Europe

• 1 August 2008
  EUROPE/SPAIN - “The whole truth on abortion” brochure offers informational material in a clear and simple format in response to the main questions on abortion Madrid (Agenzia Fides) – The Spanish organization “S.O.S. Familia” has begun free distribution of a brochure entitled, “The whole truth on abortion,” which offers informational material in a clear and simple fo ...
• 31 July 2008
  EUROPE/SPAIN - “I want my mom and I to have a house where rain and wind can’t get in.” (Luca De Mata writes from Spain - Part 3) Cuenca (Agenzia Fides) – I am almost at the end of my trip in Cuenca. The weather is a bit schizophrenic: on-and-off rain; on-and-off cloud cover. The colors shine and then are dulled, or completely vanish into the res ...
• 31 July 2008
  EUROPE/BELGIUM - The drama of the “sans papiers” in Belgium: Cardinal Danneels calls for a “policy that is realistic, just, and generous.” Brussels (Agenzia Fides) – It is the drama of the illegal workers, the so-called “sans papiers” (without documents), which has erupted in Belgium as well, where an illegal immigrant protesting on top of a crane at ...
• 31 July 2008
  ASIA/PHILIPPINES - The mission of the Camillian Order on the island of Samar is growing, with the collaboration efforts of the laity who have laid the first stone of a new hospital in a rural area Manila (Agenzia Fides) – “The island of Samar is the poorest of the 7,000 islands of the Philippines, and yet, the feast of Saint Camillus, celebrated on July 14, has been an opportunity to witness and appreciate how ...
• 30 July 2008
  EUROPE/SPAIN - The veiled face of an Algerian mother and a Moroccan volunteer from Caritas and the Red Crescent. Different cultures, different faiths...these are no longer barriers, but opportunities for progress and democracy. (correspondence from Spain from Luca De Mata - Part 2) Cuenca (Agenzia Fides) – It’s my second day in Cuenca, in the Spanish region of La Mancha. Landscapes. Small houses. White. The land fades into the mix of colors of work and sprawl. Mountains of stone. Castles and mi ...
• 29 July 2008
  EUROPE/ITALY - Talks published from the Seminar on the role of women religious in fighting human trafficking Rome (Agenzia Fides) – Modern slavery forces a 13 year-old African girl to become a prostitute for 400 dollars per hour, raking in up to 9,600 dollars per day for her exploiter. Then there are the over 23,000 young gir ...
• 29 July 2008
  EUROPE/ITALY - 43rd General Chapter of the Hospital Sisters of Mercy begins August 25 Rome (Agenzia Fides) – The Hospital Sisters of Mercy were founded in Rome in 1821 by Princess Teresa Orsini. They will be celebrating their 43rd General Chapter from August 25 to September 15, 2008 in Loreto (Italy) on ...
• 28 July 2008
  EUROPE/ITALY - Message from the Italian Bishops’ Conference for Thanksgiving Day in Italy 2008: “The path from availability to distribution is the main means to resolving the food crisis with justice.” Rome (Agenzia Fides) – “The Gospel reminds us that bread given to the poor is bread given to Jesus Himself. He takes it from us, transforms it, and the multiplies it and fills it with a new energy: it is the ‘daily ...
• 28 July 2008
  EUROPE/ITALY - Saint Paul is adopted as a “traveling companion” by youth from the Oblates’ Costruire Youth Movement on their trip to Uruguay Rome (Agenzia Fides) – Seven members of the “Costruire Youth Movement” (in Italian, MGC) will take a missionary trip to Uruguay July 30-August 21. The event has been taking place for several years, thanks to the Mi ...
• 24 July 2008
  EUROPE/SPAIN - Agenzia Fides interviews the Bishop of Cuenca: “The Church’s role in attending persons from the outside cannot be reduced to charitable services alone, although this is needed. The manner of confronting the immigration issue cannot be limited to Caritas. The Church’s mission is to evangelize.” Excerpt from the Encyclical Redemptoris Missio: “Among the great changes taking place in the contemporary world, migration has produced a new phenomenon: non-Christians are becoming very numerous in traditionally Chris ...
• 23 July 2008
  EUROPE/SPAIN - The Church in Spain rejoices as Madrid is chosen to host WYD 2011: “it will place us in contact with the best of our tradition and the great ideals that have inspired us over the centuries and still do even now.” Madrid (Agenzia Fides) – “I wish to express my gratitude, on behalf of the entire Diocese of Madrid, for this honor” said Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco, Archbishop of Madrid and President of the Spanish Bishops’ C ...
• 22 July 2008
  EUROPE/SPAIN - Salesians and Daughters of Charity start a Center for youth immigrants at risk for social marginalization Madrid (Agenzia Fides) – This past July 18, representatives of the government of the City of Madrid inaugurated the Lumbre Social-Educational Assistance Center, begun by the Salesians and the Daughters of Charity. This ...
• 18 July 2008
  EUROPE/SPAIN - The Institute for Family Policies warns: “If the law calling for free abortion proposed by the government takes affect, by 2015 Spain will be the country with the highest abortion rate in the European Union.” government is trying to impose, if approved, would turn Spain into the country with the highest abortion rate in the European Union, by 2015, with over 230,000 abortions per year. In fact by 2015, keeping in mind the cur ...
• 15 July 2008
  EUROPE/POLAND - Special Edition of “Generation John Paul II”: a guide to World Youth Day, including for those who cannot travel to Sydney Czestochowa (Agenzia Fides) – On the occasion of World Youth Day in Sydney, the Polish Catholic weekly “Niedzela,” the most widely-read magazine in Poland, headquartered in Czestochowa, has recently published a spe ...
• 11 July 2008
  EUROPE/POLAND - “Vacations with God” organized by the Pontifical Mission Societies, Caritas, and Catholic Action of the Archdiocese of Czestochowa, for 2,000 underprivileged children Czestochowa (Agenzia Fides) – About 2,000 children and youth from families with economic difficulties or those living in poverty will be able to enjoy at least a part of their summer vacations in July and August. “Va ...