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PNG bishops: APEC’s success on the backs of the poor

The Pacific Rim summit will cost at least 1.5 billion dollars to a country where 40 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line and resources for education and health are scarce. The US-China trade war will dominate the meeting.

Port Moresby – The bishops of Papua New Guinea have strongly criticised the government for the huge cost incurred with the APEC summit (17-18 November) at a time when many Papua New Guineans lack essential services like health, education and hygiene.

“We share the concern of many about the huge amount of our limited resources being expended on this event which seems designed to entertain and impress the rich and powerful,” said Mgr Rochus Tatamai, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Papua-New Guinea.

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Pope: the Church grows in silence through testimony, through prayer, through good works

“The Bride of Christ has a silent temperament, generates fruits” without noise “, without” playing the trumpet like the Pharisees “.”The Church also grows with the blood of the martyrs, men and women who give their lives. Today there are many. Curious: they do not make the news. The world hides that. The spirit of the world does not tolerate martyrdom, it hides it”.

Vatican – The Church grows “in simplicity, in silence, in praise, in the Eucharistic sacrifice, in fraternal community, where all are loved,” and none are rejected. That was the message of Pope Francis during the daily Mass celebrated in the chapel at Casa Santa Marta. Commenting on the day’s Gospel (Lk 17:20-25), the Pope said that the Kingdom of God “is not spectacular,” and that it grows in silence.

The Church, he said, is manifested “in the Eucharist and in good works,” even if they don’t “make the news.” The Bride of Christ has a temperament given to silence; she produces fruit “without making a fuss,” without “sounding the trumpet, like the Pharisees”:

The Lord explains to us how the Church grows with the parable of the sower. The sower sows and the seed grows by day, by night… – God gives the growth – and then the fruit is seen. But this is important: First, the Church grows in silence, in secret; it is the ecclesiastical style. And how is this manifested in the Church? By the fruits of good works, so that the people see and glorify the Father who is in heaven, Jesus says. And in the celebration, the praise and the sacrifice of the Lord – that is, in the Eucharist. There the Church is manifested: in the Eucharist and in good works.

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World Diabetes Day focuses on role of families

More than 400 million people are currently living with diabetes worldwide. On World Diabetes Day on Wednesday, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) is joining partners around the world to highlight the impact that diabetes has on families and the role…

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Food waste: Deadlier than Malaria

An FAO report highlights the extent of food waste, the repercussions it has on a global scale, and the benefits that would come from reducing it. “The scale and pace of food production would not need to increase…to feed an…

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