News

• 8 February 2011
  VATICAN - Internet “may serve not only for studies, but also for pastoral care activities by future priests in various areas of the Church, such as evangelisation, missionary work and catechesis,” recalls the Pope Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – “The internet, with its capacity to overcome distances and put people in contact, also presents great possibilities for the Church and her mission. With the necessary discernment to ens ...
• 7 February 2011
  ASIA/INDONESIA - Inter-faith Harmony Week begins, but attacks rise against minorities Jakarta (Agenzia Fides) – Inter-faith Harmony Week began in Jakarta yesterday, 5 February, with messages of dialogue and peace, with hopes for reconciliation and calls for tolerance. Thousands of believers from all rel ...
• 7 February 2011
  AFRICA/SUDAN - Religious leaders: the LRA is a threat to the new independent State of Southern Sudan Juba (Agenzia Fides) – The independence of Southern Sudan, approved by a staggering majority of voters in the referendum held from 9-15 January, is being threatened by the presence of guerillas from the Lord's Resista ...
• 7 February 2011
  ASIA/PAKISTAN - Government reshuffle: Ministry for Religious Minorities disappears Islamabad (Agenzia Fides) – A government reshuffle is approaching in Pakistan: while negotiations are buzzing between political leaders, the government led by Prime Minister Gilani, the Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP), w ...
• 7 February 2011
  VATICAN - At the Angelus the Pope hopes that Egypt “may rediscover tranquillity and peaceful coexistence, in a shared commitment for the common good” Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – In his Address prior to reciting the Angelus on Sunday, 6 February, taking his cue from Sunday's Gospel passage, the Holy Father Benedict XVI emphasised how Jesus, through these words dir ...
• 7 February 2011
  VATICAN - Episcopal Ordination: “It is time for mission: the Lord sends you, dear friends, into his harvest” Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – Saturday, 5 February, in St Peter's Basilica, the Holy Father Benedict XVI conferred Episcopal Ordination upon the following five priests: Msgr. Savio Hon Tai-Fai, of the Salesian Society ...
• 7 February 2011
  EUROPE/SPAIN - 1,000 babies under 5 years die in the world every hour due to easily preventable causes Madrid (Agenzia Fides) – With a new initiative, the Catholic volunteer NGO “Manos Unidas”, which works against hunger, poverty, malnutrition, sickness, lack of education and underdevelopment, presented the campaign ...
• 7 February 2011
  AFRICA/EGYPT - “We are returning to normality even if protests are continuing,” missionary states Cairo (Agenzia Fides) - “The situation seems to be returning to normal, even if protests are continuing in Tahrir Square,” Father Luciano Verdoscia told Fides, the Comboni missionary who has worked for years in Cairo ...
• 7 February 2011
  ASIA/INDIA - Strong fears for violence against Christians during days of Hindu festival Bhopal (Agenzia Fides) – Strong fears for anti-Christian violence in Madhya Pradesh, the central Indian state, with the upcoming Hindu festival, “Narmada Samajik Kumbh” to be held from 10 to 12 February and which w ...
• 7 February 2011
  ASIA/CHINA - Evangelisation and Christian formation continue to be the priorities for the new year Shi Jia Zhuang (Agenzia Fides) – According to information sent to Fides, evangelisation continues to be a priority for the new year for the mainland Chinese Catholic communities. Immediately after the celebration of th ...
• 7 February 2011
  AMERICA/BRAZIL - The mission and ecology: preparing for the missionary campaign of October 2011 Brasilia (Agenzia Fides) – Under the coordination of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS), the team responsible for preparing the material for the missionary campaign next October, met at the PMS headquarters, in Bra ...
• 7 February 2011
  AMERICA/PERU - Bishops of the Amazon on the need for environmental impact pre-assessment Lima (Agenzia Fides) – The President of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference and the Bishops of the Apostolic Vicariate of the Amazon have demonstrated their opposition to emergency ordinances promulgated recently by the ...
• 7 February 2011
  OCEANIA/AUSTRALIA - Enrolments rise in Catholic schools Sydney (Agenzia Fides) – According to a report in the daily Australian newspaper, “The Age”, in 2010 Catholic schools recorded a 53% increase in enrolments, equivalent to 2,586 students, with respect to 543 studen ...
• 7 February 2011
  ASIA/KOREA - Appointment of Auxiliary of Suwon Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – The Holy Father Benedict XVI on 7 February 2011 appointed as Auxiliary of the Diocese of Suwon (Korea) Father Linus Lee Seong-hyo, Professor and Director of the Centre for Research Academ ...
• 5 February 2011
  AFRICA/CÔTE-D'IVOIRE - “The Holy Father's gift to displaced persons in Côte d'Ivoire shows the proximity of the Church to the least,” said the Apostolic Nuncio Abidjan (Agenzia Fides) - “The Church has always been closer to all those who suffer, without exception,” said Bishop Ambrose Madtha, Apostolic Nuncio to Côte d'Ivoire, in a statement sent to Fides, in which it was ...