NEWS
(ANS - Antananarivo) – As part of his visit to Madagascar the Rector Major Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, spent Friday 1 April with all those who share in the Salesian challenges, dreams, difficulties and spirituality, with those that represent the present and the future of the Congregation, and with the young people who are the reason for our existence, in other words, with the Salesian Family and young people.
(ANS - Bangalore) – On Saturday 2 April, the Indian Foreign Minister, Hon. Sushma Swaraj, received a delegation of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), to update the Bishops on the situation of Fr Tom Uzhunnalil, the Indian Salesian of the Province of Bangalore who was kidnapped on 4 March last during the attack carried out at the House of the Missionaries of Charity in Aden, Yemen. Meanwhile, today, 4 April, exactly one month after the massacre and the abduction, on the initiative of the Salesians and the Archdiocese of Bangalore, a prayer vigil and a Mass for Father Tom are being held at the cathedral. Archbishop Bernard Moras of Bangalore, who will preside over the function, has called on all the faithful to participate.
(ANS - Khartoum) - Years ago Sudan hit the headlines as a result of photographs that won the Pulitzer Prize. A great photographer called Kevin Carter took a photo of a little girl and gave it the title: "the little girl and the vulture." In fact, the photo showed a vulture behind the small girl, as if waiting for her to die before eating her. The picture went around the world, was applauded for its content and its meaning, and was much talked about. But there is a message that today the world has not yet understood - do something to change the lives of millions of children and remove them from a poverty that becomes inhuman.
PHOTO GALLERY
INTERVIEWS
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RMG – “Do Elderly Salesians have a role in the Digital Culture?”
The answer in the letter “Sharing wisdom and hope in digital culture” from the General Councillor for Social Communication
(ANS – Rome) – In view of the current digital reality, and due to the presence, especially in some regions of the Salesian world, of a large number of elderly Salesians, the General Councillor for Social Communication, Fr Gildasio Mendes, has decided to dedicate a special letter to them, entitled: "Sharing wisdom and hope in digital culture". Here is how he explains to ANS readers today the origins, significance and perspectives of this document.
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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Latin America – Strengthening Vocational and Educational Commitment Today: 30 Years of the Salesian School in Latin America
(ANS) – Since the first meeting in Cumbayá (Ecuador), 30 years ago, educational processes on the continent have found a collaborative epicentre which has given rise to the Salesian School in (Latin) America – ESA, in Spanish – as a forum for reflection and a common path. Many Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA) and other groups of the Salesian Family (SF) have enriched this synodal journey, focusing on young people and their integral development. What are today's demands of us in the educational field? How are we building the Salesian School of the future? Can we further strengthen this great Salesian educational network in America? Some FMAs and Salesians who were at the first meeting in 1994, share their experience and their vision of how this journey has allowed a growth in the understanding of the youth reality, in the strategic decisions within the Provinces themselves and in the challenges that emerge for Salesian education.
MESSAGES OF THE RECTOR MAJOR
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I’M A SALESIAN AND I’M A BORORO
THE 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.