OC

As the Church in Cuba celebrates the 25th anniversary of Pope St. John Paul II’s historic visit to the island nation on 21-25 January 1998, Pope Francis sends a letter encouraging Cubans to continue walking together in faithful hope to build a better future.

Yangon (Agenzia Fides) - "We urgently ask the parties for a ceasefire. We ask that they lay down their arms and seek a peaceful solution. We see many people suffering and it is necessary to create humanitarian corridors in areas of extreme humanitarian crisis, which allow all organizations, local and foreign, to assist displaced people", says to Agenzia Fides Joseph Kung, a lay Catholic from Yangon, head of a private university institute, interpreting the feelings and desires of Catholics and many other citizens of other confessions, in the country tormented by an internal conflict between the army and the Popular Defense Forces (PDF), born in the aftermath of the coup.
Currently, he notes, there is an urgent need "to alleviate the suffering of the millions of people who, in many areas of the country, have been forced to flee their homes and seek precarious shelters".

Cairo (Agenzia Fides) - Homosexual behavior does not conform to the Bible and to the creative will of God, who «created Adam and Eve». This was reiterated by Coptic Orthodox Patriarch Tawadros II, in an Egyptian television interview, Pope Tawadros also referred to specific programs introduced in kindergartens and primary schools that belong to the Coptic Church to raise boys and girls and protect them from theories and theses considered ambiguous and not compliant with the Bible regarding issues related to the relationship between the sexes and sexual orientation.

Ishtiaq Saleem is accused of posting pictures of the Prophet Mohammad’s name in Arabic tattooed on his body. Upon his arrest, he was beaten. His wife proclaims his innocence, saying that he is illiterate and the victim of a "conspiracy" based on religion. Pakistan’s electronic crimes law as well as blasphemy legislation are used to target religious minorities.