News

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  25 January 2019
  ASIA/INDONESIA - The Christian Ahok set free, "but his figure polarizes public opinion" Jakarta (Agenzia Fides) - "After the release, it is likely that Ahok will go abroad for a few months, at least until after the general elections in April. It is a careful move, because his figure is still much discussed ...
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  25 January 2019
  ASIA/IRAQ - Patriarch Sako calls for a vital "new birth" for Mosul, where Christian homes have become landfills Mosul (Agenzia Fides) - The Iraqi metropolis of Mosul struggles to return to the situation prior to the jihadist occupation, and the difficulties particularly affect the Christian component. The hoped-for return of the C ...
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  24 January 2019
  ASIA/INDIA - Christians accused of "forced conversions": the government of Madhya Pradesh backtracks Bhopal (Agenzia Fides) - Kamal Nath, Prime Minister of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, a big state in central India, has assured Christian leaders that he will cancel the accusations of alleged "fraudulent conversion ...
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  24 January 2019
  ASIA/IRAQ - Ayatollah al Sistani recommends the UN to investigate the jihadist violence suffered by Christians in Mosul Najaf (Agenzia Fides) - Ayatollah Ali al Sistani reiterated the urgent need to investigate the violence and crimes committed by the jihadist militias of the Islamic State even to the detriment of local Christian communi ...
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  24 January 2019
  AFRICA/KENYA - Medical mission to prevent the blindness of children Wodanga (Agenzia Fides) - In Kenya, out of a population of 39 million, over 300 thousand are blind or severely visually impaired due to preventable and treatable diseases. Too many children remain blind just because thei ...
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  24 January 2019
  AFRICA/SENEGAL - Upcoming presidential elections, the Bishops call for calm Dakar (Agenzia Fides) - "We invite all to calm and serenity towards the problems posed by the upcoming elections" say the Bishops of Senegal in a message that was presented to the press by His Exc. Mgr. Benjamin Ndiaye, ...
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  24 January 2019
  ASIA/INDIA - Vandalistic acts carried out by young Hindu extremists in a Catholic school Kolhapur (Agenzia Fides) - Young activists of the "Yuva Sena" group, the youth wing of the Hindu nationalist organization "Shiv Sena", have committed vandalism in the office of the Holy Cross High School, a Catholic inst ...
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  24 January 2019
  AMERICA/VENEZUELA - High social tension, the faithful locked up in the Cathedral in Maturin Caracas (Agenzia Fides) - In Maturin, about 700 people are still locked inside the Nuestra Señora del Carmen Cathedral, for fear of violent actions against the demonstrators. Maturín is a city in the eastern part of Ve ...
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  23 January 2019
  ASIA/LEBANON - "They only ask for justice". Churches of the Middle East pray for the unity and future of Christians Beirut (Agenzia Fides) - "Who takes advantage if this region is emptied of Christians, who helped create it?" This was the question posed by Mar Ignatius Aphrem II, Syrian Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, in his speech on ...
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  23 January 2019
  ASIA/PAKISTAN - The Supreme Court restores the registration and the civil value of Christian marriages Islamabad (Agenzia Fides) - The Supreme Court of Pakistan has restored the value and the civil effects of Christian marriage. The Court ordered the "National Database and Registration Authority" (NADRA) of Pakistan and t ...
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  23 January 2019
  AMERICA/VENEZUELA - The Bishops "It is urgent to listen to the popular cry of change" Caracas (Agenzia Fides) - "January 23, 1958 is a historical date for all Venezuelans, an inspiring sign of the triumph of social rationality in the face of the abuse of power, of the unity of the weak people before the d ...
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  23 January 2019
  OCEANIA/PAPUA NEW GUINEA - "Laudato Sì Generation", from Papua to Panama Panama (Agenzia Fides) - An "ecological conversion" is urgent, that derives from a change of lifestyle, in Papua New Guinea and in the whole world. "Deforestation with the consequent climate change, mining without protec ...
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  22 January 2019
  AMERICA/PANAMA - After the Days in the dioceses, WYD begins this evening: young people from all over the world "in serach of many answers" Panama City (Agenzia Fides) - More than 30,000 young pilgrims from all over the world have arrived in Panama for World Youth Day (WYD) which will officially begin at 5pm today, with the opening ceremony and Mass. The ch ...
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  22 January 2019
  EUROPE/ITALY - ACSE has been serving immigrants and refugees for half a century: "An adventure of solidarity" Rome (Agenzia Fides) - Fifty years ago, in 1969, ACSE, Comboni Association Service for Migrants and Refugees, was born in Rome thanks to Father Renato Bresciani, a Comboni missionary who had worked in South Sudan where h ...
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  22 January 2019
  ASIA/PHILIPPINES - The Church in Mindanao in favor of the autonomous Muslim region Manila (Agenzia Fides) - Catholic leaders in Mindanao support the new autonomous region that could end the conflict in the south of the country. On the occasion of the referendum in which the people of Mindanano were cal ...