News

• 3 April 2009
  AFRICA/GUINEA BISSAU - Election Day announced in Guinea Bissau, while opposition party and human rights organizations denounce military violence Bissau (Agenzia Fides) – Presidential elections will be held on June 28, 120 days after the death of President Joao Bernardo Vieira, who was assassinated on March 2 by a group of soldiers trying to take revenge followi ...
• 3 April 2009
  ASIA/INDIA - Persecuted Christians in India “lift their gaze to Jesus crucified,” says Archbishop Emeritus of Bangalore Bangalore (Agenzia Fides) – Look at Jesus crucified, to find strength and consolation in your life, in the midst of difficulties...This was the message of Archbishop Emeritus Ignatius Pinto of Bangalore, to all the fai ...
• 3 April 2009
  ASIA/PHILIPPINES - One of the Abu Sayyaf hostages released, however “the nightmare is not over yet” Zamboanga (Agenzia Fides) – A ray of hope for the watchful and expectant world, anxiously awaiting word of the other hostages, came with the release of Mary Jean Lacaba, one of the three Red Cross workers kidnapped on ...
• 2 April 2009
  AMERICA/ECUADOR - Success beyond all expectations for Quito archdiocesan Mission Formation School Quito (Agenzia Fides) - A School of Mission Formation launched by the archdiocese of Quito, last March 7 (see Fides 11/3/2009), was warmly welcomed by pastoral workers and committed lay Catholics. The initial number of 2 ...
• 2 April 2009
  VATICAN - WORDS OF DOCTRINE: Rev Nicola Bux and Rev Salvatore Vitiello - The Cross is salvation and judgement Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - Contemplating Jesus, from whom our faith comes and by whom it is made perfect, we cannot fail in these coming days of holy spiritual tension, to see the close connection which exists betwee ...
• 2 April 2009
  VATICAN - Benedict XVI thanks the Lord for the “generous action of missionaries, men and women religious” in Africa and prays that the African people “will be able to address with courage the great social, economic and spiritual challenges of the present” Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - “As I announced last Sunday in the Angelus, I will reflect today on my recent apostolic journey to Africa, the first of my pontificate to that continent. It was limited to Cameroon and An ...
• 2 April 2009
  VATICAN - Pope's Letter to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, on the occasion of the G-20 Summit: “the way out of the current global crisis can only be reached together, avoiding solutions marked by any nationalistic selfishness or protectionism.” Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - “It is necessary, therefore, to turn to the multilateral mechanisms and structures which form part of the United Nations and its associated organizations, in order to hear the voices of a ...
• 2 April 2009
  VATICAN - Conclusion of the meeting held by the Commission instituted by the Pope on the Church in China Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – The Holy See Press Office today issued the following statement: “From 30 March to 1 April, the commission established by Benedict XVI in 2007 to study questions of importance concernin ...
• 2 April 2009
  ASIA/INDIA - Bishop of Rourkela resigns, successor appointed Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - The Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI on 2 April 2009, accepted the renunciation of the pastoral government of the Diocese of Rourkela (India) presented by Bishop Alphonse Bilung, SVD, in confo ...
• 2 April 2009
  EUROPE/POLAND - Celebrations for the 4th anniversary of the death of John Paul II Czestochowa (Agenzia Fides) – Today, April 2, 4th anniversary of the death of Servant of God John Paul II, there will be various cultural and religious events taking place throughout Poland, dedicated to John Paul II. ...
• 2 April 2009
  AMERICA/BRAZIL - Plenary Assembly of Bishops on “Priestly Formation: Challenges and Guidelines” Brasilia (Agenzia Fides) – The National Conference of Catholic Bishops in Brazil (CNBB) will hold a General Assembly in Itaici-Indaiatuba (SP), from 22 April to May 1, 2009. The Assembly will focus on the theme: “Pri ...
• 2 April 2009
  AMERICA/HONDURAS - President of Caritas International asks G-20 leaders not to let the economic crisis lead “wealthy nations to ignore their obligations to help developing nations” Tegucigalpa (Agenzia Fides) – Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa (Honduras) and President of Caritas International, is calling on G20 leaders, who are meeting in London on 2 April, to ...
• 2 April 2009
  EUROPE/ITALY - Death of Cardinal Umberto Betti: professor, theologian, and Rector of the Pontifical Lateran University, who played a significant role in the drafting of the Constitution Lumen gentium and Dei verbum Florence (Agenzia Fides) – On the evening of April 1, at around 8:30pm, Cardinal Umberto Betti (87 years of age) passed away in the OFM Provincial Clinic, where he was staying. A statement sent to Fides from Fr. Valent ...
• 2 April 2009
  AFRICA/ZIMBABWE - “We are doing all we can to help the people of Zimbabwe, but funds are lacking,” Caritas says Harare (Agenzia Fides) - Caritas humanitarian operations in Zimbabwe are under threat due to a lack of funding that could put tens of thousands of people at risk. This is what was expressed in an alert from Caritas Inter ...
• 2 April 2009
  AFRICA/CONGO DR - Pallottine missionary wounded in North Kivu, province in eastern Congo marked by tensions and violence for months Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) – A Pallottine missionary of Polish origin, Fr. Kontor Wieslaw (SAC), was wounded in an ambush in North Kivu, in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The event occurred on Mar ...