Voices from Asia with a Catholic perspective

What today’s Gospel underlines is God will not be imprisoned by human laws, conventions or constraints. God and God’s spirit at work in us “can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. Hypocrites are those who invoke the name of God and then contain God’s work by the limitations that human restraints place on it. What are we to do? Open ourselves to God and pray “Come Lord Jesus!”

Sometimes, being a Christian means going against doing what comes naturally. The whole world does what comes naturally, and that is why it needs salvation.

A brave Filipino journalist has won the Nobel Peace Prize in a world of shrinking press freedom. Asian nations are confronting natural disasters, oppressive regimes and extremist forces.  These and more this week.

We are caught in a whirlwind of change. New realities call for new responses, but where are hints of how to go about them? Perhaps looking at the past will help us move toward the future. But, when we look to the past, what should we hope to learn? Past answers may have been good for past situations, but they can only help us deal with present situations if we view them as process rather than program. Father William Grimm, who lives in Japan,  shares some thoughts on this.

With 132 million people aged between 15-33, Pakistan is the fifth largest young country in the world. The Muslim-majority nation also has the second-largest youth population in South Asia after India. However, young people from religious minorities, such as Christians and Hindus, face social discrimination. They have fewer opportunities for education, jobs, and to develop their talents. Organizations like Youth Development Foundation or YDF attempt to bridge this gap through collaborative programs. Shahid Rehmat, YDF, Executive Director in conversation with Kamran Chaudhary.