News

• 28 February 2005
  ASIA/CHINA - Death of ‘good and zealous Bishop Gao Kexian ’ Yantai (Fides Service) - On Monday 24 January Bishop John Gao Kexian of the diocese of Yantai, in Shandong mainland China, who had been ill for some time died at the age of 86. The Bishop was born in 1928 to a family wh ...
• 28 February 2005
  VATICAN - The Pope’s Angelus message: “It is by contemplating Christ and following him with patient trust that we come to understand that every form of human suffering holds within it God’s promise of salvation and happiness”. Vatican City (Fides Service) - On Sunday 27 February, 3rd Sunday in Lent, the Pope’s customary message at the midday Angelus prayer was read out in St Peter’s Square by Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, substitute of the ...
• 28 February 2005
  ASIA/SOUTH KOREA - Example of a community in dialogue: Catholic priest receives a doctorate from Buddhist university Seoul (Fides Service) - In South Korea inter-religious dialogue goes ahead also at the cultural and academic level, as it can be seen by the experience of Father Thomas Kwak Sang-hun of Seoul archdiocese recently awarded ...
• 28 February 2005
  ASIA/SOUTH KOREA - Reconciliation between North and South Korea: wish of Archbishop of Seoul in Lenten message Seoul (Fides Service) - Meditation and conversion of heart were the main topics in a Lenten Message issued by Archbishop Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk of Seoul. In the message “A Life of forgiveness and Reconciliation” the ...
• 28 February 2005
  AMERICA - Every year more than 11 million babies and 15% of mothers die of complications during pregnancy or childbirth. World Health Day 2005 will focus on health of mother and child Rome (Fides Service) - World Health Day will be marked on 7 April this year and the World Health Organisation has decided to focus on the health of mother and child and the reduction of the number of deaths of babies and ...
• 28 February 2005
  ASIA/CHINA - Attention for the Holy Father in mainland China: while Catholics pray for the Pope many more people are beginning to ask “who is John Paul II” Beijing (Fides Service) - “Who is the Pope?” is the question heard every more frequently among young people in China and many address this question to their Catholic friends, one young Catholic in Beijing told Fides. ...
• 28 February 2005
  AFRICA/BURUNDI - Referendum on the Constitution: “The majority is expected to approve the new draft” local sources tell Fides Bujumbura (Fides Service)- “So far all is quiet, people are going to the polls to vote in an orderly manner” a local source said in Bujumbura capital of Burundi where a referendum on the country’s new Constitution ...
• 28 February 2005
  ASIA/INDONESIA - Ad Aceh tsunami victims, poor people, disabled people pray that Pope John Paul II may make a speedy recovery Banda Aceh (Fides Service) - The poor, the homeless, the suffering, the disabled are praying for Pope John Paul II. And also many Muslims are praying to the All Merciful God for the Pope whose efforts to promote peace in ...
• 28 February 2005
  ASIA/PHILIPPINES - Missionaries, children, the poorest of the poor living in Manila slums pray for the Pope Manila (Fides Service) - Slum dwellers are praying for the Holy Father. Close to the heart of Manila in Quezon City there is the Payatas refuse dump which extends for 25 hectares, the 45 mt high dump is also called ‘sm ...
• 28 February 2005
  EUROPE/AMERICA - New paths for Church co-operation Italy/Peru: meeting for Italian missionaries in Peru, closing message Rome (Fides Service) - “No less than 49% of the world’s Catholics live in America. Like all local Churches, the Church in Peru is called to open to mission ad gentes. This is why Italian missionaries must guarantee t ...
• 28 February 2005
  AFRICA/CÔTE D'IVOIRE - Fighting in west Côte d'Ivoire: “There had been rising tension over the past few days” says a Fides source in the country’s vital economic centre Duekoue (Fides Service)- “Tension was in the air and people feared a new outbreak of fighting between pro-government militia and New Forces rebels” said a missionary source Duekoue, west Côte d'Ivoire where started ...
• 28 February 2005
  AFRICA/TUNISIA - “How he is loved!” Missionary from Tunis tells Fides how Muslims are concerned for the health of Pope John Paul II Tunis (Fides Service) - A missionary in Tunis sent Fides this touching report: “There is a lot of coming and going in the Catholic cathedral in Tunis. Perhaps it is the cold weather which brings many more young people ...
• 26 February 2005
  AFRICA/SOUTH AFRICA - “Spontaneous prayers for the Pope: thank you Holy Father, with your suffering you restore dignity to the elderly” a missionary in South Africa told Fides Cape Town (Fides Service)- “It is deeply moving to see how many people stop to pray spontaneously for the Pope. With their prayers they want to be close to the Pope in his suffering” Scalabrini Father Arcangelo in S ...
• 26 February 2005
  VATICAN - “I am forever TOTUS TUUS” Vatican City (Fides Service) - When they asked John the Baptist ” What do you have to say for yourself?" he answered “I am the voice of one crying in the desert” (Jn 1 22-23). Two thousand years since that confessi ...
• 26 February 2005
  ASIA/CHINA - We are getting calls from Catholics all over China asking about the Pope’s health and promising prayers, says editor of local Catholic newspaper Hebei (Fides Service) - Also Catholics in China are concerned for the health of Pope John Paul II and are praying fervently for his speedy recovery, Rev. Zhang Shi Jiang, editor of a local Catholic newspaper Faith publis ...