Asia

• 22 December 2004
  ASIA/PHILIPPINES - Poverty, unemployment, natural disasters: trouble seems never ending for the Philippines: in his Christmas Message the Archbishop of Manila recalls Christian hope Manila (Fides Service) - “Christmas is always our recalling of God’s love for us expressed in his son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. But its celebration is influenced yearly by prevailing spiritual, economic, so ...
• 21 December 2004
  ASIA/TAGIKISTAN - “Exterior signs of Christmas are still visible here as in other regions but perhaps precisely because of restrictions under the dictatorship, the spirit of Christmas has deepened”: Superior of the Catholic Missio Sui Iuris of Tagikistan reports on local Christmas traditions Dushanbe (Fides Service) - “The season of Advent in preparation for Christmas in the Catholic community Tagikistan has retained all its special significance which sad to say I never saw in my years of ministry in the ...
• 21 December 2004
  ASIA/HOLY LAND - Christmas : promise of life, joy and peace for the people of Israel and Palestine . Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem issues Christmas Message Jerusalem (Fides Service) - Security, wellbeing, happiness for the people of Israel and Palestine can be founded only on peace: this is the sense of a Christmas Message issued by Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Michael Sabb ...
• 21 December 2004
  ASIA/SRI LANKA - attack on church isolated episode: Catholic community hopes for a peaceful Christmas free of tension social or religious Colombo (Fides Service) - The recent destruction of St Michael’s Catholic church in the archdiocese of Colombo was an isolated episode which raised concern among the local Catholics although would not seem to be a fore ...
• 21 December 2004
  ASIA/TURKEY - Nativity Scene popular with Muslim children too: on Christmas Day, a working day, young and old flock to the Catholic church in Antioch to see the Babe in the Manger Antioch (Fides Service) - “Christmas is at the door. In Antioch, southern Turkey it comes in silence, without decorations on streets or in shop windows, without the rush of last minute of shopping for presents, but wit ...
• 20 December 2004
  ASIA/SYRIA - Christmas in Syria: a feast for young people, Christian charity, ecumenism Damascus (Fides Service) - On the occasion of Christmas 2004, Fides asked for a contribution with regard to celebrations in Syria from His Beatitude Gregorios III Laham, Greek Melchite Patriarch of Antioch and the East ...
• 20 December 2004
  ASIA/INDONESIA - Threatened attacks on Churches at Christmas: double security measures in the Moluccas Islands Jakarta (Fides Service) - On Christmas day and all though the Christmas season the Indonesian army will guarantee special protection for all churches in Ambon, capital city in the Moluccas Islands. There is in fact growi ...
• 20 December 2004
  ASIA/CHINA - Catholics in Beijing organise Christmas Party for children with disabilities at Hui Ling Centre Beijing (Fides Service) - Christmas is almost here and there is already an atmosphere of joy and goodwill in Catholic community in Beijing. Local sources told Fides that after Mass on the third Sunday of Advent local and ...
• 17 December 2004
  ASIA/MONGOLIA - New Papal Nuncio visits small Catholic community in Mongolia preparing to celebrate Christmas Ulan Bator (Fides Service) - Catholics, other Christians and non Christians gathered to offer a warm welcome to the new Papal Nuncio to Korea and Mongolia Archbishop Paul Tscherrig, who recently paid a visit to the small ...
• 17 December 2004
  ASIA/INDIA - Catholic community grows: three new churches opened in Mangalore diocese Mangalore (Fides Service) - Despite fear of attacks by Hindu extremists on Christians and Christian institutions, the Catholic community in the southern Indian state of Karnataka is growing: the opening of three new chur ...
• 16 December 2004
  ASIA/PHILIPPINES - “Peace process in Southern Philippines must be resumed: dialogue leads rebels away from radical Islamic groups”: missionary’s analysis to Fides Manila (Fides Service) - “The peace process in Southern Philippines needs a boost. No one knows why the government and rebels of the Moro National Liberation Front do not resume negotiations” Father Eliseo Mercato OM ...
• 16 December 2004
  ASIA/INDIA - Dalit Christians will denounce discrimination and demand recognition of social and civil rights New Delhi ( Fides Service) - In the coming weeks during four public sessions organised by the All India Catholic Union, AICU, Christian Dalits will speak of their difficulties and the situation of social discrimination ...
• 16 December 2004
  ASIA/HONG KONG - Filipino immigrants celebrate Year of the Eucharist with a pilgrimage to the site of Hong Kong's first Catholic village Hong Kong (Fides Service) - Among many different initiatives organised for the Year of the Eucharist, the Philippines community of immigrants in Hong Kong recently took part in a pilgrimage arranged by Caritas Hong Kong ...
• 15 December 2004
  ASIA/INDIA - Christmas of prayer and devotion in Goa, where crowds of pilgrims continue to flock to venerate the relics of St Francis Xavier Goa ( Fides Service) - “Christmas 2004 in Goa will be one of devotion and prayer. Celebrating the mystery of the Incarnation, thousands of pilgrims will demonstrate the place of honour which St Francis Xavier has in th ...
• 15 December 2004
  ASIA/CHINA - “People are free to make an offering as they wish during the Christmas Mass”: parish priest at Nang Tang Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Beijing clarifies misunderstanding Beijing (Fides Service) - People will not have to pay to enter Nan Tang Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Beijing for Christmas Mass. The parish priest said there had been a misunderstanding and that recent media allega ...