NEW ACADEMIC YEAR BEGINS – Macau’s Catholic Schools Open for New School Year

It’s back to the classroom for students at the Catholic schools across the Catholic Diocese of Macau, where the new academic year holds the hope for the continuous fulfillment of its mission: a distinctive holistic approach that involves the education of the whole person by integrating faith, culture and life. “We are excited to see our students’ joyful faces and renewed energy fill our classrooms and hallways once again,” said Fr Leonard Dollentas, vice principal of the English section at Colégio Diocesano de São José 2, in his traditional opening speech in the school. “We begin this school year with a renewed sense of hope,” he said. “The last years brought many challenges for families and for schools. I am looking forward to seeing our school communities prosper in their mission for the church.”

LONG LIVE CHRIST THE KING – The 51 Claretian Martyrs of Barbastro

Friday, 22 August: Pope Leo XIV called for a day of prayer and fasting today, for peace and justice in the Holy Land, Ukraine, and other regions. In Portugal, the news spread from person to person or circulated on social media because the mainstream media did not notice it. Conclusion: we must learn to organise ways of communication and freedom that outdo the pedagogical fury of those who want to impose their views on us.

5TH TALITHA KUM ASIA CONFERENCE – Strengthening Collaboration Against Human Trafficking

In a joint initiative with the International Union of Superiors General (UISG), Talitha Kum – a global network committed to the fight against human trafficking – held the 5th Talitha Kum Asia Conference in Jakarta from August 26 to 30. Under the theme “Compassion in Action: Ending Human Trafficking,” the event was attended by delegates from religious congregations and civil society organizations, international partners, and several young leaders. Sixty representatives from 16 Asian countries attended the event, aiming to “strengthen solidarity, share the most effective practices on the ground, and deepen regional 

Urakami Cathedral in Nagasaki – New Bell Rings for Peace

In the year marking the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the world is closer than ever to a new nuclear holocaust. If it happens, it will be infinitely more deadly than the tragedy that brought us 1945. The scene of devastated buildings, disintegrated living beings, and people killed in seconds—the result of an energy so devastating that their shadows remain imprinted on the walls or asphalt of the two martyred Japanese cities to this day—will be replicated across the planet. And, in the end, no one will be left to tell the tale.

Border Conflict Between Thailand and Cambodia – Local Catholic Community Concerned

Military clashes that recently erupted again on the Cambodia-Thailand border, with the use of powerful military vehicles and fighter jets—a factor creating a very tense situation—have rekindled long-standing fears among Catholic communities in the region. “We have woken up to the nightmare of a possible war,” Jesuit Father Enrique Figaredo, Apostolic Prefect of Battambang, a Cambodian province bordering Thailand, told the Fides news agency.