News Archives » Asia
Italian Priest Killed in the southern Philippines October 25th, 2011
Fr. Tentorio, PIME (from the PIME website)
Fr. Fausto Tentorio, PIME, parish priest of Arakan Valley, Mindanao was shot dead on October 17th. Fr. Tentorio was an Italian priest who had been serving Mindanao since 1978 and was head of the Tribal Filipinos Apostolate of the Diocese of Kidapawan. He was gunned down at around 8:30 Monday morning just as he was preparing to leave his convent in Arakan Valley, North Cotabato, for the 9 a.m. Presbyterium in Kidapawan City.
JPIC Report Fall/Winter Issue Now Available October 21st, 2011
The Fall/Winter Issue of our bi-annual newsletter is now available. (Download the PDF…)
This issue includes articles on the “Books to Prisons” project, Comprehensive Immigration Reform, Environmental Justice at Mary Immaculate, Faith and Values in Investing, ICCR’s 40th Anniversary, California legislation Against Slavery and Trafficking, a VIVAT International Workshop in India, Economic Growth vs a Steady State Economy, and the The Foreclosure Crisis.
Bejoy Nicephorus D’Cruze newly installed as Oblate Bishop of Sylhet October 3rd, 2011
Oblate Bishop Bejoy D’Cruze was installed on September 30, 2011 as Bishop of the newly formed Diocese of Sylhet. This is the country’s 7th diocese, which was created on July 8th.
The new diocese has seven parishes and 11 mission centers with about 17,000 mostly tribal Catholics, served by 21 priests and 33 Religious. Bishop D’Cruze had served ably as Bishop of Khulna before his appointment to the new diocese.
Sylhet has been a locus of JPIC work in Bangladesh, with Oblate support for efforts against illegal logging and in support of land and other rights of the indigenous Khasis and Garo peoples.
Update from the United Nations September 26th, 2011
UN welcomes South Sudan as 193rd Member State
On July 14th the General Assembly admitted the Republic of South Sudan as the 193rd member of the United Nations, welcoming the newly independent country to the community of nations. South Sudan’s independence from the rest of Sudan is the result of the January 2011 referendum held under the terms of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the decades-long civil war between the North and the South. Learn more…
World Population Nearly 7 Billion!
As the world population approaches seven billion, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed in July that ending global poverty and inequality is the key to unleashing the great human potential for prosperity and peaceful coexistence, while protecting the planet and safeguarding the natural resources that sustain humanity. “Later this year, a seven-billionth baby will be born into our world of complexity and contradiction,” Mr. Ban said in a message to mark World Population Day, observed annually on 11 July. Learn more…
UN Reports Progress Toward Poverty Alleviation
Some of the world’s poorest countries have made impressive gains in the fight against poverty, but the least developed countries still lag in efforts to improve living standards, the United Nations said in a report by DESA, showing significant overall progress towards achieving the global targets against extreme poverty.
67 Million Children Deprived of Education
67 million school-aged children are deprived of education, mainly due to financial or social hardship, in many cases stemming from poverty or armed conflict. At the opening of the high-level segment of the ECOSOC Council’ Annual Ministerial Review on 4 July, Deputy Secretary-General Asha Rose Migiro warned that “getting kids into school is only half the battle.”
Statement on Nuclear Weapons
Papal Nuncio to the UN, Archbishop Francis Chullikatt made a significant statement on the Church’s rejection of nuclear war and nuclear weaponry at the 3rd Session of the Prepatory Committee for the UN Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). Go to: www.holyseemission.org and click on press releases.
Faith Groups urge Congress to Protect the Poor from Foreign Aid budget Cuts September 26th, 2011
A broadly ecumenical group of faith organizations has urged Congress to preserve humanitarian and poverty-focused foreign assistance and civilian diplomacy from further cuts as they implement the Budget Control Act of 2011.
The groups, which include the Missionary Oblates, argued in the letter that: “Deep cuts to humanitarian and poverty-focused foreign assistance, which totals only one percent of the federal budget, will not make a significant contribution to deficit reduction. But it could cost millions of lives, undermine global human security and harm U.S. and global interests in helping build a more stable and secure world for all people.”
