Earth matters more than moon

L’Osservatore Romano in a front-page op-ed commented on the unmanned lunar landing of a spacecraft built by an American private company, saying that what happens on Earth is more important.

“According to Save the Children, for example, every day around 29,000 children are forced to leave their homes in the 10 worst global crisis scenarios, for a total of over 10.5 million in 2023 alone. The African continent is the area with the greatest number of minors in war contexts, while the Middle East, even before the ongoing conflict in Gaza, recorded the highest percentage, equal to one child in three. Not to mention Ukraine which, due to the conflict that exploded two years ago, has experienced the fastest displacement crisis in Europe since World War II.”

The light of Jesus

Pope Francis, on the second Sunday of Lent, spoke of the light of Jesus:

“Here is a good resolution for Lent: cultivate open gazes, become ‘seekers of light’, seekers of the light of Jesus, in prayer and in people. …In my journey, do I keep my eyes fixed on Christ who accompanies me? And to do this, do I make room for silence, prayer and adoration? Do I seek out every little ray of Jesus’s light, which is reflected in me and in every brother and sister I encounter? And do I remember to thank the Lord for this? Here is the message: never divert your eyes from the light of Jesus.”

Bishop defends migrants centre

Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas, has strongly defended Church efforts to help migrants. The bishop was reacting against the lawsuit brought by the State’s attorney general against a Catholic shelter. He said the Church owes this centre a deep debt of gratitude.

Seitz added that the effort by Catholic institutions to bring relief to migrants is a necessary response to “federal neglect to provide a safe, orderly and humane response to migration at our southern border”.

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)