The Vatican confirmed on September 13 that Pope Francis will travel to Thailand and Japan in November with stops scheduled in Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Pope Francis will visit Thailand on Nov. 20-23 in commemoration of the 350th anniversary of the Vatican Mission to Siam in 1669. The Pope will then travel on Nov. 23-26 to Japan, where the theme of his visit is “Protect all life.” In recent years, the Church has been working in Japan to respond to life issues and protect the most vulnerable. The Holy See Press Office said that the trip’s motto “protect all life” not only applies to respect for all human dignity, but also extends to the environment.

“In Japan today as well there are a pile of problems related to life and peace, in addition to the issues of economy, environment and relations with neighbouring countries. Moreover, recovery from natural catastrophes and nuclear plant accidents remain as persisting problems,” according to the Vatican statement.

The papal trip to Japan has been much anticipated after Pope Francis told journalists in January he was planning to travel to the country. AP reported on Sept. 13 that Pope Francis will meet with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the Japanese Emperor Naruhito during his visit to the country. Catholics in Japan make up less than 0.5% of the country’s population. Christianity was first introduced to Japan in the 16th century by Catholic missionaries, most notably St Francis Xavier. In the years that followed the Catholics in Japan suffered many waves of fierce persecutions with hundreds martyred, including 26 canonized saints who were executed by crucifixion in 1597 in Nagasaki.

More than one thousand people attended the civil inauguration ceremony of the new St Francis Xavier Church, Salalah, which is located around ten minutes from the City Centre, Oman, on Sept 7.

Most of the parishioners comprise of Indian and Filipinos migrant Catholics.

The new church, which took around 18 months to complete, has a seating capacity of 600 people, and it also has a balcony with a view to the main altar and a multipurpose hall, thus bringing the total seating capacity of 1000 people.

Dignitaries present at the celebration included the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Francisco Padilla, and His Excellency Ahmed Khamis Masood Al Bahri, Director of the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs.

The Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia, Bishop Paul Hinder OFM Cap was responsible for the Catholics in the UAE, Oman and Yemen, and several priests and religious sisters of the Vicariate were also present at the event.

Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla on September 9 welcomed some inter-religious figures from Myanmar at his office in Jakarta, and held a discussion on tolerance, harmony, and situation of interfaith people in both countries.

The event was held through cooperation between the government and the Indonesia Inter-Religious Council (IRC) initiated by Din Syamsuddin, a national Muslim figure.

“The delegations of Myanmar’s inter-religious figures were here to share their views on how Indonesia maintains inter-faith harmony,” Syamsuddin remarked.

According to Syamsuddin, the vice president had highlighted Indonesia’s founding principles of Pancasila and Bhineka Tunggal Ika, an old Javanese termed translated as “Unity in Diversity,” the official national motto of Indonesia.

They have helped people lead a harmonious existence. Furthermore, religious moderation is expected to serve as a reference for other countries home to different religions.

Leader of Myanmar’s delegations Cardinal Charles Bo lauded the meeting and expressed the hope of taking a cue from Indonesia on equality among people of different faiths.

“We have seen a wide body of experience on how this Muslim-majority nation upholds equality without any discrimination,” Cardinal Bo remarked.

For the past two decades, Abdul Rehman has been telling stories of St Thomas the Apostle’s visit to the Sirkaparchaeological site in Punjab province.

“Christian pilgrims, pastors, priests, foreign tourists and students of history are among the top visitors,” said the 47-year-old tour guide. “These also include many Muslims who claim to have had their prayers answered. However none of them will proclaim this publicly.”

According to tradition, St Thomas passed through Taxila on his way to India and preached at the court of King Gondophares. An early third-century Syriac work known as the Acts of Thomas, discovered in 1822 in Syria, says the king gave some money to the saint and ordered him to build a royal palace.

Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Virgilio do Carmo da Silva of Dili as Timor-Leste’s first archbishop, 17 years after the country gained independence.

The announcement was made on Sept. 11 by Archbishop Joseph Salvador Marino, apostolic nuncio to Malaysia and Timor-Leste, during a Mass to commemorate the visit by Pope St John Paul II to Dili 30 years ago.

Timor-Leste has three dioces-es — Dili, Baucau and Maliana — with a total population of 1.3 million, of whom 97 percent are Catholics.

“I am proud to inform you that Pope Francis has elevated the status of Dili to an archdiocese,” Archbishop Marino said. “The Pope also has chosen Bishop Virgilio do Carmo da Silva as its first archbishop.”

Archbishop Marino said the new archdiocese and archbishop status symbolize the Holy See’s trust in the Timor-Leste Church.

Archbishop da Silva thanked Pope Francis for his trust in the local Church. “Let us use this initiative to unite and consolidate Catholics in Timor-Leste to grow more in faith,” he said.

A Japanese team has launched a massive operation in the wilderness of Nagaland to trace for the mortal remains of Japanese soldiers, who died during the World War-II.

According to a Deccan Herald report, the team of Japan Association for Recovery & Repatriation of War Casualties (JARRWC) has launched this ambitious 10 days search operation.

The report also stated that led by Kazuhiko Furumoto held a meeting with the officials of Nagaland government in Kohima on Sept.11 and requested support and security to the mission.

Meanwhile, a statement issued by the Nagaland government on Sept 12 stated that the team will first visit villages like Jotsoma, Kigwema and Rusoma in Kohima district.

There is specific information about presence of mortal remains of Japanese war martyrs at these places.

The statement further read: “They will first try to collect information by interviewing informants who could provide vital clues on the location of the remains of the Japanese war martyrs. Besides that, field investigation of burial sites will be done based on the information collected in research activities so as to confirm the burial condition of the remains under the ground by excavating the soil surface at the site where the excavated site will be reburied.”

They will later visit Yikhum village under Wokha district, Chakhabama in Kohima district and Jessami under Phek district.