(ANS - Rome) - When considering the death penalty, an infinite number of ideas, preconceptions and, above all, many questions arise. Does the image of the criminal in his grave really relieve the pain of someone who has lost a loved one, a victim of the worst atrocities? In the name of what may an institution, a man or a woman claim the right to pronounce and impose a death sentence?
(ANS - Rome) - Over 70 thousand young people met on Saturday 11 August at the Circus Maximus to meet Pope Francis in view of the October Synod of Bishops. The young people, coming from 200 dioceses of Italy, gathered in Rome to greet the Holy Father and, above all, to express their love and gratitude towards him. "We have come so far to tell you that we love you," they told Pope Francis.
(ANS - Rome) – Today, 70,000 young people, including several hundreds belonging to the Salesian Youth Movement (SYM), from all over Italy, will meet at the Circus Maximus in Rome, and witness the desire to get busy, involved, challenge themselves, find their own way.
(ANS - Vatican City) – Yesterday, 31 July, Pope Francis met with about sixty thousand altar boys and girls from different parts of the world, a part of their pilgrimage to Rome, scheduled from 30 July to 3 August. During this time, when the summer temperature rose to about 36°, thousands of children, teens and young people challenged the heat to listen to the Pope, who in his meeting with them in St. Peter's Square proposed the task of holiness to them.
(ANS - Vatican City) - "It was an extremely interesting surprise, a wonderful experience!" Fr Renato dos Santos, a Brazilian Salesian priest, serving at the Vatican's Dicastery for Communication, enthusiastically narrates the episode he witnessed last Saturday, July 14, at the church "Santo Stefano degli Abissini" in the Vatican: the Pope who, to everyone's surprise, decides to celebrate the marriage of a Swiss guard and his Brazilian girlfriend.
Vatican City, Vatican - 6 July 2018 - On 6 July Pope Francis presided at Mass for migrants at the altar of the Cattedra in the Vatican Basilica, on the fifth anniversary of his visit to Lampedusa. During the homily the Pope emphasized that in the face of today's migratory challenges the only sensible answer is solidarity and mercy.
PHOTO GALLERY
INTERVIEWS
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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.