NEWS
(ANS – Vitoria) – In the night of August 9th, Msgr. Miguel Asurmendi, SDB, Bishop emeritus of Vitoria, passed away in his house in Pamplona, due to a heart attack. He was 76.
(ANS – Soyapango) – The Association of Salesian Students for Thought and Civic Education (AESPEC) and the Salesian Association of Students of Aeronautics (ASEA) of “Universidad Don Bosco” (UDB) in El Salvador recently launched the “Sin Barreras -UDB” (Without Barriers UDB), an initiative that aims at promoting social integration of hearing impaired students in the University, through a series of activities, the first of which is a course of American Sign Language (ASL).
(ANS – Manila) – “In his visit to the Philippines in 2015, Pope Francis challenged Filipino families to be “sanctuaries of respect for life.” In the past weeks, even up to the time of writing, the call to respect life has apparently been left unheeded in our country”. Thus begins an official statement of the Philippines North Province, published also in the site of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), concerning the numerous extra-judicial killings – about 500 in the last one and a half months – perpetrated in the context of drug trafficking fight. The full text of the declaration follows here below:
PHOTO GALLERY
INTERVIEWS
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RMG - Preparation, objectives, challenges and perspectives of GC29: in dialogue with the Moderator, Fr Alphonse Owoudou(ANS - RMG) - Just a few days before the beginning of the 29th General Chapter (GC29) of the Salesian Congregation, Fr Alphonse Owoudou, Councillor for the Africa-Madagascar Region and Moderator of GC29, recounts in detail, through an articulate interview, the work preceding and underlying this responsibility, indicating the spirit that will animate it and the attitudes and conditions to make it truly a Cenacle in which the Holy Spirit can act, for the benefit of the Congregation, the Salesian mission and the youth of the world.
EDITORIAL
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RMG – Don Bosco: “The Fascinating Saint”(ANS - Rome) - Don Bosco is perhaps the most amazing and fascinating saint, history has ever produced. The humble work which he began for the welfare of his poor and abandoned boys in Italy has produced astonishing results, and today there are nearly 14000 Salesians working in 138 countries, and there are more than 200,000 members belonging to the 32 groups of the worldwide Salesian Family sharing the charism of Don Bosco and reaching out to the needy young people.
EVENTS
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Argentina – UNISAL Participates in the International Forum “Territories of the Future: South Atlantic and Antarctica”(ANS – Río Grande) – From February 19 to 21, the cities of Río Grande, Tolhuin, and Ushuaia hosted the International Forum “Territories of the Future: South Atlantic and Antarctica”, organized by the University Network for the Care of the Common Home (RUC) and the Municipality of Río Grande, with support from the National University of Tierra del Fuego (UNTDF). The event brought together universities from Argentina, Latin America, and the Caribbean to discuss sustainability and conservation in these regions, with the Salesian University of Argentina (UNISAL) playing an important role.
SPECIAL REPORTS
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United States – CATHOLIC WORLD DAY OF THE SICK: Salesian Missions highlights medical programs for people in need around the globe(ANS – New Rochelle) – Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, joins Catholic organizations around the globe in honoring the Catholic World Day of the Sick. Every year on Feb. 11, the Pope marks the day with a special message calling for spiritual and physical closeness to all those who are ill. Saint John Paul II instituted the day “to encourage the people of God, Catholic health institutions and civil society to be increasingly attentive to the sick and to those who care for them.”
MESSAGES OF THE RECTOR MAJOR
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GOOD, FAITHFUL, AND COURAGEOUS SERVANTSTHE MESSAGE OF THE VICAR OF THE RECTOR MAJOR, Fr Stefano Martoglio, SDB
During this Jubilee year, in this difficult world, we are invited to rise up, set out again, and, in newness of life, make our journey as human beings and believers.