For the first time in eight years, under 35-year-olds will finally be able to travel to Jerusalem for the celebrations at least. The Israeli authorities have issued 847 permits, granting 95 per cent of requests.
Belgium’s bishops say they are “dismayed”, while airport chaplains are all available to offer spiritual support to those in need of it.
The programme is not only intended for entertainment. It is rather educational, as it is part of the regional and international efforts designed to treat the scourge of extremism and terrorism. How is it so? This can be done by exposing the future generations to free competition, as well as to art and culture. It is also designed to forestall any chance of having them filled with thoughts of hatred and exclusion, rather than thoughts of love and construction. In this spirit, I followed with the millions of people the first part of The Voice Kids programme which ended recently.
At Palm Sunday Mass,on March 20, Pope Francis emphasised that “too many act like Pontius Pilate, denying justice” and he urged faithful to see the cross as “the royal seat of God”. He added: "If the mystery of evil is unfathomable, then the reality of Love poured out through him is infinite”.
Accounts of peaceful co-existence between Christians and Muslims. A report from the “Holy Land” school founded by the Franciscans in the West Bank. Most of the children enrolled here are Muslims. The headmaster, who is also the parish priest, and the local Imam say: “Passion for education is of prime importance here, we educate children about coexistence and mutual respect”.
In his landmark document on creation, the Pope pointed out that his namesake St Francis of Assisi was so close to the natural world that he even preached to the flowers.
The US president’s visit to the island from 20 to 22 March is going to be a historic event, a sign of an easing of tensions and of friendship among peoples. The Pope’s role in this has been a discreet but efficient one.
At the morning Mass in St. Martha’s House on Monday, March 14, Pope Francis talked about the people who get sick in Italy’s “Terra dei Fuochi” (Land of Fires), the homeless person who died of cold in Rome without even a final comforting embrace, the nuns killed in Yemen and the migrants who find doors slammed shut. The only answer to these tragedies is to trust in the Lord.
Despite many Ukrainian Greek Catholics feeling betrayed by the joint declaration signed last month by Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill in Havana, the Eastern Church’s leadership was encouraged by a recent meeting with the Holy Father and a pledge he made to help the suffering people of Ukraine.
Significant advances in relations between China and the Holy See could be just around the corner as dialogue enters a new phase, according to Vatican and Chinese government sources.
Pope Francis’ bridge-building diplomacy is also raising hopes for a papal visit to the country, part of a process to help realize Benedict XVI’s vision of one Church in China. But not everyone is convinced, and the Holy See’s revamped Ostpolitik is causing concern that any gains will come at the cost of compromise.
