News

• 5 April 2011
  ASIA/PAKISTAN - Christian threatened and accused of blasphemy, forced into hiding Mardan (Agenzia Fides) – “Convert or die”. Masih Gill, Christian from the city of Mardan, in the province of “Khyber Pakhtunkhwa” (Northern Pakistan), was threatened with these words by a group of Muslims with ...
• 5 April 2011
  AFRICA/CÔTE D'IVOIRE - Serious battle in the centre of Abidjan, while at the city's port, the parish priest works towards peace Abidjan (Agenzia Fides) - “The battle rages in the centre of Abidjan. Shots from canons and guns have continued all through the night and this morning,” local sources from the Church tell Fides from Abidjan, the econ ...
• 5 April 2011
  EUROPE/ITALY - 26 June: Beatification of Fr Clemente Vismara, PIME missionary, “Patriarch of Burma” Milan (Agenzia Fides) – The Beatification of Father Clemente Vismara, PIME (Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions), will be celebrated in Piazza del Duomo in Milan, Sunday, 26 June. He is known as the “Patriarch ...
• 5 April 2011
  ASIA/PAKISTAN - A Hindu or a Christian in Parliament? Controversy about the vacant seat of Shahbaz Bhatti Islamabad (Agenzia Fides) – There is current controversy about who will occupy the seat left vacant in the Pakistani Parliament by Shahbaz Bhatti, the Minister for Minorities that was killed a month ago. The seat is re ...
• 5 April 2011
  ASIA/CHINA - The Diocese of Han Dan celebrates six new priests Han Dan (Agenzia Fides) – More than 1,800 faithful witnessed the great moment when six priests were ordained in the Diocese of Han Dan, celebrated on the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, 25 March. According ...
• 5 April 2011
  AFRICA/SOMALIA - Instances of AWD on the rise in children in Mogadishu Mogadishu (Agenzia Fides) – Up to 30 children suffering from acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) are treated daily at the Banadir Hospital in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia, medical staff told IRIN. Although the exact number o ...
• 5 April 2011
  AFRICA/GHANA - Appointment of Bishop of Navrongo-Bolgatanga Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – The Holy Father Benedict XVI, on 5 April 2011, appointed as Bishop of the Diocese of Navrongo-Bolgatanga (Ghana), Fr Alfred Agyenta, from the clergy of Navrongo-Bolgatanga, Professor at t ...
• 5 April 2011
  AMERICA/MEXICO - Suicide risks for youth between 15 and 29 years: alarm raised by Cardinal of Mexico City Mexico City (Agenzia Fides) – Cases of suicide continue to rise among youth in Mexico. The alarm was raised by the Cardinal Archbishop of Mexico City, Norberto Rivera Carrera. The cardinal spoke to 2,000 young people ...
• 5 April 2011
  AMERICA/ARGENTINA - Catholic Action: 80 years serving evangelisation in all its forms Buenos Aires (Agenzia Fides) – Catholic Action Argentina (CAA), celebrates today, 5 April, its 80 year anniversary in the Country, reaffirming “its continuing commitment to contributing to the common good in concrete ...
• 5 April 2011
  AMERICA/MEXICO - “The trafficking of migrants, criminal omission”; the Church denounces the lack of preventive action Mexico (Agenzia Fides) – The Catholic Church in Mexico reported that the profit that organised crime derives from trafficking Mexicans into the United States, outrages and scandalises Mexican society. Antonio Mazzitell ...
• 4 April 2011
  ASIA/INDIA - Campaign by Christian organisations to defend expelled missionary Mumbai (Agenzia Fides) – Fr Jim Borst is a Catholic missionary who has been working for nearly 50 years on human development for the people of Kashmir. The accusations against him (based on 'conversions') are entirely ...
• 4 April 2011
  AFRICA/LIBYA - “Strengthen the will for peace” says Apostolic Vicar of Tripoli, who adds: “the Church appeals for mediation” Tripoli (Agenzia Fides) - “There haven't been any bombs in Tripoli for two days. The situation is dire due to the lack of food and petrol but at least things are a bit calmer. Perhaps they realised that however much th ...
• 4 April 2011
  ASIA/CHINA - the Diocese of Le Shan takes a Christian formation course into the Tibetan zone Le Shan (Agenzia Fides) – The 57 faithful Tibetans in the autonomous area of Tibet from the province of Si Chuan were able to participate in a 13 day Christian formation course which just concluded, fighting the bitte ...
• 4 April 2011
  AFRICA/CÔTE D'IVOIRE - “A disquieting calm reigns, just like before the storm,” the Archbishop of Abidjan tells Fides Abidjan (Agenzia Fides) - “The situation is calm in the sense that the shootings have reduced, but it is a disquieting calm, not at all reassuring. It is very tense. The people are barricaded in their homes. In some di ...
• 4 April 2011
  ASIA/NORTH KOREA - An NGO coalition seeks a “permanent humanitarian channel” between South and North Korea Seoul (Agenzia Fides) – Some hope is rising for relations between North and South Korea. In recent days the Government in Seoul authorised lifting the block on the first load of humanitarian aid prepared by charity org ...