News in Missions

Controls on religion inside Tibet have intensified

Controls on religion inside Tibet have intensified

by: ucanews.com reporter, Beijing in Missions,

Gyaltsen Norbu, the Panchen Lama installed by the Chinese government, has called for tighter controls over monks to ensure they follow Buddhist precepts in what is already among the most strictly managed Buddhist societies.  Roaming monks not based at any one temple are particularly prone to breaking precepts, Norbu said in rare public comments on Oct. 25 at the Fourth World Buddhist Forum in Wuxi, near Shanghai.

Missionaries weave back together shattered lives in Mindanao, Philippines

Missionaries weave back together shattered lives in Mindanao, Philippines

by: Inday Espina-Varona - UCAnews in Missions,

In the Philippines, the Claretians specialize in weaving back together the shattered lives of residents, immersing themselves in communities, and focusing on service rather than just evangelizing. The beatification of Romero, a cleric killed by right-wing thugs for his support of the poor and oppressed of El Salvador, comes at a time when the Philippines is polarized by a proposed law that seeks to cement the peace agreement signed between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Jesuits mark 400 years in Vietnam

Jesuits mark 400 years in Vietnam

by: ucanews.com reporters in Missions,

More than 3,000 people joined 210 Jesuits in Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday for the climax of yearlong celebrations marking the arrival of the first Jesuits in Vietnam 400 years ago. Bishop Cosmas Hoang van Dat, the Jesuit bishop of Bac Ninh diocese near Hanoi in Vietnam’s north, celebrated the Mass at the main Jesuit compound in Thu Duc, a suburb of Ho Chi Minh City

Church contributes to the Unity in China

Church contributes to the Unity in China

by: O Clarim Newpaper in Missions,

O Clarim, the local newspaper of Macau in one of its November issues carried an interview of Fr. Alberto Rossa, Claretian Missionary. Here are the excerpts.  "Catholics want to preserve the culture and accept people as they are. Even the government officials find that the moral values of the people are encouraged by the Catholic Church." 

St. Francis Xavier, Patron of the Missions

St. Francis Xavier, Patron of the Missions

by: Catholic OnLine in Missions,

St. Francis Xavier is noteworthy for his missionary work, both as organizer and as pioneer. His unique passion: to give to God-Trinity a glory always greater and to work for the proclamation of the Gospel of Christ to the peoples who had been ignored.

Integral Evangelization

Integral Evangelization

by: Joe Torres - UCA News in Missions,

In the town of Tungawan, in the hinterlands of Mindanao in the southern Philippines, missionaries live and work with the people in a "journey to discover Jesus Christ in everyday life."

Dutch priest murdered in his church in the besieged Syrian city of Homs

Dutch priest murdered in his church in the besieged Syrian city of Homs

by: Ruth Sherlock, Beirut and Magdy Samaan - BBC in Missions,

A Dutch priest who had refused to leave the besieged Syrian city of Homs in solidarity with its residents, was on Monday beaten and then shot dead in his monastery by a masked gunman. During more than three years of war, Jesuit Father Francis Van der Lugt, 75, had insisted on remaining in Homs, risking starvation and near constant shellfire, until every last civilian could be evacuated from the district.

2 priests, Canadian nun abducted in Cameroon

2 priests, Canadian nun abducted in Cameroon

by: Associated Press in Missions,

Officials say two Italian priests and a Canadian nun working as missionaries in northern Cameroon have been abducted. Italy's foreign ministry said the abduction occurred during the night between Friday and Saturday about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border with Nigeria.

Sharing the Gospel in Asia

Sharing the Gospel in Asia

by: Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil SDB in Missions,

 Asia is known for a multiplicity of little cultures, even under the shadow of our great and ancient civilizations. Therefore, our eagerness to share God’s Message will need to pay attention to the cultural assets of even smaller ethnic groups and tribes, just as we take into account the civilization heritage of the larger societies.

