News

• 19 June 2004
  THE FRENCH COUNCIL OF MUSLIM FAITH (CFCM) Since Islam has become the second largest religion in France, the State required an interlocutor representing the different Islamic communities present on its territory. This brought to the 1989 initiative of Minister Pi ...
• 18 June 2004
  EUROPE/FRANCE - Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC) mark 150th anniversary. “In the third millennium the Church will be the main source of hope and life for people.” said MSC Superior General, Father Michael Curran in an interview with Fides Rome (Fides Service) - Filled with a deep devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and aware that the human and divine Heart of Christ is the most perfect revelation of God’s love for mankind, in 1854 on December 8, Frenc ...
• 18 June 2004
  AMERICA/GUYANA - Rev. Emmanuel Lafont appointed Bishop of Cayenne Vatican City (Fides) - The Holy Father, Pope John Paul II has, June 18 2004 appointed Bishop of Cayenne (French Guyana) Reverend Father Emmanuel Lafont, of the clergy of Tours (France). The Bishop elect was born in Pa ...
• 18 June 2004
  ASIA/HONG KONG - Salesian provincial Superior Rev. Savio Hon, elected new President Union of Major Superiors of Institutes of Men Religious Hong Kong (Fides Service) - According to Ko Bao, Hong Kong diocesan bulletin, Chinese issue, during an assembly of the Union of Major Superiors of Institutes of Men Religious on June 3 at “La Salle College”, Rev. Sav ...
• 18 June 2004
  ASIA/CHINA - Catholic women religious are “ward angels” at Wang Du Hospital for Lepers He Bei (Fides Service) - In the Chinese province with the largest Catholic community Hebei, besides social work and education, women religious are involved in a special way in caring for people with leprosy. Two years ag ...
• 18 June 2004
  AMERICA/ UNITED STATES World Refugee Day: number of refugees falling by 18% commitment on the part of the international community rising New York (Fides Service) - “A Place to call home: Rebuilding lives in safety and dignity” is the theme of World Refugee Day 2004 June 20. For the occasion the United Nations High Commission for Refugees UNHCR issued ...
• 18 June 2004
  ASIA/IRAQ - A Catholic priest in Iraq says “Like any other people, Iraq citizens are part of the United Nations Organisation. We expected more determination on the part of the international community”. Baghdad (Fides Service.)- “We hoped that the international community would have more courage. At this hour of greatest need the UN has decided not to intervene” . This was the reaction of Father Nizar Semaan, a Catho ...
• 18 June 2004
  EUROPE/ITALY - World Refugee Day: “ A Place to call home: Rebuilding lives in safety and dignity”. In 2003 the number of refugees fell by 18 %; Europe has 5.4 million and Italy about 23,000. Rome (Fides) - “What every refugee wants more than anything else in the world is a place to call home, no matter whether it is the old one or a new one” the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said in view ...
• 18 June 2004
  AFRICA/DEMOCRATIC CONGO - Bukavu diocesan broadcaster attacked by rebels: Dramatic report from operators at Radio Maria,: “Our Lady protected her Radio and her cathedral ” Bukavu (Fides Service)- Some days ago when Bukavu, the main town in south Kivu was taken by Tutsi Rwandan Banyamulenger rebels (resident in Congo for decades) for a brief period few, one of the places attacked was the Ca ...
• 18 June 2004
  ASIA/PHILIPPINES - More than 3,000 priests expected in Manila for National Clergy Congress 5 to 9 July: local families will provide accommodation Manila (Fides Service) - Some 3,000 priests from all over the Philippines are expected to attend a National Congress of the Clergy in Manila on the theme “A new clergy, a new Church, a new nation” taking as their ins ...
• 18 June 2004
  AFRICA/ CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC - “Religious cults are a threat to public order ”. Central African government is concerned Bangui (Fides Service)- The Central African Republic is concerned about the growing phenomenon of religious cults which it says are a threat to public order. According to local authorities some sects have hidden weapons ...
• 18 June 2004
  ASIA/INDIA - Salesians receive award from State Labour Minister for commitment to eliminate child labour Bangalore (Fides Service) - The mission of the Salesians in India, as elsewhere in the world, is educating young people and promoting their human, spiritual and professional development. Their work is appreciated by the ...
• 17 June 2004
  VATICAN - A reflection on the occasion of the Church’s World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests: Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 18 June 2004 Vatican City (Fides Service) - In Italy we have a saying: “you can tell by the way a priest celebrates the Eucharist, the devotion with which he lifts his hands during Mass how much love he has in his heart for Jesus!� ...
• 17 June 2004
  VATICAN - Papal Message to 95th Katholikentag in Germany: “Let us take the opportunities offered by united Europe to spread further the Gospel of Christ so that no one is denied God’s gift of salvation!” Vatican City (Fides Service) - “Living in God”: is the motto, taken from the 2nd Letter of St Paul to the Corinthians, for the programme of Germany’s 95th «Katholikentag» being held in Ulm, diocese of Rottenburg ...
• 17 June 2004
  ASIA/TAIWAN - Catechism for Children available for free downloading from the Internet Hsinchu (Fides Service) - More then 50 Sunday School catechism teachers from every diocese in Taiwan met recently at Hsiang Shan Pastoral Centre for a Formation Seminar an exchange of experience and to discuss the conten ...