(ANS - Puerto Ayachuco) - In a country agonizing from an economic and social point of view, one of the few activities that continues to grow is mining. In particular, in the territory of the so-called "Arco Minero dell'Orinoco", along the river of the same name, there is a flourishing of mining activities: but they are in the hands of criminal groups. The result is a place of violence, of deforestation, of uncontrolled exploitation. Salesian Msgr. José Ángel Divasson Cilveti, bishop emeritus of Puerto Ayacucho and President of the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network (REPAM), narrates the Church's inexhaustible efforts to protect the local population and the environment.

(ANS - Rome) - At the end of yesterday's general audience, October 30, Pope Francis turned his gaze to the coming days when the Church celebrates the Solemnity of All Saints and commemorates all the faithful departed. For this reason, quoting Saint John Paul II, he said that these two days "invite us to look to Heaven, the goal of our earthly pilgrimage. There the festive community of saints awaits us. There we will meet with our dearly departed." In this year marked by the Strenna on the theme "Holiness for you, too", the Pope's exhortation becomes a new invitation to live holiness on a daily basis with one's eyes fixed on Heaven and one's feet firmly rooted to the Earth.

(ANS - Rome) - A few days after the closure of the Synod of Bishops on the Pan-Amazon region, Fr Rossano Sala, SDB, who participated in the Synod, presented an analysis of this important ecclesial appointment.