(ANS - Batatais) - Bishop Pedro Casaldáliga, 92, prelate emeritus of São Félix, State of Mato Grosso, belonging to the Congregation of the missionaries Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Claretians), passed away on Saturday 8 August in Batatais, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Fr Casaldáliga, born in Balsareny, Catalonia, prelate of São Félix from 1971 to 2005, was a well-known bishop and a point of reference for his battles in favor of human rights, indigenous rights and creation.
Fuerte Olimpo, Paraguay - July 2020 - In the Apostolic Vicariate of Chaco Paraguayo, entrusted to the care of the Salesian Msgr. Gabriel Narciso Escobar Ayala, the Social Ministry has already launched two projects for the social development of poor families since the end of 2019: the sheep project, aimed at women, and sustainable gardens for men, both supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Breeding and the NGO "Manos Unidas". The first project involved the delivery of two female sheep per family and a pair of rams per village. In the communities of Virgen Santísima, Abundancia Los Tomarajos, the animals were delivered between 21 and 24 July.
The project for sustainable gardens was articulated, instead, through the supply and installation of shading nets, agricultural tools and seeds, and despite the scarce rains, they already allow the local population to see the fruits of their sacrifices.
Both projects have filled the communities with hope.
(ANS - Manaus) - In Brazil, the pandemic is still advancing with great strides: almost 1.5 million infected and 61,884 confirmed victims. Unfortunately, the official data in the second country most severely hit by Covid-19 is not a complete picture of the Brazilian situation.
(ANS - Temuco) - Archbishop Héctor Vargas Bastidas, SDB, Bishop of Temuco and Head of Indigenous Pastoral Care of the Chilean Episcopal Conference (CECh), in an interview published by the Diario Austral of the city of Temuco on Sunday 21 June, referred to announcements and promises made to the indigenous world that have remained unfulfilled. He also spoke of the preparation of the National Day of Indigenous Peoples, celebrated June 24th.
(ANS - Nova Xavantina) - As in the entire Amazon region, the Indigenous people of Brazil are among - or segments of - the population most at risk for coronavirus. The Indigenous people of this area live far from hospitals and often have very few basic infrastructures, no specialist assistance, few medicines. The only thing left for the Salesian missionaries to do is "prevent" contagion and the risk of death. To achieve this, they have produced a video in the Salesian spirit.
(ANS - Manaus) - There are areas of the world that are objectively marginal compared to the great economic and demographic flux, but which equally enter the whirlwind of global events. It occurred for the Amazon in this time of the Covid-19 pandemic: thus emerge the subtle, but decisive interconnection channels, those highlighted in the encyclical "Laudato Sì" of 2015 and in the Pan-Amazonian Synod of 2019.
PHOTO GALLERY
INTERVIEWS
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Italy – A Salesian on the front line of the war in Ukraine: "Being close counts, words come later"(ANS - Rome) - As he tells with a gentleness that does not seem to come from horror, he is "resting a little bit" in Rome these days. Fr Oleh Ladnyuk is a Ukrainian Salesian priest who is a military chaplain at the front, among the soldiers who fight in defence of their country and among the civilians who for over two years have seen their lives wiped out. He brings humanitarian aid where the missiles fall and from those places he helps with the evacuation of young people and adults - so far at least 500 people, but there are probably many more. These days the Salesian – who carries out his ministry in Dnipro and teaches History in a state school in the city – is in Rome to take part with two other priests and a dozen lay people from his country in the "Accompanying when Trauma Hits" course hosted by the Pontifical Salesian University in collaboration with the Faculty of Educational Sciences, with the DON BOSCO NEL MONDO Foundation and the Don Bosco Network. A project that aims to provide theoretical and methodological tools to deal with the traumas caused by war.
EDITORIAL
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Myanmar – Tragedy of Innocent Children in the midst of Armed Conflicts(ANS – Naypyidaw) - Myanmar finds itself immersed in profound grief and anguish as innocent lives, particularly those of children, continue to be mercilessly lost in the enduring armed conflicts. Families are left devastated by the tragic loss of their loved ones while the relentless violence shows no signs of abating. This week, a heartfelt plea from Myanmar reached our community, shedding light on the heart-wrenching death of a young girl Juliet in a military airstrike, prompting a unified call for prayers and action.
EVENTS
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Italy – "Education and culture of safeguarding in sport. Towards the establishment of protection and prevention models": PGS conference with UPS(ANS – Rome) – The synergy between the Salesian Youth Sports Centres (PGS) and the Pontifical Salesian University (UPS) in Rome gave rise to the conference on "Education and culture of safeguarding in sport. Towards the establishment of models of protection and prevention", which will take place on 13 April, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., at the UPS facilities in Rome.
SPECIAL REPORTS
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United States – INT’L DAY FOR STREET CHILDREN: Salesian Missions highlights programs that provide shelter and support(ANS – New Rochelle) – Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, joins humanitarian and international organizations around the globe in highlighting the plight of homeless children on the International Day for Street Children. The day provides organizations and the millions of street children in countries worldwide with an opportunity to have their voices heard while ensuring that their rights are not ignored.
MESSAGES OF THE RECTOR MAJOR
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I’M A SALESIAN AND I’M A BOROROTHE MESSAGE OF THE RECTOR MAJOR, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, SDB
Diary of a Happy and Blessed Missionary Day
Dear friends , I’m writing to you from Meruri in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. I write this greeting almost as if it were a journalistic report, because it has been only 24 hours since I arrived in the middle of this Brazilian state.