In a world often dimmed by division and despair, Asia’s festivals of light remind us that every faith, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Taoist, and Christian, shares a single flame: the hope that darkness will never have the last word.
As tensions rise over geothermal energy development on the island of Flores, the Catholic Church in Indonesia has once again joined hands with local communities and civil society in a united, prayerful stand to protect both people and creation.
Anjana Mallick, the only woman catechist in the Diocese of Berhampur, continues the enduring legacy of Father Johnmary Dupont, a Missionary of St. Francis de Sales (MSFS), who ministered in the Surada region of Ganjam district, South Odisha, during the latter half of the 19th century.
At 92 years old, Jesuit Father Aloysius Pieris remains a towering figure in the intellectual and spiritual life of Sri Lanka and Asia. A theologian, Buddhist scholar, and indologist, Father Pieris has spent his life building bridges and promoting peace in a land scarred by ethnic conflict and religious division.
“By participating in this plantation drive, we are contributing to a greener Indore and fulfilling our responsibility towards God’s creation,” Bishop Thomas Mathew Kuttimackal declared on 13 July as he pressed his hands into the rich earth of Kasturba Gram, planting what would become one of 1,500 saplings that day.
Originally released in 2023 in Hindi, the Tamil version of the feature film The Face of the Faceless, based on the life of Blessed Rani Maria Vattalil, was launched on July 8, 2025, at the Poondi Madha Basilica in Tamil Nadu.
In some cultures, at the time of baptism, a priest blesses and places the scapular on the infant. It is meant to be a form of spiritual protection for the child. The small square of cloth, though unassuming in appearance, becomes a spiritual weapon, not for conquest, but as a shield of grace.
