(ANS – Vatican City) – Harmony between context and words. This is what happened yesterday, 5 October, in the splendid setting of the Vatican Gardens, at the Largo della Radio, where the Apostolic Exhortation Laudate Deum, published on Wednesday, 4 October, was presented to the press. Unanimous on the part of the invited academics, scholars, activists, representatives of civil society and the world of culture, the consensus for a document integrating the Encyclical Laudato Si'of eight years ago, that urges institutions and nations to an urgent commitment to face the consequences of global climate change.
ANS – Vatican City) – The Church in Africa is a Church on the move and open to welcoming “cultural differences”: “As the Synodal Family of God in Africa, we are a Church that learns. We do not walk alone: we have things we can learn from others." Thus the African bishops, meeting last March in Addis Ababa, wrote in the final document the desire for a ‘spiritual‘ growth, open to synodality. Starting from these conclusions, Salesian Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero, Archbishop of Rabat, participant in the Synod of Bishops in Rome, tells how the synodal process took place in Morocco.
Vatican City, Vatican - September 2023 - The Vatican Library celebrated Cardinal Raffaele Farina SDB, Prefect and Librarian Emeritus, who is 90 years of age, with joy and affection on the occasion of his name day, Friday 29 September.
(ANS – Vatican City) – Pope Francis presides at the Holy Mass in St Peter’s Square for the Opening of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, and invites the faithful to walk with the Holy Spirit, “in trust and with joy”. Also concelebrating the Mass was the newly appointed Cardinal Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, the Rector Major of the Salesians, who had been invited along with the other members of the College of Cardinals.
(ANS – Vatican City) – On the day that the Universal Church celebrates St Francis of Assisi, Pope Francis published "Laudate Deum" – an Apostolic Exhortation on the climate crisis – to expand and update his first encyclical on the subject, Laudato Si 'signed on 24 May 2015 and published on 18 June 2015.
"The essence of the synodal journey lies in a fundamental truth that we must never lose sight of: it aims to listen, understand and put into practice the will of God". With this post published yesterday on X by Pope Francis, we headed to the Synod on Synodality.
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.