VATICAN (SE) The world does not just need a brain drip, but the brain needs a good and complete wash, the governor of California in the United States of America (US), Jerry Brown, maintained at a gathering held in the Vatican on November 4.
 
He pointed to the need to slow the devastation being caused by climate change, stressing that society cannot simply rely only on science and technology, but must begin to accept the need for more transformational approaches.
 

HONG KONG (SE): To mark the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, the Commission of Episcopal Conferences in the European Union held a gathering in the Eternal City from October 27 to 29, the final day of which included an audience with Pope Francis.
 
Meeting under the theme of Rethinking Europe, the bishops chose the anniversary for their gathering because they believe that the treaty that was signed in 1957 marked the beginning of the integration process which finally lead to the formation of the European Union.

VATICAN (SE): The Church’s Book of Statistics published by the Vatican for 2015 shows that the global Catholic population has now grown to 1.284 billion, or 17.7 per cent of the total number of people in the world.
 
This represents a 12.5 million year on year increase compared with 2014. The statistics, published by Fides on October 22 to mark World Mission Day, show North and South America with the largest number of Catholics at 625 million, or 63.6 per cent of the 982 million population.
 

VIENNA (SE): The secretary of the Bishops’ Commission for the Pan-Amazon Region of Brazil, Austrian-born Bishop Erwin Kräutler, is making a strong push for a married priesthood and women deacons in his preparation for a 2019 Synod of Bishops called by Pope Francis to study the Pan-Amazon situation.
 

WASHINGTON (SE): Advocates for persecuted Christians and minorities in the Middle East received unexpected tidings straight from the mouth of the vice president of the United States of America (US), Mike Pence, on October 25.
 
Pence informed a Christian solidarity group that from now on all US aid going to the Middle East would be channelled through non-government agencies for the support of persecuted Christians.
 

HONG KONG (SE): The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons was announced as the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Peace for 2017 by the Nobel Committee in Oslo on October 6.
 
What grew out of a small group of people in Melbourne, Australia, some 10 years ago, has now mushroomed into a coalition of non-government organisations in over 100 countries.
 

MANILA (UCAN): Caritas Philippines has launched an appeal for the restoration of the destroyed St. Mary’s Cathedral in Marawi, which was the first building to be attacked by the Maute Group when its militia took over the city on May 23 this year.
 
Father Edwin Gariguez, the secretary of Caritas in Manila, is placing a high importance on the restoration of the cathedral, as it is an important Catholic symbol in the predominately Muslim city on the southern island of Mindanao.
 

NEW DEHLI (UCAN): The Catholic Bishops Conference of India released its Guidelines to Deal with Sexual Harassment at the Workplace, the first such initiative, in New Delhi on September 14. The Council for Women of the bishops’ conference framed the guidelines.
 
Apart from Church institutions, all dioceses, parishes and religious congregations are to institute complaints committees to which a case of sexual harassment can be reported.
 

ROME (SE): A bishop in Spain issued a public apology after a parish priest allowed the local Hindu community to carry an image of the Hindu god with an elephant head, Ganesh, in a procession at the church.
 
The priest who allowed the procession to take place subsequently offered his resignation as the vicar general of the diocese. It was accepted.
 
On August 20, the Hindu community of Ceuta and Melilla, two autonomous Spanish communities located on the coast of North Africa, visited the church of Our Lady of Africa.

DOHA (AsiaNews): Qatar passed a law on August 22 attributing industrial rights to migrant workers, including domestic staff, stipulating a maximum 10-hour day, monthly payment of salary, a whole day off each week and a three-week vacation each year.
 
At the termination of employment or contract, three weeks salary is to be paid for each year of service completed. It also prohibits the employment of anyone over 60 or under 18.