News

• 10 January 2005
  ASIA/SRI LANKA - Why did the tragedy push peace in Sri Lanka further away? What if the tsunami fails to stop the war … Colombo (Fides Service) - Everyone hoped the tsunami tragedy would unite the people of Sri Lanka where for decades the two main ethnic groups Sinhalese (74%) and Tamil (12,5%) have fought a war of hatred and reciprocal ...
• 10 January 2005
  ASIA/INDONESIA - Why are arms in Banda Aceh not silent? The tsunami and guerrilla warfare Jakarta (Fides Service) - In northern Sumatra the tsunami hit a situation which was already difficult, marked by conflict and violence. For more than a year the Indonesian army has launched a massive offensive against re ...
• 8 January 2005
  ASIA/INDIA - Families and refugees tsunami victims will be protagonists in rebuilding their future Madras (Fides Service) - The Conference of Catholic Religious in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu seriously affected by the December 26 tsunami, has formed a study team to plan how to involve people made homeless by the di ...
• 8 January 2005
  EUROPE/ITALY - In tsunami stricken south east Asia children one third of the dead and one third of the homeless and also the most exposed to possible outbreaks of preventable diseases: malaria and hepatitis A, typhoid fever and cholera. Rome (Fides Service) - The tragic toll of the tsunami on 26 December which affected countries in south east Asia has now reached a total of 165,000 dead and several million homeless: 1/3 of the victims were children, ove ...
• 8 January 2005
  EUROPE/SWITZERLAND - Missionary Childhood children in Switzerland help their brothers and sisters in tsunami affected countries Friburg (Fides Service) - In Switzerland as in all German speaking countries and some other countries, every year on and around the Feast of the Epiphany January 6 children members of Missionary Childhood love to take pa ...
• 8 January 2005
  ASIA/INDONESIA - Aid to devastated area of Aceh comes also from the people of the Moluccas Islands still intent on rebuilding after disastrous ethnic clashes Ambon (Fides Service) - Solidarity knows no boundaries and very often the poor are more generous than the rich when it comes to helping those in need. Despite their present post civil conflict situation and struggle to r ...
• 8 January 2005
  ASIA - UN High Commission for Refugees among the organisations assisting tsunami affected people in south east Asia Jakarta (Fides Service) - The United Nations High Commission for Refugees, UNHCR whose mandate is for refugees fleeing persecution and violence immediately responded to the emergency in south east Asia following the Dec ...
• 8 January 2005
  ASIA/THAILAND - Thai Bishop: “We will take aid to places not reached by government organisations” Surat Thani (Fides Service) - At Phang-nga operative centre which co-ordinates aid for homeless tsunami victims in the diocese of Surat Thani, Catholic lay volunteers, and men and women religious and priests are fully e ...
• 8 January 2005
  AFRICA/SUDAN - History making signing of peace agreement for Southern Sudan. But still no solution for Darfur drama Rome (Fides Service)- All is ready at the sports stadium in Nairobi capital of Kenya, for the signing of a history making agreement for peace between the Khartoum government and leaders of the former rebel movement Sudan ...
• 8 January 2005
  AMERICA/CUBA - “Announcing Christ accompanied by Our Lady of Charity” slogan for Mission Year undertaken by the pilgrim Church in Cuba for 2005 Quemado de Guines (Fides Service) - “Announcing Christ accompanied by Our Lady of Charity” is the slogan chosen for a national Year of Mission announced by the Church in Cuba, National Director of the Pontifical Miss ...
• 7 January 2005
  AFRICA/SOMALIA - Somalia: tsunami. “Tragedy worsened by non-existent state administration” Bishop Bertin, Apostolic Administrator Mogadishu told Fides Rome (Fides Service) - Some African countries were also affected by the December 26 seaquake. The most serious situation is in Somalia at Rafi Hafun in the north eastern region of Bari also called Migiurtina. “At least ...
• 7 January 2005
  VATICAN - the Pope’s Angelus reflection “Children are the present and the future of the Church”, “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” Vatican City (Fides Service) - During his reflection before the Angelus prayer on January 6, feast of the Epiphany, Pope John Paul II spoke about the many children all over the world victims of “hunger, disease, war an ...
• 7 January 2005
  ASIA/PAKISTAN - Believers unite to counter the tsunami tragedy: together Christians and Muslims pray for victims Lahore (Fides Service) - Over the past few days in various parts of Pakistan Christian and Muslim communities came together to pray for all the victims of the recent tsunami disaster, Franciscan Fr Francis Nadeem, secret ...
• 7 January 2005
  ASIA/INDONESIA - Catholic Bishops issue message of encouragement: the chain of solidarity must carry on even after the spotlights are turned off Jakarta(Fides) - In response to a message issued by the Indonesian Catholic Bishops’ Conference every Catholic diocese in the vast Indonesian archipelago of 17,000 islands has been mobilised to provide aid for the thou ...
• 7 January 2005
  ASIA/INDIA - Believers in India unite to pray for tsunami victims Bangalore (Fides Service)- Members of different religions united to pray for victims of the December 26 seaquake in Bangalore, capital of Karnataka. Several hundred people attende an inter-religious prayer meeting for al ...