Stories of Young People Suffering
The following stories provide a glimpse of the realities of young people in regions torn with conflict, oppression and poverty. Each story, in pdf format, can be downloaded.
Amina’s Story: A young woman in India escapes a life of abuse and sexual molestation only to be trafficked into a brothel. Click here
Children of War: In times of war, children are vulnerable both physically and psychologically. Click here
Bridges to Peace: Nicolas, like many other young people living in the Palestinian territories, longs for a peaceful world. Click here
Afoyo, Afoyo Ba … Thank You!: To escape abduction and ongoing violence in northern Uganda, thousands of children leave their homes every night. Click here
Teens Making the Trek: What would make a teen leave home and try to enter the United States illegally? And what happens to these youth if they get caught? Click here
The New Sounds of Peace: Laughter fills Summer Camps for Children of War. Click here
Filed under Life Issues | Comment (0)True Meaning of “blog”
A blog is a website where entries are commonly displayed.
Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries.
A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic.
The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs.
Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (artlog), photographs (photoblog), sketchblog, videos (vlog), music (MP3 blog), audio (podcasting) and are part of a wider network of social media. Micro-blogging is another type of blogging which consists of blogs with very short posts.
As of December 2007, blog search engine Technorati was tracking more than 112 million blogs.
Filed under Information | Comment (0)The ad limina of Japanese Bishops
POPE URGES VISITING JAPANESE BISHOPS TO ENLIVEN CHRIST’S MESSAGE
UCA News, December 18, 2007
VATICAN CITY (UCAN) — Japanese Christians can give their compatriots “the great hope” of encountering “God in Christ” as many are learning that economic success alone is unfulfilling, Pope Benedict XVI has told Japan’s bishops.
The pontiff made these remarks while addressing 17 bishops from 16 Japanese dioceses at the end of their ad limina visit to Rome on Dec. 15.
The pope recalled that the Church in 2006 celebrated the 500th anniversary of the birth of Saint Francis Xavier, Apostle of Japan, and thanked God for his missionary work in the “first evangelization” of the Japanese people. Pope Benedict reminded them, however, that “the need to proclaim Christ boldly and courageously is a continuing priority for the Church.”
As bishops, he said, their task is “to seek new ways of bringing alive the message of Christ in the cultural setting of modern Japan” because “the faith is a treasure that needs to be shared with the whole of Japanese society.”
He also encouraged them “to inspire clergy and Religious, catechists, teachers and families to offer an explanation for the hope that they possess.”
“The world is hungry for the message of hope that the Gospel brings,” he said. “Even in countries as highly developed” as Japan, he pointed out, “many are discovering that economic success and advanced technology are not sufficient in themselves to bring fulfillment to the human heart.”
Citing his recent encyclical Spe Salvi (Saved by Hope), he said, “Anyone who does not know God is ultimately without hope, without the great hope that sustains the whole of life.”
The Church had earned the “respect” of the Japanese people, he further noted, thanks to its “fine contribution in education, health care and many other fields.” He said this provides Catholics with “an opportunity” to dialogue with the Japanese people and “to speak joyfully to them of Christ.”
The pope said young Japanese risk “being deceived by the glamour of modern secular culture,” but when they discover this is a false hope, they experience disillusionment often leading to “depression, despair and even suicide.”
He encouraged the prelates to direct the “energy and enthusiasm” of the young toward “the things of God, which alone are sufficient to satisfy their deepest longings.” If this happens, “more young people will be inspired to commit their lives to Christ,” the pope predicted.
He also urged the bishops “not to be afraid” to invite young people to consider priestly and religious vocations. Such vocations are scarce in Japan.
The pope noted that Japan’s Catholic community “is increasingly made up of people of diverse nationalities,” more than half of them immigrants, and said this provides “an opportunity to enrich the life of the Church” in Japan, and gives the experience of “true Catholicity.” He urged the Japanese bishops to “ensure” the immigrants “are made to feel welcome” in the Church.
