It is difficult to see how the church can effectively help the poor when it closes its eyes to injustice, violence and pillage.

by FR. JOSÉ REBELO, MCCJ

There is no doubt that God wants His people to mirror not only His attention to the poor, the oppressed, the forgotten last, but also His attention to prophecy, that those responsible might hear His voice, change their hearts and contribute to building God's Kingdom. This is why the Church fosters the awareness of justice and peace among the faithful. The knowledge, understanding and practice of this social teaching can lead to a silent revolution.

by FR. JOSEPH CARAMAZZA
Comboni Missionary

We ought to continue our journey of faith by learning ever more about God and the way He wants His Kingdom to grow. The social teaching of the Church is part of this journey, and we are called to know and make it a part of our lives.

by FR. JOSE  CARAMAZZA
Comboni Missionary

Why would Philippine judges hamper a human rights investigation into a killing field where many human remains are found in Davao, victims allegedly of the infamous death squad? Why would the members of the Commission on Human Rights be charged themselves? Human Rights Watch says local authorities are obstructing the course of justice and investigation into almost a thousand assassinations in the past decade. How can this be in an Asian democracy?

by FR SHAY CULLEN
PREDA FOUNDATION

A little reflection will show how far we are, the only Christian nation in the Far East, from living the Gospel of the Kingdom and incorporating it into the structures of our society. To make the reflection more realistic, one might imagine taking Jesus Christ on a sight-seeing tour. Hear the Lord ask you: "How can it be that a society which calls itself by My name, Christian, can permit such gross inequalities in the distribution of goods which were created for all, such violations of the dignity of human beings made in My image?"

by FR. JOHN J. CARROLLl, S.J.
John J. Carroll Institute on Church and Social Issues

Reconciliation, justice and peace, the main issues of Africa's public life today, were at the core of the Second African Synod. The Catholic Church has the moral authority and the competence to speak and act about them, especially when considering the dramatic failure of the continent's states and governments.

by FR. RENATO KIZITO SESANA
Comboni Missionary

Riddles, like puzzles, are among the oldest forms of human entertainment and of informal education. Through them, socializing and learning are fostered, a vision of the world is inculcated, practices, customs, usages are handed down, together with knowledge about farming, cattle breeding, trades and other forms of human social activities. They foster social cohesion, strengthen the spirit of emulation, spur a keener observation of the universe and of the environment in which a person lives. In Africa, they are a widespread kind of oral art.

by FR. NENO CONTRAN*
Comboni Missionary

One day, those who attend the Comboni Sisters' nursery school at Bethany and the many other thousands of Palestinian and Jewish children, who now live in the shadow of the wall of hatred and division, will also dwell in concord and peace - without walls and barbed wires. This is, at least, our dream and our hope.

by FR. DANIELE MOSCHETTIi
Comboni missionary

"Those who are hungry are hungry now. Poor people cannot wait." This was the motto of Vittorione (Big Victor), a successful hotelier turned missionary, who would have liked to sit at table all the starving people of Uganda, to taste the gourmet course of his incredible generosity. Helped by a precarious band of volunteers, he travelled 147 times from Italy to Africa, bringing the poor all kinds of goods until his enormous size got the better of him. He is the founder of "Cooperation and Development," a lay organization that still continues to help the poor of Uganda, 15 years after his death.

by FR. LORENZO CARRARO
Comboni Missionary

"After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others, and sent them on ahead of Him , two by two, into every town and place where He Himself was about to come." (Luke 10:1)

by FR. SILVANO FAUSTI, S.J.
Biblist & Writer