News

• 27 March 2004
  DOSSIER - AFRICA/SIERRA LEONE - “The most difficult thing is to help the youngsters forced to kill to find their identity again” says Xaverian missionary in Sierra Leone who helps rehabilitation of child soldiers in Sierra Leone Freetown (Fides Service) - “The most difficult thing is to help the youngsters find their identity again” Father Giuseppe Berton, Xaverian missionary in Sierra Leone told Fides. For years Father Berton has worked to ...
• 27 March 2004
  DOSSIER FIDES SPECIAL LENT 2004 “Humanity cannot close its eyes to such a tragedy! What have these children done to deserve such maltreatment?” (John Paul II - Message for Lent) 3 - CHILD SOLDIERS Inspired by Pope John Paul II message for Lent 2004, with the theme “Whoever welcomes one of these little ones in my name welcomes me”, Fides presents a series of Dossier on the tragic situation of children in the wo ...
• 27 March 2004
  DOSSIER ASIA/MYANMAR - Only education can rehabilitate former child soldiers in this country with a sad record number of tiny troops: Archbishop Charles Bo of Yangon talks to Fides Yangon (Fides Service) - The South East Asian country of Myanmar, has the sad record of the highest number of child soldiers, more than 75,000. In Myanmar rebel groups of many different ethnic origins are fighting the re ...
• 27 March 2004
  DOSSIER ASIA/SRI LANKA - Yesterday brutalised and indoctrinated, today loved and educated to love: “Some former child soldiers are now teachers. This is our peace process, not talking at a table but acting in daily life, ” Father Pinto Humer told Fides. Anuradhapura (Fides Service) - Nirmal is a Tamil boy. When he was 12 he saw his father killed in combat between the Sri Lankan army and the Tamil separatist troops. The rebels gave the boy a gun telling him to take reven ...
• 27 March 2004
  DOSSIER AMERICA/COLOMBIA - Guerrilla and paramilitary are causing irreparable damage to Columbia using children in fighting: more than 11,000 says Human Rights Watch. Bogota (Fides Service) - Although international law used to prohibit the use of minors under 15 in war (Geneva Convention 1949 and the Convention on Children’s Rights 1989) and since 2000 the age is 18, all the irregul ...
• 27 March 2004
  DOSSIER AMERICA/COLOMBIA - “Children involved in armed combat, are not only subject to maltreatment and abuse they are also targets for assassins”: National Pontifical Mission Societies Director in Colombia told Fides. Bogota (Fides Service) - “In the first two months of this year, according to General Ospina, army chief commander, 44 children were killed in combat: 19 belonged to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), 5 ...
• 27 March 2004
  AFRICA/DEMOCRATIC R. CONGO - Rev. Marcel Madila appointed auxiliary Bishop of Kananga Vatican City (Fides Service) - The Holy Father, Pope John Paul II has, 27 February 2004, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Kananga (Democratic Republic of Congo) Rev. Marcel Madila, Rector of the John Paul ...
• 26 March 2004
  AFRICA/IVORY COAST - Ivory Coast is ever more divided after clashes with police and demonstrators yesterday in which 25 people were killed and many injured. The saddest thing is that no one thinks of the good of the nation Abidjan (Fides Service)- At least 25 people were killed and many more injured during clashes between the police and demonstrators yesterday 25 March in Abidjan, economic capital of Ivory Coast where a planned Opposition ...
• 26 March 2004
  EUROPE/ITALY - “Children helping Children… across all five Continents”: a CD-ROM to fund 5 solidarity projects with the Pontifical Society of Missionary Childhood. Rome (Fides Service) - “Children Helping Children”, the motto of the Pontifical Society of Missionary Childhood, is the title of a CD-ROM with the song ‘Eccomi, manda me!’, performed by the ‘Le Matite Colorate� ...
• 26 March 2004
  AMERICA/ECUADOR - 101 child workers rescued from heavy labour at refuse dumps: Santo Domingo de los Colorados city council committed to eliminate child labour Quito (Fides Service) - It is estimated that between 500 and 1000 children in Ecuador, aged 5 to 7, are employed in collecting and handling refuse. In its Convention number 182 the International Labour Organisation lists ...
• 26 March 2004
  EUROPE/KOSOVO - “Could it be that to create more violence someone is trying to turn ethnic clashes into religious conflict?” preoccupied people in Kosovo are asking after destruction of Serb Orthodox churches Pristina (Fides Service)- There is growing concern in Kosovo after recent clashes between Serbs and Albanians during which Albanians destroyed several Serb Orthodox churches. According to local sources “the violence ca ...
• 26 March 2004
  ASIA/INDIA - Catholics in Aizawl celebrate centenary of the first local baptism and community: it was the Salvatorian Fathers who first planted the seed of the Gospel among these peoples Shillong (Fides Service) - Exactly one hundred years ago a small group of missionaries went to a remote area of Assam state in north east India to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with the local people. “It was the ...
• 26 March 2004
  ASIA/HOLY LAND - A Catholic seminarian in Jerusalem describes daily life in the Holy Land Jerusalem (Fides Service) - A Polish seminarian studying in Jerusalem tells Fides about life in the Holy Land: “We are sort of semi-clandestine and often have to stay inside the seminary to avoid being arrested and rep ...
• 26 March 2004
  EUROPE/ITALY - Four hundred thousand people in flight in northern Uganda: “Africa Mission - Cooperation and Development” provides emergency humanitarian aid. Rome (Fides Service) - With each passing day, the tragedy of civilians in northern Uganda assumes ever more serious dimensions. The central government in Kampala would appear to be unable to counter effectively the inten ...
• 25 March 2004
  AFRICA/ BURKINA FASO - “Religious and the terminally ill ”: a reflection by a Camillian Religious who accompanies terminally ill AIDS patients to their last breath Rome (Fides Service) - AIDS is a sad and painful reality all over the world with different implications according to the geographical setting, Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia and in Africa according to country and pe ...