Pope Christmas message
Pope Benedict the 16th has called for an end to the bloodshed in Syria
and urged China's new leadership to respect religious freedoms.The Pope
read out his annual Christmas message on Tuesday to Roman Catholics
gathered in Saint Peter's Square in the Vatican. The pontiff said the
conflict in Syria is costing innocent lives and appealed for dialogue
between President Bashar al-Assad's government and anti-government
groups to seek a political solution. He urged China's new leader Xi
Jinping and his government to value the contribution of religion in a
way that can help build a fraternal society. The Holy See has been
expressing concern over China's suppression of religious freedom for
Catholics and does not have diplomatic relations with the country.Media
agencies
Save Dissent to Save Democracy THE rising instances of physical violence and threats against political opponents and the inability to accept dissent must raise huge concerns amongst all of us who see democracy as perhaps the really stellar achievement since Independence. AAP’s attack on BJP headquarters and acts of arson committed under the very noses of their elite leadership; the attacks on Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia in Gujarat in the last two days; the recent manhandling of the caretaker of journalist Siddharth Varadarajan’s house by some garden variety thugs; and the violence and threats meted out regularly to their political opponents by political parties is surely deplorable and condemnable. This is a fatally flawed trend which will destroy the very foundations of our democratic institutions if not pushed back with all the strength and condemnation that the civil society can mobilise. Replaying the past To begin with, it must be clarified that we should ...
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