News

• 25 June 2010
  OCEANIA/AUSTRALIA - Appeal to new government: illegal immigrants must not be demonised or used as “ political capital” Sydney (Agenzia Fides) - In Australia on the occasion of the closing of a National Week for Refugees, Catholic realities, human rights activists and organisation and agencies for refugees appealed to the new prime minist ...
• 24 June 2010
  AFRICA - Disjointed economic growth benefits only a small minority Rome (Agenzia Fides)- “It is unquestionably true that Africa is growing, but also that it lacks the policies to turn this growth into financial policies which will promote the prosperity of the people ” Fides learne ...
• 24 June 2010
  AFRICA/D. R. CONGO - Caritas Goma runs programmes for victims of a “forgotten war” in eastern Congo Goma (Agenzia Fides)- The silent victims of “forgotten wars” are mainly women and children. This is the case of women in north Kivu, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where bands of armed men, local an ...
• 24 June 2010
  ASIA/CHINA - Churches, convents and homes under water but the faithful remain strong in faith and hope: 27 June Day of Prayer Shi Jia Zhuang (Agenzia Fides) – Due to burst dams in southern China because of torrential rains on 13 June in 10 provinces of China, churches, chapels, mission stations and other places of worship as well as homes, ar ...
• 24 June 2010
  ASIA/HOLY LAND - “Learning today how to change tomorrow ”: Arab and Israeli pupils attend “special” school together Jerusalem (Agenzia Fides) - Pupils at “Hand in Hand” schools Arabs and Israelis and they study in both languages. These special schools are for Israelis and Arabs, the latter being Muslims and Christians. A most unus ...
• 24 June 2010
  ASIA/PAKISTAN - Violence against Christians on the increase: Bishops of Pakistan issue latest “Report on Religious Minorities” Lahore (Agenzia Fides) – The trend of violence against Christian communities “increased in 2009-2010”, the blasphemy law is a “sword of Damocles over minorities”; religious freedom “is reduced to a myth”, a ...
• 24 June 2010
  ASIA/TURKEY - The Divine Mysteries will be celebrated at Sumela Monastery, usually closed for worship Trabzon (Agenzia Fides) – The historical Sumela Monastery, located in the north of Turkey, will be opened for one-day worship on August 15. The monastery, which stands at the foot of a steep cliff facing the Altindere ...
• 24 June 2010
  ASIA/TURKEY - The death of Mgr. Padovese is a call for unity in the Church and among all Christians Iskenderun (Agenzia Fides) – “The tragic event of the death of Mgr Padovese represents for the Catholic Church in Turkey a call for unity and to overcome fragmentation. It is call to intensify the spirit of ecumenism ...
• 24 June 2010
  AMERICA/BRAZIL - Aid for victims of torrential rains, Caritas launches national campaign Alagoas (Agenzia Fides) – The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Brazil CNBB informed Fides that Caritas Brazil, region north-east 2, has launched a campaign SOS Pernambuco e Alagoas, to aid victims of torrential rains in ...
• 24 June 2010
  AMERICA/BRAZIL - Human trafficking: the local Church's “ constant and ongoing ” concern Brasilia (Agenzia Fides) – The Commission for Pastoral Care of Human Mobility of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Brazil (CNBB), in collaboration with the National Secretariat for Justice of the Ministry of Justice ...
• 24 June 2010
  AMERICA/BOLIVIA - First Mission Congress for Seminarians: "fruit of increased missionary awareness in our local Church ” Cochabamba (Agenzia Fides) – Archbishop Jesús Pérez, Archbishop of Sucre, commenting Bolivia's First Mission Congress for Seminarians (see Fides 19/06/2010), shared with Fides his joy and enthusiasm for the pre ...
• 24 June 2010
  OCEANIA/MICRONESIA - At the academic centre run by Mercedarian Missionary Sisters on the Island of Pohnpei, besides lessons the pupils experience service Pohnpei (Agenzia Fides) - For many years Mercedarian Missionary Sisters of Bérriz have borne witness to Christ among the young people on the small Island of Pohnpei, in Micronesia. The Sisters opened a school, Nuestra S ...
• 23 June 2010
  ASIA/PAKISTAN - Yet another Catholic accused of “blasphemy”. Justice and Peace Commission says: “government is sleeping with regards to human rights” Faisalabad (Agenzia Fides) – “Yet another violation of human rights and another sad example of Pakistan's 'blasphemy' law being misused to strike religious minority groups.” Peter Jacob, Executive Secretary of the ...
• 23 June 2010
  EUROPE/BELGIUM - With 5 years to go: Millennium Development Goals Report 2010 assesses progress Brussels (Agenzia Fides) - A report on the Millennium Development Goals, "MDG 2010: Keeping the promise" will be released this afternoon. Made public a few months before a meeting of world leaders in September in New Yor ...
• 23 June 2010
  EUROPE/FRANCE - "With Therese, we too love peace": 5,000 children attend mission meetings in Lisieux Lisieux (Agenzia Fides) – Once again this year some 5,600 secondary school pupils (aged 11-13) belonging to chaplaincies of the eight diocese of Ile de France, accompanied by almost 700 adults and animators, answered a ...