News

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  11 March 2025
  ASIA/PHILIPPINES - Rodrigo Duterte arrested as country prepares for mid-term vote Manila (Agenzia Fides) - Executing an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), Philippine police arrested former President Rodrigo Duterte, 79, today, March 11, at Manila airport, immediately afte ...
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  11 March 2025
  AFRICA/MALAWI - Bishops: "We must roll away the stones that are oppressing us" Lilongwe (Agenzia Fides) - "We order all our priests not to take sides or favour any candidate or political party. Any such action on the part of our priests using church structures for political purpose will not be tole ...
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  10 March 2025
  ASIA/CHINA - The intense beginning of Lent for Chinese Catholic communities: Pilgrimages, catechism courses, works of charity Beijing (Agenzia Fides) – Pilgrimages, Lenten catechism courses, liturgies to confer the “missionary mandate” to catechists and extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist, works of charity of social importance such a ...
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  10 March 2025
  ASIA/PHILIPPINES - Moratorium on mining in Palawan, to protect indigenous people and territory Puerto Princesa (Agenzia Fides) – The provincial government of the island of Palawan, in the western part of the Philippine archipelago, has approved a decree imposing a 50-year moratorium on mining on the island, both ...
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  10 March 2025
  AFRICA/NIGERIA - President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference: “Youth unemployment is a time bomb” Abuja (Agenzia Fides) - “Food inflation has hit 39.84 percent, making it nearly impossible for families to afford three meals a day”. This is the alarm raised by Lucius Ugorji, Archbishop of Owerri and President of t ...
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  10 March 2025
  ASIA/MYANMAR - Between suffering and war, the special prayer of the Rosary for the Pope Yangon (Agenzia Fides) – “In their homes, at 5 p.m. every evening, Catholic families, women, children and the elderly, gather to pray the Rosary for the health of Pope Francis. Others do it in the camps for displaced ...
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  10 March 2025
  AFRICA/NIGERIA - The two priests kidnapped on February 22 were released unharmed thanks to a police operation Abuja (Agenzia Fides) – The two priests kidnapped in Nigeria on February 22 (see Fides, 24/02/2025) have been released. Father Matthew David Dutsemi of the diocese of Yola and Father Abraham Saummam of the diocese of J ...
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  9 March 2025
  Angelus, the Pope from the Gemelli Hospital recalls the “primacy” of gratuitousness: I too experience the tenderness of care Rome (Agenzia Fides) - “During my prolonged hospitalization here, I too experience the thoughtfulness of service and the tenderness of care, in particular from the doctors and healthcare workers, whom I thank from the ...
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  9 March 2025
  ASIA/SYRIA - Sectarian massacres: Patriarchs of the Churches call for an end to the logic of revenge Damascus (Agenzia Fides) – The Patriarchs of three indigenous Churches historically rooted in Syria have signed a joint appeal to stop the “horrible massacres” perpetrated in recent days in several provinces of the ...
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  8 March 2025
  GREENLAND - Geopolitical interests and independence: Greenland before the election by Cosimo Graziani Nuuk (Agenzia Fides) - Although globalization has been the subject of much criticism recently, perhaps never before have local elections with fewer than sixty thousand voters made such headlines as ...
• 8 March 2025
  AFRICA/GUINEA BISSAU - Appointment of bishop of Bafatá Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - The Holy Father has appointed the Reverend Fr. Victor Luís Quematcha, O.F.M., until now definitor general of the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor for Africa, as bishop of the diocese of Ba ...
• 8 March 2025
  ASIA/INDIA - Appointment of bishop of Cuddapah Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - The Holy Father has appointed the Reverend Paul Prakash Saginala, of the clergy of Cuddapah, India, until now professor of sacred scripture at Saint John’s Regional Seminary in Hyderabad, ...
• 8 March 2025
  ASIA/INDONESIA - Appointment of bishop of Timika Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - The Holy Father has appointed the Reverend Fr. Bernardus Bofitwos Baru, O.S.A., until now counsellor of the Augustinian vicariate of Papua-Indonesia and director of the Fajar Timur Superior ...
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  8 March 2025
  GREENLAND - Catholics in Greenland: A small church of migrants Nuuk (Agenzia Fides) - Under your feet, mineral-rich soil covered by a thick layer of white snow; above your head, the enchanted sky distorted by the Northern Lights. Bright and long nights, days when the sunlight lasts ...
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  7 March 2025
  ASIA/BANGLADESH - The country is heading towards elections. The Archbishop of Dhaka: the important thing is to build a democratic, secular and inclusive nation Dhaka (Agenzia Fides) – While Muhammad Yunus, head of the interim executive of Bangladesh, mentions the possibility of “new elections” – still without a confirmed date but scheduled for late 2024 or early 2025 � ...