
Pope Benedict XVI released his message for the 25th World Youth Day celebration on Monday. He invites the young people of the world to realize their vocations and, instead of turning away disappointed as the young rich man in Mark's Gospel, to follow Jesus with courage.

US President Barack Obama’s former elementary school in South Jakarta is working hard to give him a warm welcome should he visit the school during his March 20-22 trip to Indonesia.

A Catholic youth group in Jakarta archdiocese has launched a nine-month-long campaign to stress the importance of chastity to other young people.

A Catholic university based in Semarang, Central Java, is working together with the national anti-corruption commission in drafting an anti-graft curriculum to be taught in all elementary and junior high schools in Indonesia.

The survey results were presented at the CBCI’S ongoing biennial plenary in Guwahati, Assam, where 163 bishops from India’s 164 dioceses are in attendance.Some 40 youth delegates attended the first two days of the Feb. 24-March 3 assembly which has adopted “Youth for peace and harmony” as its main theme.

The present proposed tax rate of 5.11 percent may be adjusted upward, the MCC added, because once the principle of tuition taxation is conceded there is nothing preventing its increase. An eight percent tax on tuition of $3,000 would cost parents an additional $240 in taxes.

Benedict XVI is encouraging young people to live Lent with a truly penitential spirit, as a return to the Father.

The Lakal Pa Nou School, located in Pichon, Haiti, has 280 students in grades 1 to 6. With no electricity or plumbing, the four one-story buildings are characteristic of the hardscrabble life students face each day.
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