News

• 22 January 2004
  VATICAN - THE POPE APPOINTS MGR GALLAGHER APOSTOLIC NUNCIO IN BURUNDI Vatican City (Fides Service) – The Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, has appointed Apostolic Nuncio in Burundi Mgr Paul Richard Gallagher, until now Special Envoy and Holy See Permanent Observer to the Council of Europe ...
• 22 January 2004
  ASIA/INDIA - NEXT WORLD SOCIAL FORUM IN AFRICA? FIDES ASKED CATHOLIC PARTICIPANTS TO SHARE THEIR IMPRESSIONS Bombay (Fides Service) – Catholic delegates to the World Social Forum in Bombay 16 to 21 January, came away with mainly positive valuations. Father Joe Xavier, who led the Jesuit delegation consisting of about 1.300 ...
• 22 January 2004
  AFRICA/GUINEA BISSAU – PORTUGUESE SPEAKING BISHOPS CALL FOR MORE SOLIDARITY AMONG CHURCHES TO MEET CHALLENGES OF EVANGELISATION Bissau (Fides Service) – To meet more effectively the challenge of new evangelisation, the Catholic Bishops of Portuguese speaking countries have called for more solidarity among the local Churches. This emerged at the ...
• 21 January 2004
  AMERICA/CHILE - HUNDRED YEARS AGO 12 YEAR OLD BLESSED LAURA VICUNA DIED FOR LOVE: HER BRIEF LIFE MARKED BY SUFFERING TRANSFORMED WITH LOVE CHALLENGES YOUNG PEOPLE TODAY Rome (Fides Service) - Laura Vicuna was born in Santiago del Chile on 5 April 1891. Her father, a victim of political persecution, had to flee to the south of the country where he died when Laura was only 2 leaving the f ...
• 21 January 2004
  VATICAN – THE POPE’S GENERAL AUDIENCE TEACHING: “ THERE IS AN EVER GREATER NEED FOR A PROFOUND SPIRITUALITY OF PEACE AND PEACE-MAKING, NOT ONLY AMONG THOSE DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN ECUMENICAL ACTIVITY …THE CAUSE FOR UNITY IN FACT INVOLVES EVERY BELIEVER.” Vatican City (Fides Service) – “The world longs for peace, it needs peace – today as yesterday -, but very often it searches for peace with the wrong means, even at times with recourse to force or the balance of op ...
• 21 January 2004
  ASIA/INDIA APPARENT CALM RETURNS TO JHABUA, BUT THE BISHOP IS CONCERNED; HINDU FUNDAMENTALISTS CONTINUE DEFAMATION CAMPAIGN AGAINST CATHOLICS: BEATEN PRIEST SERIOUSLY INJURED Jhabua (Fides Service) – After days of tension and violence the situation appears to have returned to normal in Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh state on the border with Gujarat. In the past few days Jhabua has been the scene of ...
• 21 January 2004
  EUROPE/SPAIN - STREET CHILDREN “ONE OF THE MOST SHAMEFUL TRAGEDIES OF MODERN SOCIETY ” SAY COMBONI MISSIONARIES AND JESUITS Madrid (Fides Service ) - “Ninety million of the world’s children live on the streets geographically distributed as follows: 40 million in Latin America, 10 million in Africa, where the phenomenon is relatively new a ...
• 21 January 2004
  AFRICA/CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC - BISHOPS STATEMENT DENOUNCING CLIMATE OF INSECURITY AND WIDESPREAD VIOLENCE BRINGS POSITIVE REACTION Bangui (Fides Service) - “Reactions were positive to the Bishops’ statement. The message was welcomed by both government and people” local Church sources in Bangui, Central African Republic told Fides. In a recent ...
• 21 January 2004
  AFRICA/LIBERIA - MAIN REBEL MOVEMENT IN LIBERIA SPLITS: WILL PEACE PROCESS BE ENDANGERED? Monrovia (Fides Service) - “It is the old story of fighting over seats in the unity government”. SMA Father Mauro Armanino told Fides with regard to the news that Mrs Asha Keita-Conneh, wife of Sekou Conneh leader of ...
• 21 January 2004
  AMERICA/ UNITED STATES - US SCIENTISTS SAY AFRICA’S MINI-EPIDEMICS OF EBOLA DUE TO VARIOUS STRAINS OF LETHAL VIRUS Rome (Fides Service) – Although they might appear to be part of one epidemic spreading rapidly among humans and wild animals, recent cases of Ebola in central Africa are in fact multiple epidemics caused by various vir ...
• 21 January 2004
  ASIA/SRI LANKA - EVIL OF FUNDAMENTALISM INFECTS SRI LANKA’S BUDDHISTS: CHURCHES TORCHED, CHRISTIANS’ ACCUSED OF “FRAUDULENT CONVERSIONS”: CATHOLIC BISHOPS REPLY Colombo (Fides Service) – There is tension and fear among Catholics in Sri Lanka after recent attacks on Christian communities. In a wave of violence two churches in districts not far from the capital Colombo were torc ...
• 20 January 2004
  EUROPE/ALBANIA - SHKODRË (SKUTARI): AUXILIARY BISHOP ZEF SIMONI RESIGNS Vatican City (Fides Service) – The Holy Father, Pope John Paul II has accepted 20 January 2004, the resignation of the office of Auxiliary Bishop of Shkodrë (Albania), presented by Mgr Zef Simoni, titular Bishop of Ba ...
• 20 January 2004
  ASIA/INDIA – PROTECTING RIGHTS OF TRIBALS AND DALITS AND ALL EXCLUDED PEOPLES: JESUIT MISSION AT WORLD SOCIAL FORUM – INTERVIEW WITH THE HEAD OF JESUIT DELEGATION Bombay (Fides Service) – Defending the life and culture of tribal populations is the specific mission of more than 1,300 Jesuits attending the 4th World Social Forum (WSF) in Bombay which will close tomorrow 21 Januar ...
• 20 January 2004
  ASIA/MACAO - YOUNG PEOPLE LEAD WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY: “STRIVING TO LIVE AS TRUE FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST IN THE WORLD TODAY ” Macao (Fides Service) – Christians in Macao started the Week of Prayer for the Unity of Christians with an inter-confessional meeting. Organised by the local Catholic and Anglican Churches, the meeting was held on Sund ...
• 20 January 2004
  ASIA/TAIWAN – “LUNAR NEW YEAR IN CHINA WILL BE DEDICATED TO EVANGELISATION” SAYS CARDINAL PAUL SHAN. CHURCH IN CHINA THANKS THE POPE FOR HIS SUNDAY HAPPY NEW YEAR MESSAGE Kaohsiung (Fides Service) – “The Church in Taiwan will be dedicating the new year to new evangelisation ”, Cardinal Paul Shan Kuo-hsi, Bishop of Kaohsiung told Fides Service. “Parishes have been asked to draft a ...