News

• 19 December 2005
  VATICAN - Pope Benedict XVI at the Angelus says "Let us be ‘infected’ by the silence of St Joseph: in this time of preparation for Christmas let us give priority to inner recollection so we may let Jesus come and stay in our life”. Vatican City (Fides) - Saint Joseph who “in perfect harmony with his wife welcomes the Son of God made man and watches over his human development”, can help us prepare for Christmas and “live this great mystery of ...
• 19 December 2005
  AFRICA/DR CONGO- Congo’s constitutional referendum continues. Operations to verify the vote of representatives of the Catholic Church are coordinated by different religious confessions present in the country Kinshasa (Fides Service) - Observers of various different religions are monitoring voting in the constitution referendum taking place in Democratic Congo. This monitoring service is organised by Inter-diocesan Hall at th ...
• 19 December 2005
  ASIA/JAPAN - Japan Catholic News published by the Bishops’ Conference to move on-line Tokyo (Fides Service) - Catholic Church news in Japan is about to land on the world wide web. As from January 2006 Japan Catholic News, the newsletter of the Japanese Catholic Bishops’ Conference will be on-line. The b ...
• 19 December 2005
  ASIA/CHINA - Catholics in a Beijing parish celebrate Baptisms and organise fund raising events in preparation for Christmas Beijing (Fides Service) - On 18 December Holy Saviour parish or Bei Tang (north parish) celebrated 100 baptisms and gave a warm welcome to the new members of the Church. One of the newly baptised adults said “this yea ...
• 19 December 2005
  AFRICA/DR CONGO - Voters flock to vote Bukavu in the grip of “referendum fever” Bukavu (Fides Service) - In Congo where a two day constitutional referendum is underway parish priests remind people that voting is a right and a duty. “This Sunday is a memorable day for our country. Each one of us is ...
• 19 December 2005
  ASIA/MYANMAR - Taunggyi archdiocese celebrates ordination of new deacons and priests and archbishop’s 25th anniversary: Papal nuncio Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio visits Marian shrine in Pekhon Pekhon (Fides Service) - In a setting of natural beauty on a hill overlooking Lake Pekhon the Church in Myanmar celebrated important events: the ordination of new deacons and priests and the 25th anniversary of the ordi ...
• 19 December 2005
  ASIA/PAKISTAN - At Sangla Hill Christians still mobilised: 20 December protest prayer organised by the Bishops’ Justice and Peace Commission Lahore (Fides Service) - Christians of different denominations continue to protest against anti-Christian violence at Sangla Hill, near Lahore, where an angry mob of over a thousand Muslim fanatics set fire to three chur ...
• 17 December 2005
  AFRICA/DR CONGO - On the eve of the referendum President Kabila says he is moving his office to Bukavu in eastern Congo to promote stability in that part of the country where war is still a threat Bukavu (Fides Service)- “This is a positive signal and it will give the people in the east of the country new hope although prudence is necessary” say local sources in Bukavu the main town in the south Kivu region of ...
• 17 December 2005
  ASIA/TAIWAN - Good Shepherd Friends Foundation holds Charity Evening in aid of women and girls in difficulty Tai Chung (Fides Service) - For over a hundred years the Good Shepherd Friends Foundation has assisted women and girls in difficulty, particularly those trapped in the circle of prostitution of minors, victims of domest ...
• 17 December 2005
  VATICAN - 18 December: World Migrants Day. The migratory experience “is also an opportunity for evangelisation and mission” Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - On the occasion of World Migrants Day on Sunday December 18, we recall two recent documents on the theme. First of all a Joint Letter on the Pastoral Care of Human Mobility addressed to D ...
• 17 December 2005
  VATICAN - With her hidden and humble life Madre Casini had the intuition of sustaining the mission of priests: “even little gestures, signs and stories help to build the history of the Church and the world” Vatican City (Fides Service) - Can an apparently ordinary life such as that of Madre Maria Teresa Casini (Frascati 1864-Grottaferrata 1937), unknown and humble, in a period of great political and social upheaval, be of i ...
• 17 December 2005
  VATICAN - “Light a Christmas star with 5 Euro”: Pontifical Council for Pastoral care of healthcare workers organises collection in aid of poor sick people Vatican City (Fides Service) - On the occasion of Christmas Cardinal Javier Lozano Barrágan, President of the Pontifical Council for the pastoral care of healthcare workers launched a proposal for sensitisation of eccle ...
• 17 December 2005
  AFRICA/SUDAN - Voluntary repatriation of refugees from Kenya to South Sudan starts today Khartoum (Fides Service) - The United Nations High Commission for Refugees UNHCR announced that the voluntary repatriation to South Sudan of refugees from Kakuma camp in north west Kenya starts today Saturday 17 Decembe ...
• 16 December 2005
  VATICAN - “Every Christian, according to his specific task and specific responsibility, is called to make his contribution so that the dignity of these brothers and sisters of ours is recognised, respected and promoted.”: Pope Benedict XVI’s Message for World Day of the Sick 2006 Vatican City (Fides Service) - In a message for the annual World Day of the Sick organised by the Catholic Church on February 11, feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, Pope Benedict XVI encourages sick people to offer their cond ...
• 16 December 2005
  VATICAN - The Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI meets Rome’s University students: “We must rediscover the beauty of having Christ as our Master of life and so in freedom and awareness renew our profession of faith in Him.” Vatican City (Fides Service) - “Continue, dear friends, your reflection with regard to a new humanism taking into consideration the great challenges of the present day and striving to conjugate in harmony faith and cul ...