News

• 31 January 2025
  ASIA/MYANMAR - Four years after the coup: prayer and charity in the face of violence, hunger and displacement Yangon (Agenzia Fides) - "Catholics hope that the state of emergency will not be extended and pray for justice and peace," Joseph Kung, a Catholic from Yangon who works in the National Human Rights Commission, told Fides ...
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  31 January 2025
  AFRICA/DR CONGO - Without electricity and water: Catholic parish in Goma welcomes 2000 displaced people Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - "The greatest danger for the population of Goma is the so-called 'Wazalendo' militiamen," local church observers told Fides about the situation in the capital of the Congolese province of North ...
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  30 January 2025
  ASIA/PAKISTAN - Blasphemy law becomes a trap and a business: accusations organized for the purpose of blackmail and extortion Islamabad (Agenzia Fides) - There is a criminal group that makes a business out of framing innocent people with false accusations of blasphemy. The organization uses the blasphemy law as a trap and as a business for blac ...
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  30 January 2025
  AMERICA/COLOMBIA - Catatumbo: Humanitarian aid corridor established and state of emergency declared Tibú (Agenzia Fides) - The wave of violence, mainly due to the control of international cocaine trafficking in the Catatumbo region, has led President Gustavo Petro to declare a state of emergency and deploy the army. ...
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  30 January 2025
  AFRICA/DR CONGO - “Foreigners leave Bukavu: fears of advance of the M23 rebel movement on the capital of South Kivu province” Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - “In Bukavu, foreigners are fleeing,” missionaries from the capital of the Congolese province of South Kivu tell Fides. “The various embassies in Kinshasa have ordered their compatriots to ...
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  29 January 2025
  ASIA/INDIA - Bishop of Manipur: "The situation is polarized: we need peacemakers" Imphal (Agenzia Fides) - "There is less violence in Manipur today than a year ago, thanks to the massive presence of the Indian armed forces: more than 70,000 soldiers are deployed in all the buffer zones that separate t ...
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  29 January 2025
  VATICAN/GENERAL AUDIENCE - Pope Francis: Saint Joseph, the man who “trusts in God.” Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – “Factores Verbi”, that is, he who “puts the Word of God into practice”, “translating it into deeds, flesh, life”. This expression, coined by the apostle James in his letter, w ...
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  29 January 2025
  AFRICA/DR CONGO - "Did the flight of the military leadership facilitate the capture of Goma?" Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - "In Goma there are 2 million people in need," local Church sources, who asked not to be named for security reasons, told Fides. "At least a million of them are displaced from other areas of Nor ...
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  29 January 2025
  AMERICA/COLOMBIA - Catatumbo: Bishop of Tibú wants to maintain hope for a better future Tibú (Agenzia Fides) - In less than a week, violent clashes between members of the National Liberation Army (ELN) and dissident groups of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in the Catatumbo region, ...
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  28 January 2025
  ASIA/MYANMAR - A missionary community in times of war: the Church of Yangon in synod, with its eyes turned towards suffering humanity Yangon (Agenzia Fides) - Building an authentically synodal community, which walks with Christ towards wounded humanity, and authentically missionary, capable of proclaiming the Gospel and bringing consolation in the diff ...
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  28 January 2025
  AFRICA/CENTRAL AFRICA - "Simplicity and poverty": the words that extend Christmas to the rest of the year in Monasao Monasao (Agenzia Fides) - In Central Africa, the month of December was marked by a series of important celebrations, such as Republic Day (December 1st) and, for the Christian community, Christmas and New Year celebratio ...
• 28 January 2025
  AFRICA/TANZANIA - Resignation and appointment of the Bishop of Iringa Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Iringa, Tanzania, presented by Bishop Tarcisius Ngalalekumtwa. The Holy Father has appointed the Reve ...
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  28 January 2025
  AFRICA/DR CONGO - Bishop of Goma: "The neonatal ward at the Charité Maternelle General Hospital is affected by fighting" Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - Fighting continues in Goma, the capital of North Kivu, which the M23 rebels took over between Sunday 26 and Monday 27 January (see Fides, 27/1/2025). The M23 forces are encountering resistance ...
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  28 January 2025
  AMERICA/USA - The Franciscans martyred because they refused to approve polygamy will be beatified Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - They refused to approve the practice of polygamy among baptized Native Americans. For this they became martyrs. Four centuries after the events of 1597 in the coastal villages of Georgia, P ...
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  27 January 2025
  ASIA/PHILIPPINES - A cap on the price of rice: the government's measure to prevent speculation Manila (Agenzia Fides) - In an effort to curb the rise in rice prices, the Manila government has set a limit of 58 pesos per kilogram for imported rice, after carrying out "extensive consultations" with importers, retail ...