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Hekima Review No. 58 (May 2018)
In October this year, the Church gathered in Rome for the “Synod on Youth.” In the Preparatory Document released last year ahead of the Synod, “Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment,” Pope Francis points out two goals at the heart of the Synod. First, accompaniment – to help the church “examine herself on how she can lead young people to accept the call to fullness of life and love;” and second, renewal - “to ask young people to help her in identifying the most effective ways to announce the good news today.”
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Hekima Review No. 57 (Dec 2017)
Regarded as an engine of human history, migration is as old as the human species. Migration continues to have far-reaching consequences in our contemporary society. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) 2014 report, the number of people living outside their country of origin worldwide has exponentially increased from 150 million in 2000 to 214 million in 2014. The IOM report has extrapolated that by 2050, the figure could rise to as much as 405 million.
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Hekima Review No. 56 (May 2017)
The technological advancement in our world today has a big impact on the human person. While technological development has contributed immensely to the development of human life, its danger is tethered on the freedom with which people use their reason in their encounter with faith. To protect human freedom against the dangers posed to it by technology, a proper relationship between faith and reason should be developed. The limits of human freedom can be measured in the dialogue between faith and reason. The danger of technology is attributed to the separation of faith from reason. By separating itself from faith, Pope Benedict XVI argues, reason cannot fully grasp fundamental questions, such as “the question of God” and, subsequently, “the questions and the end of being itself.”
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Hekima Review No. 55 (Dec 2016)
It is no surprise that the Catholic Church takes family seriously, for the family is the foundation of society. The family is the basic Christian unit for us Christians. As such the formation of the family (from marriage to a long-lasting mission in the world and the Church) needs to be understood carefully to permeate a climate of building truly the Church. We all come from families and we are shaped by them. Needless to say, separation entails us to long to belong more and more.
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Hekima Review No. 54 (May 2016)
The image of the door has marked some important events since the opening of the Jubilee Year of Mercy. A door represents various actions. We open a door, we close it, we go through it, and people enter through a door. Opening a door is a task that can be easy, but at times difficult. The difficulty may come from the fear of the unknown, the stranger, the enemy. The apprehension of what we may encounter through the opening of the door hinges on our refusal to let others in. Which doors need to be opened? How far do we refuse to open them? Reflecting on the simple gesture of opening the door may lead us to reconsider and re-examine our attitudes as Christians or as believers.
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Hekima Review No. 53 (Dec 2015)
On 12th December 2015, 195 countries adopted a universal, legally binding climate change agreement in Paris, France. The purpose of the Paris Agreement is to provide an action plan that will help enhance the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) by limiting global average temperatures to below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, with a further aim of limiting the increase to 1, 5 degrees Celsius. Key among the elements of the Paris Agreement are mitigation measures to reduce emissions, with countries submitting comprehensive national climate action plans known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), that detail each country’s “ambitious” contributions towards achieving the goal of reducing emissions. The Paris Agreement will govern emission reductions from 2020, the year in which it will enter into force. However, for it to enter into force, it will require ratification by 55 countries that together account for at least 55% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
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Hekima Review No. 52 (May 2015)
The fundamental mission of the Church is to evangelize. The Church evangelizes “when it seeks to convert, solely through the divine power of the message which it proclaims, both the personal and collective consciences of people, the activities in which they engage, and lives and concrete milieus which are theirs.” While aware of its mission, the Church is also conscious of the diversity and specificity of the contexts within which it carries out this mission. This diversity and specificity accords the One and Catholic Church different characteristics proper to the different regions of the world where it carries out its mission. This legitimate diversity is a feature that was also present in the early stages of the Church, hence Paul’s letters to the Church in Thessalonica, to the Church in Corinth, to the Church in Galatia, to the Church in Rome, and so forth; a recognition of the diversity of these local churches within the Universal Church. Today, we can thus legitimately speak of the Church in Europe, the Church in Asia, the Church in America, and the Church in Africa.
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Hekima Review No. 51 (Dec 2014)
Security is a word that we hear almost daily, indicating how central it is in our lives. As put by the prophet Isaiah, the Lord always desires his people to be in peace, “My people will live in peaceful country, in secure dwellings and quiet resting places.” (Isaiah 32:18.) This wish is fulfilled through the efforts of all. “No man is built up by wickedness, but the root of the just will never be disturbed.” (Prov. 12:3). Human
security: a Theological and Peace Perspective is a move to building up roots of justice and security in today’s society. The search for and promotion of human security is the responsibility of every human person. The struggle for human security is for everyone because everyone deserves it. It is not a matter of give and take but rather a give without counting the cost. Aware now more than ever human security means much more than the absence of conflict. Inspired by the day-to-day realities that are affecting individuals, groups of persons, societies, nations, and races we reflect on the reality of human security. What in this world is promoting this important aspect of human beings and what is diminishing or affecting it negatively? -
Hekima Review No. 50 (May 2014)
Lumen Gentium 11, describes the family as a domestic church. This description, in a big way, puts the family at the center of the day-to-day Christian activity. It is not easy to tell whether this important reality of the contemporary Church is in crisis or progress as each person will be judging it based on what one believes or on the trend one leans on. The liberals’ ideas will definitely differ from those of the conservatives. However, each of them is entitled to their opinion as the teaching of the Church is there to guide regardless of the trend one takes.
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Hekima Review No. 49 (Dec 2013)
The Year of Faith came to a close on 24th November 2013. It is now time to nurture the fruits the Church has received during the year, on both personal and community levels. The Year of Faith afforded Catholics an opportunity to deepen their understanding and living out of the faith, as well as share that faith with others. During the Mass to close the Year of Faith, Pope Francis invited Christians to have Christ at the center of their lives, so that their thoughts and actions would be truly Christian. In this way, everything about the life of Christians has to find inspiration from the person of Jesus Christ. From this background, the theme for this edition of Hekima Review sought to investigate three of the most influential institutions in a Christian’s life: Church, Media, and Politics.