Stories of finding God in the midst of suffering
The Focolare Movement’s New Families event saw people sharing how they found God in difficult situations
A singing session during the Focolare Movement’s New Families celebration on March 18.
A young, pregnant woman overcame suicidal thoughts after her husband left her alone in a foreign land. A couple facing financial difficulty put God first in their lives and experienced numerous blessings.
These were some of the personal experiences shared during the Focolare Movement’s New Families event on March 18.
More than 130 people, including children, teenagers and adults, gathered at Agape Village to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the New Families branch of the Focolare Movement. The event also commemorated the nine years since Focolare founder Chiara Lubich passed away.
Read more ...
Asian Catholic journalists learn about ‘fake news’
Catholic journalists from Asia recently attended a special meeting for communicators held in Kuala Lumpur
Participants listen as Mr Alan John, former deputy editor of The Straits Times, speaks at the SIGNIS meeting. Photo: SIGNIS
You may have read it somewhere, but it is untrue. Reports such as that of a Singapore food stall selling plastic rice, and Pope Francis endorsing Mr Donald Trump as president of the United States.
The blitz of these reports, commonly known as “fake news”, affects readers across the world. In some cases, journalists made mistakes. Other reports were deliberately crafted by opportunists.
“Once the false news has gone out, not many people bother with the correction. They still remember the first version,” said Mr Alan John, former deputy editor of The Straits Times.
Learning best practices from other preschools

Dr Jacqueline Chung sharing about St James’ Church Kindergartens with Catholic preschool educators.
One hundred educators from various Catholic preschools went on a learning journey during the March school holidays to St James’ Church Kindergartens (Leedon, Harding and Gilstead) and The Caterpillar’s Cove Child Development and Study Centre.
The Archdiocesan Commission for Catholic Schools (ACCS) organised the visits, the first time such visits were conducted outside the 19 Catholic preschools in the archdiocese.
St James’ Church Kindergartens are reputable Anglican preschools known for their child-centred hands-on activities. Dr Jacqueline Chung, director of the three preschools, shared with the visitors the schools’ best practices.
Star of the Sea parishioners walk for church renovations

Participants doing warm-up exercises before embarking on a 7.3-km walk.
More than 150 parishioners and friends from the Church of Our Lady Star of The Sea took part in a walkathon to raise funds for the church’s renovations.
The March 11 event saw young and old chatting and laughing on a sunny morning as they walked 7.3 km from the church to scenic Seletar dam and back.
Participants looked out for each other as they crossed traffic junctions and used pedestrian crossings. One participant even brought along pet dogs.