News

• 10 January 2005
  AFRICA - Darfur, Ivory Coast, Democratic Congo: three crisis areas focal points of African Union Peace and Security Council Summit in Gabon Libreville (Fides Service)- Heads of state and members of the African Union Peace and Security Council AUPSC will attend a summit meeting, today 10 January and tomorrow January 11, in Libreville, capital of Gabon to disc ...
• 10 January 2005
  ASIA/PHILIPPINES - Catholic Missionaries and Muslim faithful work side by side in relief work: one good result of tsunami disaster Manila (Fides Service) - The Oblate Missionaries of Mary Immaculate OMI have started a campaign to collect money for the people affected by the December 26 tsunami in south Asia among the Philippines deeply saddened by t ...
• 10 January 2005
  VATICAN - On the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus, the Pope recalls “the mission of the Christian starts with Baptism” and says “the rediscovery of Baptism through opportune itineraries of adult catechesis is an important aspect of new evangelisation” Vatican City (Fides Service) - Jesus’ baptism in the River Jordan and the rediscovery of the importance of Baptism were the subject of Pope John Paul II’s midday reflection on Sunday 9 January, before reciting the An ...
• 10 January 2005
  AFRICA/TANZANIA - In Tanzania 1.5 million, 7.8% of the adult population aged 15 to 49, affected by HIV/AIDS. In 2001 AIDS killed 140,000 people. Catholic Sisters run Hope Village offering anti-retroviral treatment for HIV+ children orphans of both parents Dodoma (Fides Service) - In Tanzania with a population of 28,700,000 and about 1.5 million HIV+ persons, there is one doctor for every 19,555 people. The Italian Rome based order of women religious, Adorers of the Blood ...
• 10 January 2005
  VATICAN - Life, peace, food and freedom, four challenges for humanity today the Pope tells Diplomatic Corps in the Vatican: “The Catholic Church, because of her universal nature, is always directly engaged in the great causes for which the men and women of our age struggle and hope…wherever there are Christians, the whole body of the Church is called into play; indeed, wherever there is any one individual, we sense a bond of brotherhood”. Vatican City (Fides Service) - This morning Pope John Paul II exchanged New Year wishes with the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See received in audience in the Vatican. In his address to the national representat ...
• 10 January 2005
  EUROPE/GERMANY - The Church in Germany hosts ecumenical service for victims of South East Asia seaquake tragedy. “Love is stronger than death!” says Cardinal Lehmann, president of the German Bishops’ Conference Berlin (Fides Service) - At an ecumenical service at the Berlin Catholic cathedral on Sunday 9 January Germany prayed for the victims of the tragic seaquake which struck south east Asia in which many German holiday maker ...
• 10 January 2005
  AFRICA/SUDAN - What peace for Sudan? Southern Sudan is not Darfur Rome (Fides Service) - Peace signed yesterday in Kenya, marks the end of more than 20 years of war in southern Sudan, but this conflict must not be confused with the war still going on in the western Sudanese region of D ...
• 10 January 2005
  ASIA/SRI LANKA - Why did the tragedy push peace in Sri Lanka further away? What if the tsunami fails to stop the war … Colombo (Fides Service) - Everyone hoped the tsunami tragedy would unite the people of Sri Lanka where for decades the two main ethnic groups Sinhalese (74%) and Tamil (12,5%) have fought a war of hatred and reciprocal ...
• 10 January 2005
  ASIA/INDONESIA - Why are arms in Banda Aceh not silent? The tsunami and guerrilla warfare Jakarta (Fides Service) - In northern Sumatra the tsunami hit a situation which was already difficult, marked by conflict and violence. For more than a year the Indonesian army has launched a massive offensive against re ...
• 8 January 2005
  ASIA/INDIA - Families and refugees tsunami victims will be protagonists in rebuilding their future Madras (Fides Service) - The Conference of Catholic Religious in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu seriously affected by the December 26 tsunami, has formed a study team to plan how to involve people made homeless by the di ...
• 8 January 2005
  EUROPE/ITALY - In tsunami stricken south east Asia children one third of the dead and one third of the homeless and also the most exposed to possible outbreaks of preventable diseases: malaria and hepatitis A, typhoid fever and cholera. Rome (Fides Service) - The tragic toll of the tsunami on 26 December which affected countries in south east Asia has now reached a total of 165,000 dead and several million homeless: 1/3 of the victims were children, ove ...
• 8 January 2005
  EUROPE/SWITZERLAND - Missionary Childhood children in Switzerland help their brothers and sisters in tsunami affected countries Friburg (Fides Service) - In Switzerland as in all German speaking countries and some other countries, every year on and around the Feast of the Epiphany January 6 children members of Missionary Childhood love to take pa ...
• 8 January 2005
  ASIA/INDONESIA - Aid to devastated area of Aceh comes also from the people of the Moluccas Islands still intent on rebuilding after disastrous ethnic clashes Ambon (Fides Service) - Solidarity knows no boundaries and very often the poor are more generous than the rich when it comes to helping those in need. Despite their present post civil conflict situation and struggle to r ...
• 8 January 2005
  ASIA - UN High Commission for Refugees among the organisations assisting tsunami affected people in south east Asia Jakarta (Fides Service) - The United Nations High Commission for Refugees, UNHCR whose mandate is for refugees fleeing persecution and violence immediately responded to the emergency in south east Asia following the Dec ...
• 8 January 2005
  ASIA/THAILAND - Thai Bishop: “We will take aid to places not reached by government organisations” Surat Thani (Fides Service) - At Phang-nga operative centre which co-ordinates aid for homeless tsunami victims in the diocese of Surat Thani, Catholic lay volunteers, and men and women religious and priests are fully e ...