News

• 11 September 2003
  ASIA/INDIA - CHRISTIANS SHOULD TAKE PART IN POLITICS AND BUSINESS TO INFUSE GOSPEL AND CHURCH’S SOCIAL TEACHING: COMBINATION OF FREE MARKET AND EFFECTIVE RULES MAKES FOR GOOD OF SOCIETY Bombay (Fides Service) – Christians can and must take an active part in politics and business in order to carry the Gospel message and values to ambits vital for the life of society. This was affirmed by Bishop Aloysiu ...
• 11 September 2003
  ASIA/SOUTH KOREA - CHURCH IN KOREA ENCOURAGES BASIC ECCLESIAL COMMUNITIES FOR EVANGELISATION BASED ON WORD OF GOD AND COMMUNITY LIFE Seoul (Fides Service) – Promotion of Basic Ecclesial Communities BEC as a means of evangelisation through laity and families: this is the intention of a group of Catholic Bishops in Korea who recently invited Catholic ...
• 11 September 2003
  AFRICA/BURUNDI - GOVERNMENT AND MAIN REBEL GROUP MAY BE NEAR TO AGREEMENT Bujumbura (Fides Service) – Burundian President Domitien Ndayizeye and rebel leader Pierre Nkrurunziza, head of FDD, Forces for Defence of Democracy, will meet for talks on Sunday 14 September in Dar es Salaam, Tanzani ...
• 11 September 2003
  AFRICA/IVORY COAST - RE-OPENING OF IVORY COAST/BURKINA FASO BORDER HAILED WITH SATISFACTION Abidjan (Fides Service) – “Yesterday we were present at the ceremony for the re-opening of the Ivory Coast/Burkina Faso border and we saw the joy and relief on faces on both sides of the frontier” PIME missionaries ...
• 11 September 2003
  EUROPE/ITALY - COMBONI MISSIONARIES END GENERAL CHAPTER FIRST STAGE: “EITHER WE ARE MISSIONARIES OR WE ARE NOTHING” Rome (Fides Service) – On September 11 the Comboni Missionaries, meeting in Rome for the 16th general chapter, concluded the first stage of their work of “looking” consisting in listening and reflecting on interven ...
• 11 September 2003
  ASIA/INDONESIA - TERRORISM IS A CONCERN BUT PEOPLE ARE PREOCCUPIED WITH ECONOMIC PROBLEMS, UNEMPLOYMENT, POVERTY: SAYS BISHOP SITUMORANG, SECRETARY OF THE INDONESIAN BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE Padang (Fides Service) – “This is a September 11 without tension although fear of terrorism remains after the recent attack, but what peopel are mostly concerned with is work and feeding the family” says Bishop Mar ...
• 11 September 2003
  FIDES SIGNALS - PRESENTATION OF MONDO E MISSIONE SPECIAL ISSUE ON MOTHER TERESA OF CALCUTTA To make known the figure and the work of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who will be beatified by Pope John Paul II on Mission Sunday 19 October 2003, Mondo e Missione monthly magazine published by the Pontifical Institute fo ...
• 10 September 2003
  AFRICA/NIGERIA - AT LEAST 5000 HOMELESS AFTER FLOODS IN NORTH EASTERN NIGERIA Lagos (Fides Service) – As many as 5,000 people have been forced to leave their homes because of floods in Kaduna state in north east Nigeria. Local church forces contacted by Fides Service say torrential rains began s ...
• 10 September 2003
  ASIA/SINGAPORE - SARS ALARM BUT WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION APPEALS FOR CALM BUT NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS. CHINESE CATHOLICS CARRY ON DAILY PRAYERS Singapore (Fides Service) – A new case of SARS Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in Singapore has put the international community in alarm. In various parts of the world, especially those countries affected by the viru ...
• 10 September 2003
  EUROPE/GERMANY - S. EGIDIO MEETING CLOSES: “DIALOGUE NEEDS STRONG HEARTS” SUGGESTED A COMMON CELEBRATION AMONG CHRISTIAN CHURCHES TO COMMEMORATE MARTYRS OF 20TH CENTURY – APPEAL FOR PEACE: “DIALOGUE IS NOT FOR THE FEARFUL” Aachen (Fides Service) – At the final press conference for the Interreligious Meeting in Aachen, the founder of the S. Egidio Community, Andrea Riccardi, thanked the Germans for their participation and announced that d ...
• 10 September 2003
  EUROPE/ITALY - MONASTICISM’S CONTRIBUTION TO DIALOGUE AND BUILDING EUROPE IN SPIRIT Rome (Fides Service) – From 17-22 September representatives of numerous monastic orders, male and female present in European countries, will meet in Assisi, which has become the capital of dialogue since it began to ho ...
• 10 September 2003
  AMERICA/GUATEMALA - IN VIEW OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS CATHOLIC BISHOPS SAY: “WE WANT A COUNTRY WHERE WE CAN BREATHE AND GROW IN FREEDOM IN EVERY SENSE” Guatemala City (Agenzia Fides) - “Peace is possible, a Responsible Vote is an Opportunity” is the title of a message issued by the Conference of Bishops of Guatemala denouncing clearly and with courage spreading viol ...
• 10 September 2003
  ASIA/PAKISTAN - MARY OF NAZARETH UNITES MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIANS: PILGRIMS FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY GATHER AT MARIAMBAD SHRINE Mariambad (Fides Service) – “I am truly grateful to the people of Mariambad for their generous collaboration in welcoming pilgrims from all over the country” said Archbishop Lawrence Saldhana of Lahore in his addre ...
• 10 September 2003
  ASIA/INDIA - CATHOLIC CHURCH LAUNCHES ANTI-AIDS CAMPAIGN IN CHURCH-RUN INSTITUTIONS: 5,000 HOSPITALS AND 2,000 REHABILITATION CENTRES New Delhi (Fides Service) – The Conference of Catholic Bishops of India has launched a major nation-wide campaign to coordinate efforts to alleviate the suffering of an estimated 4.5 million HIV positive Indians. The C ...
• 10 September 2003
  ASIA/SRI LANKA - EVERY YEAR 300,000 SRI LANKAN CHILDREN VICTIMS OF PAEDOPHILIA: CATHOLICS COMMITTED TO ELIMINATING THIS HORROR AND OBJECT TO LEGALISATION OF PROSTITUTION WHICH FEEDS ABUSE AND CRIMINALITY Colombo (Fides Service) – Catholics in Colombo are strongly objecting to a petition being circulated in the city to legalise prostitution and organise sexual trade in certain areas of the Sri Lankan capital. The city� ...