Only 1 million of Japan’s 127 million people are Catholics, including 445,000 natives. The rest are mainly from Brazil, the Philippines and Vietnam.
As Archbishop Takeo Okada of Tokyo, president of the Japanese bishops’ conference, greeted the pope on behalf of fellow prelates, he recalled that Japan is the world’s only country to have suffered atomic bombing. He said this terrible experience led the Japanese to pledge to “forever renounce war” and “the threat or use of force as a means of settling international disputes” in their constitution.
Archbishop Okada also pointed out that the tragic experience also prompted the Japanese Church to “work for peace” and “make public statements in defense of human rights and peace” as happened in 2005 and 2007.
The pope said that other nations can learn from Japan’s “witness to peace on the world stage” over the past 60 years. He commended the bishops for making the voice of the Church heard “on the enduring importance of this witness,” and encouraged them “to continue to speak on matters of public concern in the life of the nation.”
In visits to Roman Curia offices, the bishops raised issues that include “the serious problem” caused in Japan’s Catholic Church by activities of the Neo-Catechumenal Way, which they described as “divisive and confrontational.”
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan
www.cbcj.catholic.jp
Happy New Year
Jerry, it is 12:13 am,1st of Jan. 2008!!!
Hope this New Year will bring peace & joy to all of us.
Brad
Disparity is Sobering
The New Year brings in again the unequality that exists on our planet. Another year has finished with the rich becoming richer and the poor becoming poorer. Looking around Asia and the World, we see many poor. “What can we do?” is a theme we Oblates cannot ignore in 2008.
Germany
Family of 4
Mexico
Family of 5
Ecuador
Family of 9
Refugee Camp in Chad
Family of 6
MORE Photos with statistics: Take a good look at the diet of each country. How much do you spend? What is eaten in one week: Click here
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Three Short Videos on Asian Poverty
1. Poverty Throughout Asia: A quick blurp into the omnipresent reality of poverty in Asia. Click Here
2. Poverty In India: Informational video about the current poverty situation in India. Click Here
3. A Day in the Life of Kaisong - Experience Poverty in Laos: Do you know what living in extreme poverty is like? Meet Kaisong, a typical girl from Laos (in South East Asia). She has dreams like everyone else but she’s got a day-to-day battle infront of her just to survive. Click Here
Filed under Life Issues | Comment (0)African artists: AIDS album
African artists launch Aids album
Thirty-seven of Africa’s best known musicians have released an album to raise awareness about HIV. The UN-sponsored album has been freely distributed to radio and television stations throughout Africa. It is “the starting point of a real battle against Aids and not just words in the air,” Senegalese rapper Didier Awadi said, AFP news agency reports.
The artists include Senegal’s Youssou N’Dour, Algeria’s Cheb Mami and Cameroon’s Manu Dibango. According to the Pan-African News Agency, the album, which has songs in more than 10 languages, is also to address issues such as poverty, gender inequality, illiteracy and conflict. The song We are the Drums calls on people to get involved in efforts to ensure an Aids-free generation by 2015, it says. “People no longer have trust in the leadership, they trust men on the street and as we are from the streets, they listen to us,” Awadi said.
The latest UN figures show that 22.5m people in sub-Saharan Africa are living with HIV.
From bbcnews: Click Here
Filed under Life Issues | Comments (2)AIDS Day
Thousands of events around the world marking World AIDS Day, December 1, are stressing the urgency of new and renewed Leadership Commitments by all stakeholders in the response to HIV and AIDS.
The momentum must continue to build for bold leadership at all levels in order to turn the tide of HIV/AIDS especially in Africa and Asia. As Oblates, I wonder how we can participate in order to turn the tide of HIV carriers and AIDS patients in Asia?
Watch a recommendable Catholic Relief Service (CRS) video about life saving AIDS Relief in Zambia: Providing Treatment and Restoring Hope. News shared by Brad.
Video available at: Click Here
Filed under Life Issues | Comments (2)