Plans for the structure were announced earlier this year, but a government committee has now approved its budget. The project includes a series of parallel and feeder roads to connect some of India's main military bases to the border. The government fears that the influx of refugees could destabilise the local inter-ethnic balance.
The church, symbol of the row over the liturgy, was closed for 486 days due to violence that broke out when Archbishop Andrew Thazhath tried to enforce compliance with the Synod's decision on the "uniform liturgy”. For now, to avoid tensions, the Holy Qurbana will not be celebrated. “The reopening during Holy Week is a positive step,” said a Syro-Malabar Church spokesman.
The Catholic Commission for Interreligious Dialogue and Ecumenism organised an Iftar, the dinner that breaks the Ramadan fast, together with other minorities. For Archbishop Benny Mario Travas, the event is a testament to the values of compassion, empathy, and mutual respect that bind everyone.
The tragedy of war in the land of Jesus (and "martyred Ukraine") are the focus of the Holy Week general audience. Bassam Aramin and Rami Elhanan, Israeli and Palestinian fathers who lost their daughters in the war, are among those present. “They don't look at the wickedness of the war," the pontiff said about them. In a letter, he also expresses his closeness to the Catholics of the Holy Land, grateful to them for their “ability to hope against all hope”.
Ma Ying-jeou will make a stop in the Chinese capital and also visit other provinces. The trip will fall on the eve of the inauguration of Lai Ching-te, who is opposed by Beijing as an "independence seeker". The Kuomintang hopes the visit will lower cross-strait pressure and foster a peaceful exchange.
The first chapel dedicated to the patron saint of the Swiss Confederation and his wife Dorothea was inaugurated over the weekend in the south of the capital. It is located in the convent of Notre-Dame de la Plaine, a retirement home belonging to the Greek Melkites. A 15th century hermit, he saved his homeland from civil war and instilled in it the founding value: neutrality.