News

• 22 December 2008
  VATICAN - Fraternal gathering for all those working in International Secretariats of the Pontifical Mission Societies Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – On Saturday, December 20, at the CIAM (International Center for Missionary Animation) headquarters, a Christmas gathering was held for all the personnel working in the International Secre ...
• 22 December 2008
  AMERICA/PERU - In their Christmas Message, the Bishops tell people to look upon the poverty of children Lima (Agenzia Fides) – The announcement of the birth of the Savior “is a cause for joy and hope; a source of strength for overcoming the culture of violence and death and for building solidarity, progress, and peace ...
• 22 December 2008
  AMERICA/MEXICO - For the first time, the flame from Bethlehem to Mexico will bring a “light of hope” to all homes. Mexico City (Agenzia Fides) – For the first time, the flame that the Scouts send from Bethlehem to Europe and the United States will reach Mexico, as well. The flame reached the “Templo Expiatorio Cristo” (Old Basi ...
• 22 December 2008
  AFRICA/CONGO DR - An uncertain Christmas in East Congo, where hundreds of thousands of refugees are living in make-shift camps. Reflections from a missionary. Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - “What is cause for concern is the situation of absolute uncertainty that continues to weigh heavily on Congo and on the neighboring countries, like a black cloud,” Fr. Antonio Trettel, Jave ...
• 22 December 2008
  AMERICA/ARGENTINA - Thanksgiving Mass in Corrientes, for the 30th anniversary of the Papal Mediation: “Chileans and Argentineans, by the grace of God, were able to escape from the shadows of an imminent and threatening war, with the hope of peace.” Corrientes (Agenzia Fides) – Archbishop Andres Stanovnik of Corrientes (Argentina) presided a Mass in Thanksgiving for the 30th anniversary of the mediation effort made by Pope John Paul II in the conflict over the Bea ...
• 22 December 2008
  EUROPE/GERMANY - “ Whereas in Italy one hears about Italians all over the world promoting 'made in Italy' , here we have an Italian community in need of assistance.” - if the Mafia is one channel of illegal immigration, on the other it forces many poor people to emigrate from southern Italy to other countries-: testimonial from Scalabrini Fr. Ermenegildo Baggio, parish priest for the Italian community in Cologne (correspondence from Luca De Mata in Germany- part 9) Cologne (Agenzia Fides) - "I have been in Cologne for sixteen years now, as parish priest for the immigrant Italian community. In the city, here in Cologne, there are about twenty thousand Italians and in the mission ar ...
• 20 December 2008
  EUROPE/GERMANY - “Believing in Jesus Christ is a decision that demands awareness, especially in the nations with a larger number of immigrants and a greater confrontation between peoples and cultures, in peace and in mutual respect.” Agenzia Fides interviews Fr. Silvio Vallecoccia, Scalabrinian missionary (Luca de Mata writes from Germany) Cologne (Agenzia Fides) – Father Silvio Vallecoccia, Scalabrinian missionary works as head of the International Youth Ministry program in Cologne. Fr. Silvio, finding missionaries not in Africa, nor in Asia, but her ...
• 20 December 2008
  Dossier - THE QUESTION OF IMMIGRATION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (2) Introduction The economic impact of immigration Violation of rights and institutional vacuum: costs and benefits for the US economy The role of “remittances ” in the economy of countries of origin P ...
• 19 December 2008
  VATICAN - Pope tells 11 new ambassadors: “Peace is not just a political or military situation without conflict; rather it is the sum of conditions that allow concord among all and the personal development of each.” Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – On the morning of Thursday, December 18, the Holy Father Benedict XVI received the Letters of Credence of 11 new ambassadors to the Holy See from Malawi, Sweden, Sierra Leon, Iceland, Lux ...
• 19 December 2008
  VATICAN - The Holy Father tells Vatican Television (CTV), on its 25th anniversary, to “seek paths to spread, in new ways, the voices and images of hope through the electronic network that envelops our planet in an increasingly encompassing web.” Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – "Videre Petrum, to see the Pope, is a desire that has brought uncountable pilgrims to Rome. This desire can be fulfilled, at least in part, thanks to radio and television, which have allo ...
• 19 December 2008
  AFRICA/KENYA - “Christmas teaches us to discard the human way of relying on human power and strength”: Pastoral Letter of Cardinal Njue Nairobi (Agenzia Fides) – Christmas “reveals from the start, and quite clearly, God’s way of thinking” says Cardinal John Njue, Archbishop of Nairobi (Kenya), in his Pastoral Letter for Christmas 2008, which has ...
• 19 December 2008
  AMERICA/MEXICO - Cardinal Norberto Rivera asks everyone to take an active role in the 6th World Meeting of Families Mexico City (Agenzia Fides) - “Now that this important international Meeting is approaching, in continuity with the Letter I wrote to all the priests of our Archdiocese in preparation for this event (see Fides 21/5/200 ...
• 19 December 2008
  AMERICA/ARGENTINA - Christmas Message from the Bishops of Patagonia: “Christmas means saying 'no' to indifference, 'no' to only worrying about one's own welfare without being aware of the urgent needs of others, 'no' to a passive attitude on many urgent challenges.” Buenos Aires (Agenzia Fides) – The Bishops of the region of Patagonia-Comahue (the Dioceses of Alto Valle, Comodoro Rivadavia, Neuquén, Río Gallegos, San Carlos de Bariloche, and Viedma) have written a Christmas Mes ...
• 19 December 2008
  AMERICA/CUBA - Hopes and wishes for 2009 in the Christmas Message from the Bishop of Guantanamo Guantanamo (Agenzia Fides) - “Every Christmas is a celebration for God and for mankind,” says Bishop Wilfred Pino Estevez of the Diocese of Guantanamo-Baracoa (Cuba) in a Message sent to all the faithful on this Chri ...
• 19 December 2008
  OCEANIA/AUSTRALIA - Christmas Message from Bishops' Conference: Christ became man in poverty, the Word of hope in times of crisis and insecurity Sydney (Agenzia Fides) – Christmas 2008 will be marked by a sense of insecurity, on account of the economic crisis that has affected the nation and its families. Thus, now more than ever, “we are all seeking the trad ...