NEWS
(ANS - Namugongo) - Uganda is a predominantly agricultural country, with 80% of its area devoted to agriculture. However, young people seeking jobs in urban areas often leave small agricultural plots of land in rural areas uncultivated. The soil is fertile and there are two rainy seasons per year, resulting in two harvests a year. The Salesians have begun to take advantage of this situation to offer additional educational opportunities.
(ANS - Aleppo) – There were new attacks and new massacres all over Syria on Sunday, 21 February: four explosions in Damascus, two attacks in Homs, and Aleppo is again disputed land between the army and various rebel factions. In this nightmare scenario the Salesians remain alongside the young people.
(ANS - Aleppo) - The situation in Aleppo? ‘Everything here is confusion, death is everywhere, nobody can understand what is happening and we do not know who we can trust. We were preparing with young people a play to celebrate Don Bosco and we had to stop because several of them died during the bombing’. Fr Luciano Buratti, one of the three Salesians who live in the Salesian House in Aleppo, Syria, says this with a broken voice.
PHOTO GALLERY
INTERVIEWS
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RMG – The missionaries of the 155th Salesian Missionary Expedition: Guy Roger Mutombo Mutshi, from the Vice-Province of Africa Congo Congo (ACC) to the Province of Southern Italy (IME)(ANS – Rome) – The final word from the new Salesian missionaries comes from Congolese Guy Roger, a missionary in the Province of Southern Italy. "My plans and dreams for my missionary life are to live in communion of spirit and action with my Salesian brothers in IME for the salvation of poor and abandoned young people, according to the heart of Don Bosco and to the greater glory of God".
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 – Presentation of the volume "Giovanni Bosco, Predicazione"(ANS – Rome) – Last Friday, 22 November 2024, at the UPS, the Salesian Historical Institute (ISS), in collaboration with the Don Bosco Study Centre (CSDB) at the Pontifical Salesian University (UPS) in Rome, presented the volume Giovanni Bosco, Predicazione. Introduzione, testi critici e note a cura di Aldo Giraudo e Massimo Schwarzel. (= ISS – Fonti, Prima Series, 18). Rome, 2024. The symposium involved numerous scholars who were able to illustrate the originality and specific value of this new text on St John Bosco.
SPECIAL REPORTS
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Ukraine – Youth Ministry in time of war: the gift of hope(ANS - Donetsk) - Today we conclude the journey of Bishop Maksym Ryabukha, Bishop of the Greek-Catholic Exarchate of Donetsk, in search of what the sad experience of war in Ukraine can teach Youth Ministry in other countries living in peaceful contexts. In this final contribution, the Salesian prelate delivers the last and final gift that remains and that is always worth bearing fruit: the gift of hope.
MESSAGES OF THE RECTOR MAJOR
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THE ROSE PATHTHE MESSAGE OF THE VICAR OF THE RECTOR MAJOR,
Fr Stefano Martoglio, SDB"How lucky Don Bosco is! His path is forever strewn with roses! He hasn't a worry in the world. No troubles at all!" But they couldn't see the thorns that were piercing my poor legs.” Nevertheless, I kept going. Every life is interwoven with thorns and roses as in Don Bosco's famous “Dream of the Roses and Thorns.” Hope is the force that keeps us going despite the thorns.