NEWS

Calcutta: Hindu, Buddhists and Christian students together recite the "Our Father" daily. This prayer is accepted and said devoutly before class in St Mary's school, Payong in W. Bengal. The school is held in great esteem by the public for its academic standard and its good discipline. Students of different faiths are happy to recite the "our Father" together, says Sr Cecilia Beena.

The Vatican: The Holy Father has exhorted the youth to spread the Good News of Jesus among their friends and their milieu. They should not confine their activitied to the parish but become examples to the society they live in. Young people should become friends, to those who are deprived of friendship, family relationships and fellowship. This is their mission.

The Holy Father gave this message to a group of young people who visited him in connection with the World Youth Day to be celebrated on July 6th. The chief aim of youth is freedom. If freedom is opposed to the truth and militates against it, it is dangerous, warned the Pope.

The Vatican: Pope John Paul II has stated that the importance of the Bible in the process of re-evangelisation is indispensable. The immediate attention of the Church authoities should be focussed on those whose faith has not been strengthened by the richness of the word of God.

Also, every effort should be made to let the word of God enter the hearts of the people through Proclamation, Catechesis and the Liturgy. The Pope stressed these points while addressing the Bishops of Italy during the month of May. While encouraging the study of the Bible, care should be taken not to interpret the Bible in a literal, sentimental or incorrect manner, the Pope pointed out.

Bangalore: A number of sisters from various religious congregations in Bangalore collaborated with doctors to nurse those who suffered severe burns in a fire. 200 persons were killed and 500 suffered burns in a fire that broke out in February in Bangalore.

Seeing that treatment and care were given to all the victims without discrimination, they asked, "Why should you, who are Christians, nurse us, Hindus?" Sr Lily of St Ann's says, "I couldn't open my mouth for two days. It is the first time that I saw such a great disaster. Those who came to us for relief were not Hindus or Christians but human beings, human beings writhing in agony. There was no other reason why we went forward to nurse them. It was an unforgettable experience for which we can never be sufficiently grateful."