SPECIAL REPORTS
(ANS – Rome) – Although in his lifetime Don Bosco accepted 7 parishes, he was always considered the parish priest of poor and abandoned boys who were parishless. In fact, the Oratory in Valdocco was “a parish which evangelises”. It is no surprise that in not too distant past the parish apostolate was not seen as a typical Salesian apostolate. It was the 19th General Chapter which acknowledged the parish as the place for “an exemplary care for the youth community” (GC19, IX, 3).
(ANS - Rome) - A new twenty-four-hour truce was declared in Syria just a few hours ago. This follows several days of fighting that left nearly 300 dead, mostly civilians. In this context of extreme suffering, Fr Alejandro León, a Salesian missionary in the Middle East, has given his view of what is happening in Aleppo.
(ANS – Nairobi) – The Salesians of Don Bosco East Africa Province (AFE) have been operating in East Africa since 1980, namely in Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan and South Sudan. Sudan and South Sudan together is a semi-independent entity of the Province. To date there are 28 institutions in the Province. These institutions serve the youth through various activities such as technical schools, secondary schools, parishes, youth centers and refugees in Kakuma refugee camp.
By Fr Gianni Rolandi
(ANS - Paris) - A few months ago France was scarred by the horror perpetrated by some young people in Paris. Is there anyone among us who has not suffered the shock of those images? Anyone who has not been shocked by the testimony of the survivors? Who is not taken aback by these men who prefer to kill and be killed rather than let life flourish? We give the word to Fr Emmanuel Besnard, SDB, an educational specialist, who shares his reflections and some encouragement to "become involved in resistance."