News

• 12 November 2004
  ASIA/PHILIPPINES - In southern Philippines Christians join Muslims at the end of Ramadan Zamboanga (Fides Service) - While there is hope for the imminent resumption of negotiations between the Philippines government and separatist Muslim movements fighting for independence in Mindanao, at the same time initi ...
• 11 November 2004
  VATICAN - Pontifical Urban University organises solemn academic act in honour of Cardinal Stefano Borgia, a former Prefect Propaganda Fide, on the 200th anniversary of his death. European Stefano Borgia Award assigned to Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe Vatican City (Fides Service) - Stefano Borgia, who was born in Velletri in 1731 and died in Lyons in 1804, was one of the greatest humanist Cardinals in recent centuries. He united a passion for all branches of human kno ...
• 11 November 2004
  OCEANIA/AUSTRALIA - The local Church cries against abortion which kills 100,000 unborn babies in Australia every year: intervention by Archbishop of Melbourne Melbourne (Fides Service) - “Our youngest and oldest human beings have an equal right to life. The Catholic Church has always championed protection of human life from conception. Abortion is the taking of fragile human ...
• 11 November 2004
  EUROPE/SPAIN - Lay Apostolate Congress: more than 2.000 lay people intend to give new impulse to their presence in society, reflect on their Christian identity and foster a spirit of communion among groups and movements Madrid (Fides Service) - ‘Witnesses of Hope’ is the theme of a National Lay Apostolate Congress in Madrid, from 12 to 14 November 2004. The congress intends to be a place of encounter for everyone, where the differen ...
• 11 November 2004
  AFRICA/BURUNDI - Burundians await appointment of new vice president Bujumbura (Fides Service)- Burundians expect the new vice president to be appointed today, after President Domitien Ndayizeye (Hutu), dismissed his Tutsi deputy, Alphonse-Marie Kadege yesterday. “The appointment of Kad ...
• 11 November 2004
  AFRICA/SUDAN - “More efforts from international community needed to end Darfur crisis” say Fides sources after agreement signed by Sudanese government and rebels Khartoum (Fides Service)- “This agreement is temporary like many others in Sudan. We have seen so many agreements stipulated and then violated. What is needed to end the crisis in Darfur is more effort on the part of t ...
• 11 November 2004
  AMERICA/PARAGUAY - “The country is walking a dramatic and painful Via Crucis” say deeply concerned Bishops of Paraguay as they encourage the people not to lose hope, “necessary and possible”, calling Christians to work to change the situation Asuncion (Fides Service) - ‘Hope is necessary and possible’ was the title of a statement issued by the Bishops of Paraguay at the end of their 172nd plenary assembly. The statement was divided in four parts each with ...
• 11 November 2004
  AFRICA/IVORY COAST - Growing atmosphere of insecurity: Europeans being evacuated, relative calmin Korhogo where rebels prepare to resist a government army assault Abidjan (Fides Service)-“Compared with a few days ago the situation seems to be calm , but tension is still high” local sources in the economic capital of Ivory Coast Abidjan, told Fides over the phone with the noise ...
• 11 November 2004
  EUROPE - In Cambodia almost 10% of new born babies die before they are weaned and more than 12% die before they are five years old: European Commission donates 3.5 million Euro to lower infant mortality rate Rome (Fides Service) - No access to clean water is one of the main factors which contribute to infant mortality in Cambodia which has the highest rate in South East Asia. Almost 10% of new born babies (98 per 1000) die w ...
• 11 November 2004
  ASIA/INDIA - Christian leaders in Orissa state protest against forced re-conversion campaign by Hindu extremists Bhubaneshwar (Agenzia Fides) - Christian leaders in the eastern Indian state of Orissa say steps must be taken to stop the phenomenon of forced “re-conversion” among Tribals who have embraced the Christian faith and ...
• 11 November 2004
  EUROPE/AFRICA - First ever Symposium of African and European Bishops opens in Rome “an epochal event...a symposium with extended pastoral horizons” Rome (Fides Service) - Welcoming the participants at the Symposium of African and European Bishops which opened yesterday afternoon 10 November in Rome, the president of SECAM Symposium of the Bishops’ Conferences of A ...
• 11 November 2004
  ASIA/HONG KONG - Hong Kong Catholics share experience of International Eucharistic Congress in Mexico Hong Kong (Fides Service) - A delegation of Catholics from Hong Kong who took part in the 48th International Eucharistic Congress accompanied by Bishop Zen of Hong Kong and Father Fernando Montes, provincial superior of ...
• 10 November 2004
  VATICAN - The Pope’s weekly teaching focuses on Psalm 61: if we were more aware of our frailty and limits we would not turn to idols, we would place all our trust in the Lord, source of eternity and peace Vatican City (Fides Service) - This morning during his teaching at the Wednesday Audience Pope John Paul II reflected on Psalm 61 and said that love of violence, greed, covetousness, viewed as means for acquiring power a ...
• 10 November 2004
  EUROPE/SPAIN - Consecrated Life a “prophetic frontier presence”: 11th general assembly of the Spanish Conference of Religious - 6 inter-congregational projects to help socially excluded people Madrid (Fides Service) - To conclude celebrations for the 50th anniversary of its activity, the Spanish Conference of Religious will hold its 11th General Assembly 10 to 12 November at the Virgen del Recuerdo College in ...
• 10 November 2004
  EUROPE/ITALY - Father Justo Lacunza Rector of PISAI, the Pontifical Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies in Rome, told Fides about burial rites in the Islamic world Rome (Fides Service)- “Islam has no rigid burial rituals which must be followed by all Muslims countries, only a few general indications” Father Justo Lacunza, Rector of the Pontifical Institute of Arab and Islamic S ...