, massive landslides burying homes and people have no reason to deny the truth. The latest UN report on the climate crises by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) signed by 159 nations once again informs us that we…
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Plastic was and is a magical invention. It is a material based on oil and has thousands of excellent and life-saving uses. In the medical world, in construction, in tool-making, manufacturing of phones and other gadgets, cars, household items, furniture and almost everything you see has plastic in it. Our modern world depends on plastic…
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Despite challenges of unemployment, corruption, entrenched political leadership, and political violence, many African youth have found constructive avenues to promote peace, effective governance and reform. Africa remains the world’s youngest continent with a median age of 19.7 years. By 2050, one in three young people will live in Sub-Saharan Africa. Still, 80-90 percent of African…
Read moreThe youth see the environmental destruction in all aspects of our lives – the air we breathe, the forest destruction, the polluted oceans, the climate change that is upon us and the pandemic- all a result of human neglect, greed and power play for riches and dominance of the Earth. This young generation wants it…
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According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), even before the COVID-19 pandemic, young people were around three times more likely to be unemployed. The pandemic has further exacerbated those challenges, including disruptions in education, training, employment, while some have endured income losses due to lay-offs and reduced working hours. For some young people, the inability…
Read moreMyanmar’s democratic transition took an unexpected turn in the early morning of Monday, February 1, 2021, when Senior General Min Aung Hlaing of Myanmar’s military (known as Tatmadaw) performed a surprise coup d’état and arrested the country’s leaders Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint just before the first session of the newly elected…
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A wave of self-organised youth-led groups across the world has joined the growing momentum behind the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, which will peak in September. The UN Food Systems Summit was announced by the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, on World Food Day last October as a part of the Decade of Action for delivery…
Read moreIn the last few months, many young people have shared with us their worries about the future: what hope can give us direction; what things can we trust and rely on when everything is so unstable? And still more deeply: what goal is worth living for? Other voices rise up and say: we must resist…
Read moreFrom Bangkok to Lagos, from Harare to Hong Kong, from Lima to Santiago, young people are fighting for Democracy and Human Rights. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and the imposition of an emergency decree which prohibits mass gatherings, young Thai activists continue to organize massive protests across the country. This student-led pro-democracy movement marks the…
Read moreInspired by St. Francis of Assisi and by Pope Francis, 2,000 young adults met online to discuss making the economy more responsive to human dignity and more respectful of creation. The Economy of Francesco project, sponsored in part by the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, hosted a virtual global meeting Nov. 19-21. Below…
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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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