News

• 4 April 2005
  ASIA/PHILIPPINES - “John Paul II was the conscience of humanity” says Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales of Manila Manila (Fides Service) - “He was a father and a shepherd who guided us on the journey of life. We will always remember him here amongst us, the times he came to visit us, and bless us. At this time of grief we find co ...
• 4 April 2005
  AMERICA/COLOMBIA - "Pope John Paul II travelled the world. He reached out to the humble and the poor, the children the young people, the elderly and the sick": Bishops of Colombia issue statement on the death of the Pontiff Bogota (Fides Service) -"The Catholic Bishops, clergy and people of Colombia join the world to thank God for the life, example and spiritual legacy of Pope John Paul II who has gone to receive the crown of glory promised ...
• 4 April 2005
  AMERICA/UNITED STATES - “We have lost our great missionary, a Holy Father who embodied so completely the vocation given to us in baptism” said National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States Washington (Fides Service) - “We have lost our great missionary, a Holy Father who embodied so completely the vocation given to us in baptism and who encouraged everyone in the world to do the same. His personal exampl ...
• 4 April 2005
  ASIA/PHILIPPINES - Karol Wojtyla, a personal reflection by Cardinal Jaime Sin of Manila Manila (Fides Service) - Cardinal Jaime Sin, Archbishop emeritus of Manila, sent this message to Fides on the occasion of the death of Pope John Paul II: “The Church has lost a Father and a Shepherd and I have also lo ...
• 4 April 2005
  ASIA/JORDAN - Catholics gather to pray on Mount Nebo says Father Raymond Moussalli, Secretary of the Chaldean Bishops’ Residence in Jordan Amman (Fides Service) - Many Jordanian Catholics went to pray on Mount Nebo, one of the places visited by Pope John Paul II during his landmark Jubilee Pilgrimage to the Holy Places in 2000, Father Raymond Moussalli Secr ...
• 4 April 2005
  ASIA/IRAQ - Iraqi Catholics brave danger to pray for the Pope says Rev. Pyoss Qasha, parish priest at St Joseph’s church in Baghdad - Pope’s funeral will be broadcast live on television Baghdad (Fides Service) - Iraqi Catholics braved danger to go to church to pray for the Pope, Reverend Father Pyoss Qasha parish priest at St Joseph’s church in Baghdad told Fides. “Despite the difficulty and much da ...
• 4 April 2005
  ASIA/LEBANON - Exchange of condolences on the street, Muslims and Christians comfort one another Beirut (Fides Service) - “People on the streets in Beirut stop to exchange condolences for the death of Pope John Paul II, Christians and Muslims alike, even strangers. We all feel like one family which has lost a very ...
• 4 April 2005
  OCEANIA/PAPUA NEW GUINEA - Papuan Catholics mourn and pray for the Pope, with warm memories his visit in 1995 - many will be in Rome for the funeral Port Moresby (Fides Service) - Catholics in the rain forests of Papua New Guinea are mourning John Paul II and praying that he may be “welcomed in heaven”, Divine Word missionary Father Nicholas De Groot told Fides. ...
• 4 April 2005
  OCEANIA/AUSTRALIA - “One of the greatest Popes in the history of the Church": Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference Canberra (Fides Service) - In Australia over the past week Catholics have been flocking to church to pray for the Pope John Paul II. The Catholic Bishops issued a statement in which they express their grief but also thei ...
• 3 April 2005
  VATICAN - Message from the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe on behalf of the Congregation, the Pontifical Mission Societies all over the world, missionaries involved in spreading the Gospel. Vatican City (Fides Service) - The whole Catholic flock mourns its Shepherd, Pope John Paul II. The entire missionary Church, starting with the Congregation’s staff in Rome, the local Bishops around the world, clergy, ...
• 3 April 2005
  ASIA/LEBANON - “A great Pope who kept a special place in his heart for Lebanon” Cardinal Pierre Nasrallah Sfeir, Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites Beirut (Fides Service)- “A great Pope who always kept a special place in his heart for Lebanon” was how Pope John Paul II was described by Cardinal Pierre Nasrallah Sfeir, Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites speaki ...
• 3 April 2005
  AFRICA/MADAGASCAR - A photograph of John Paul II hugging two little Malagasy children in his arms will remain forever in the hearts of the people of Madagascar Antananarivo (Fides Service)- “Malagasy Catholics are stricken with grief for the death of John Paul II. People are flocking to churches to pray for him” said Reverend Luca Treglia, who works with Radio Don Bosco in ...
• 3 April 2005
  AFRICA/DEMOCRATIC CONGO - The Pope is mourned in Congo particularly at the shrine of Isiro-Niangara the burial place of the country’s first martyr beatified by John Paul II twenty years ago Isiro-Niangara (Fides Service)- “On behalf of the people of Isiro-Niangara diocese in north east Democratic Congo, the people of Congo in general and those in the town Isiro where there is the Bishop’s Residence, I ...
• 3 April 2005
  ASIA/SOUTH KOREA - Grief and gratitude fill the hearts of Catholics in Korea as Bishops prepare to send a delegation to Rome Seoul (Fides Service) - “We are filled with grief for his death but at the same time we are profoundly grateful for his life” Bishop Andreas Choi Chang mou, secretary of the Korean Catholic Bishops’ Conference told ...
• 3 April 2005
  ASIA/INDIA - “The whole nation is showing sympathy with the Catholic community, this Pope was everyone’s Pope” said Fr Donald De Souza, vice secretary of the Bishops’ Conference. Unprecedented sympathy and affection shown by unending flow of Hindus, Buddhist and Muslims New Delhi (Fides Service) - “The whole country is shaken and shares our grief. This demonstration of solidarity and affection is unprecedented and totally unexpected. The entire nation appears to be in mourning”, sai ...