News

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  4 January 2017
  ASIA/PAKISTAN - A Christian arrested for alleged blasphemy Lahore (Agenzia Fides) - Babu Shahbaz, a Christian from the village of Kamahan, near Lahore, was arrested by the police for alleged blasphemy. As Fides learns, on December 30 a formal complaint was filed to the police ag ...
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  4 January 2017
  AFRICA/CONGO - Environment: Bishops denounce deforestation and pollution of rivers Brazzaville (Agenzia Fides) - Forests disappear little by little due to the over-exploitation of timber and reforestation policy throughout the national territory", denounce the Bishops of the Republic of Congo (Congo Br ...
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  4 January 2017
  ASIA/INDIA - The Sisters of Loreto: 175 years on mission in South Asia Calcutta (Agenzia Fides) - The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM), which brings together the religious better known as "Sisters of Loreto", celebrates 175 years of missionary presence in South Asia. "With immens ...
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  4 January 2017
  AFRICA/BURUNDI - President Nkurunziza: "I may stand for re-election in 2020" Bujumbura (Agenzia Fides) - Towards a fourth term of President Pierre Nkurunziza? This is what the same Head of State of Burundi hinted and also stressed the possibility of amending the Constitution to obtain a fourth te ...
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  3 January 2017
  ASIA/PAKISTAN - Land-grabbing and assault on Pakistani Christians in Sindh Hyderabad (Agenzia Fides) - For Christians in Pakistan the new year opens with a painful issue: mafia organizations in cahoots with the police in Sukkur, in the district of Hyderabad (Sindh province in southern Pakistan) ...
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  3 January 2017
  AFRICA/DR CONGO - Further negotiations are needed to put into practice the agreement on December 31 Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - The agreement reached on December 31 between the majority and opposition in the Democratic Republic of Congo need other agreements in order to be applied. Local observers are convinced of this ...
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  2 January 2017
  ASIA/PAKISTAN - Christmas festivities and education for the children of the Christian couple burned alive for blasphemy Lahore (Agenzia Fides) - The Pakistani Christian couple Shama and Shahzad Masih, beaten and burned to death for alleged blasphemy in November 2014, have three children Suleiman, Sonia and Poonam who celebrated the Christ ...
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  2 January 2017
  ASIA/IRAQ - The civil authorities: Christians, return to Basra Basra (Agenzia Fides) - The celebrations for the beginning of the new year 2017 gave civil authorities of the province of Basra this opportunity to spread many messages and signals of attention towards Christians. In par ...
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  2 January 2017
  ASIA/INDIA - Donating organs is a service to God and humanity Bombay (Agenzia Fides) - The 77-year old Bishop Agnelo Gracias, auxiliary Bishop of Bombay, has decided to donate his organs after death. This trend has grown tremendously in the Christian community: an increasing number ...
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  2 January 2017
  ASIA/SYRIA - In Aleppo, the Heads of Christian Churches pray together for peace Aleppo (Agenzia Fides) - In Aleppo, at the beginning of the new year, on the occasion of World Day for Peace, Patriarch Mar Ignatios Aphrem II, Primate of the Syrian Orthodox Church, presided over the prayer for peace in ...
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  30 December 2016
  VATICAN - PASTORAL CARE WORKERS KILLED IN 2016 Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - In the year 2016, 28 Catholic pastoral care workers were killed worldwide. For the eighth consecutive year, the place most affected, with an extremely elevated number of pastoral care work ...
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  29 December 2016
  AMERICA/CHILE - Work for Araucania go ahead despite the arson attacks on churches Temuco (Agenzia Fides) - "The work of all, facilitated by Mgr. Vargas, is allowing in a framework of respect and dialogue, to build future plans for Araucanía, so everyone can have rights and opportunities", said Chilea ...
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  29 December 2016
  ASIA/THAILAND - "The Kingdom of God is among us", even in a slum Pathumthani (Agenzia Fides) - "Last night, after the celebration of the vespers I asked Pan, one of the seminarians who helps me in the community work - the slums around Pathumthani, where he had been and he answered: I ...
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  29 December 2016
  AMERICA/COLOMBIA - Peace process continues: the measure for amnesty approved Bogota (Agenzia Fides) - The Colombian parliament approved yesterday, Wednesday, 28 December, a bill for the amnesty of the FARC members (Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces). This is not however a general amnesty, sin ...
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  29 December 2016
  ASIA/INDIA - New Jesuit university in New Town Calcutta (Agenzia Fides) – The West Bengal Assembly has recently approved a 2016 draft law of the Saint Xavier University of Calcutta, thus paving the way for the creation of a new university in New Town, Rajarhat, to ...