News

• 22 March 2005
  AFRICA/CÔTE D'IVOIRE - Bishop of Daloa resigns the Pope appoints new Bishop Vatican City (Fides Service) - The Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, on 22 March 2005, accepted the renunciation of the pastoral government of the diocese of Daloa (Côte d'Ivoire) presented by Bishop Pierre-Marie Coty in ...
• 22 March 2005
  EUROPE/AUSTRIA - New National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies Vatican City (Fides Service) - Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, 26 January 2005 appointed National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Austria for a fiv ...
• 22 March 2005
  EUROPE/GERMANY - Where and when to go to church: information on Easter services via the Internet. Ecumenical initiative involving 12,000 different Catholic and Lutheran parishes Bonn (Fides Service) - Easter is here and churches everywhere will be filled to capacity for these Christian services the most important of the year. Although many people go away for Easter they wish all the same to go t ...
• 22 March 2005
  AMERICA/PERU - Confessions via the Internet are not valid, the indispensable requisite for the celebration of a Sacrament, including the sacrament of Reconciliation, is the physical presence of the believer and the minister: Peruvian Bishops warn the faithful about “cyberspace confessions” Lima (Fides Service) - Faced with a growing misinformation with regard to the possibility of celebrating the Sacrament of Penance via the Internet “cyberspace confessions”, in conformity with the Code of Canon Law ( ...
• 22 March 2005
  AFRICA/NIGERIA - Despite an overall drop in the number of deaths due to measles there is alarm for 76 deaths already this year Rome (Fides Service) - One of the goals for this year 2005 adopted by the World Health Organisation and UNICEF is to halve the number of deaths caused by measles. Although the number of mortal cases of measles in the 1 ...
• 22 March 2005
  ASIA/INDIA - “From our cloister we help promote peace and harmony in India and all over the world” say Carmelite Sisters in Pune Pune (Fides Service) - A community of Carmelite nuns who live a life of contemplation and prayer in their enclosed convent in Pune, in the state of Maharashtra tell how prayers help promote peace and social harmony in In ...
• 22 March 2005
  ASIA/CHINA - Faithful flock to celebrate Palm Sunday, many come from the country to live Holy Week and Easter in Beijing in crowded churches Beijing (Fides Service) - According to a local Church source, churches in Beijing were filled to capacity for Palm Sunday services last Sunday. Masses were held from six in the morning onwards and people of all ages, inc ...
• 22 March 2005
  EUROPE/ITALY - Thursday 24 March, World TB Day: about 9 million people have TB. To fight it new diagnostic tests are needed Rome (Fides Service) - About 9 million people develop tuberculosis every year, most live in developing countries where 99% of deaths recorded are due to TB. In view of World TB Day on March 24 the humanitarian organisa ...
• 22 March 2005
  AMERICA/PARAGUAY - “Speak Lord your Church is listening!”: Catholic Bishops of Paraguay launch nation wide consultation in view of new pastoral guidelines to respond to the real needs of the People of God Asunción (Fides Service) - After reflection born in organisms involved directly in pastoral (Coordination National of Catechesis, Liturgy, Social Pastoral, the Bible, of the Family…) and faced with the concerning nati ...
• 22 March 2005
  ASIA/IRAQ - Easter under curfew, with fear and concern. Christians will keep Holy Week services but only in daylight:- “Our prayer is that the Lord will grant our children harmony, serenity and freedom” Baghdad (Fides Service) - This year for the second time running Christians in Iraq will celebrate Easter under curfew. Chaldean, Armenian, Syrian and Latin Catholics in Baghdad will celebrate Holy Week in a climate of ap ...
• 22 March 2005
  OCEANIA/AUSTRALIA - PMS Mission collections in 2004 a great success: Australian Catholics gave 8 million dollars for education, development, struggle against AIDS and poverty Sydney (Fides Service) - The missionary awareness of the people of Australia gave a great demonstration of generosity and solidarity in 2004. According to the Pontifical Mission Societies in Australia donations were 20% ...
• 22 March 2005
  AMERICA/PERU - “Everyone can rediscover the beauty of what it means to life the life of Christ”: interview with Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani, Archbishop of Lima, on the eve of the final stage of the Great City Mission “Remar Mar Adentro” Lima (Fides Service) - The Great City Mission in the archdiocese of Lima, which started 25March 2003 and will close 27 April 2006, will enter a period of celebration in April this year. The mission with the slogan “Pu ...
• 21 March 2005
  VATICAN - The Pope’s reflection at the Angelus: “Dearest young people, continue tirelessly along the path you have undertaken to be everywhere witnesses to Christ. Do not be afraid! May the Lord crucified and risen be your strength and may Most Holy Mary be ever at your side” Vatican City (Fides Service) - The annual Palm Sunday Mass in St Peter’s Square was presided on behalf of Pope John Paul II, still recovering from his operation, by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the Pope’s Vicar general fo ...
• 21 March 2005
  ASIA/INDIA - Kerala diocese adopts Tamil Nadu village affected by last year’s tsunami Thrissur (Fides Service) - The archdiocese of Thrissur and the Carmelite fathers in Kerala have decided to adopt a tsunami affected village in Tamil Nadu, helping to rebuild homes and infrastructures as well as provide f ...
• 21 March 2005
  ASIA/INDIA - Jesuit declared best Christian headmaster in India 2004-2005 Pune (Fides Service) - Jesuit Father Noel Sheth, Rector of the Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth Pontifical Institute for Philosophy and Religion in Pune in the central western Indian state of Maharashtra, was recently declared the ...