The other day I discovered that I am actually an Alien

The other day I discovered that I am actually an Alien

by: Rev. Andrew Cunningham in Missions,

As the only white European present I felt so deeply guilty. You may think it strange to hear that I felt guilty at this moment. I wasn’t alive when these things happened. I've married a Ghanaian woman. I am vehemently opposed to xenophobia and racism. I get really angry when I witness it. I’ve had altercations with immigration removal officials.

Tribute to Fr. Jim Cronin, Mill Hill Missionary

Tribute to Fr. Jim Cronin, Mill Hill Missionary

by: Sunderland Echo - Angela McGhin in Missions,

The 79-year-old, lived in Whitburn in his later years. As a member of the Mill Hill Missionary, one of the largest in Britain, he helped build schools, churches and hospitals in the diocese of Ngong in Kenya and also developed a following of his beloved club, the Sunderland AFC, in the communities he worked with.

Missionary Congress begins with call to share our faith

Missionary Congress begins with call to share our faith

by: Reporters in Missions,

Before and after the Mass, I had the chance to speak to many of the participants; from Puerto Rico, from Ecuador, Bolivia, Panama and Brazil. Why are they here? To rekindle that missionary flame; to share our faith; to recharge our missionary batteries.

The Reality of Working with Two Catholic Churches

The Reality of Working with Two Catholic Churches

by: UCA News in Missions,

Father Michael Bauer provides views from a priest who serves expat Catholics in communist China. It was 2004 when Father Michael Bauer left his post as chaplain in the sleepy rural town of Zuelpich, Germany, to accept a new task in Shanghai. 

Pope Francis' Message for World Mission Sunday 2013

Pope Francis' Message for World Mission Sunday 2013

by: Pope Francis in Missions,

This year, as we celebrate World Mission Day, the Year of Faith, which is an important opportunity to strengthen our friendship with the Lord and our journey as a Church that preaches the Gospel with courage, comes to an end. From this perspective, I would like to propose some reflections.

Chirouse, Father Eugene Casimir (1821-1892): History of Missions

Chirouse, Father Eugene Casimir (1821-1892): History of Missions

by: Margaret Riddle in Missions,

Catholic missionary Eugene Casimir Chirouse, Oblates of Mary Immaculate (O.M.I.), traveled from his native France to Oregon Territory with four Missionary Oblates and, after an arduous trip, arrived at Fort Walla Walla on October 5, 1847 -- only a month before the Whitman Massacre.

North Korea's 10,000 secret Catholics

North Korea's 10,000 secret Catholics

by: Vatican Insider Staff in Missions,

South Korean priest describes his forays to the north. “We suspect that after the long period of persecution there are still about 10,000 people who will remember in their hearts their Catholic faith.” But “I find it difficult to believe that there is an organised underground Church in North Korea,” 

What real Mission requires, Bishop Jin had in spades

What real Mission requires, Bishop Jin had in spades

by: UCA News - Michael Kelly SJ in Missions,

Despite overwhelming criticism, Louis Jin stuck to 'what was most basic and important' to Catholicism in China. I first met Bishop Aloysius Jin Luxian in 1987 in Shanghai. Then 71, he had been back in his native city since 1982 after 27 years in jail or custody of one kind or another.

Feast of St. Paul Miki and Companions

Feast of St. Paul Miki and Companions

by: Leonard Foley O.F.M in Missions,

Nagasaki, Japan, is familiar to us today as the city on which the second atomic bomb dropped in 1945 killing hundreds of thousands of people. Three and a half centuries before that, twenty-six martyrs of Japan were crucified on a hill, now known as Holy Mountain, overlooking Nagasaki. 

Missionary’s 50 years in the Philippines come to an end

Missionary’s 50 years in the Philippines come to an end

by: UCAnews in Missions,

Fr Sinnot served mostly in Pagadian, in Mindanao. After more than 50 years, it will be difficult for Irish priest Michael Sinnott to leave the Philippines. “I was delighted when I got my appointment to the Philippines, and I’ve never been sorry ever since,” he said at a going-away party on Tuesday. ”It has been a privilege for me to serve the people of the Philippines.”