News

• 23 December 2008
  EUROPE/GERMANY - Agenzia Fides interviews an illegal immigrant in Germany on the tariffs and the fears of someone trying to enter Europe (Luca de Mata writes from Germany) Cologne (Agenzia Fides) – An interview with an illegal Filipino immigrant normally involves a gathering of the large Filipino community. All of them want to tell their story. The trip. Humiliations and the debts that h ...
• 23 December 2008
  AFRICA/EGYPT - “Perhaps if the Lord had chosen to be born in this epoch, given God's way of acting, He would not have disdained this place”: says a missionary working in the rag-picker district of Cairo Cairo (Agenzia Fides) – “In our very modest structure we try to make sure the small classrooms where we teach our children are kept clean. We insist on the necessity of hygiene and order as a system of life, and we h ...
• 22 December 2008
  VATICAN - The Pope at the Angelus recalls that in the Christmas mystery of salvation, “beyond the historical dimension... there is a cosmic dimension: Christ is the sun of grace who, with his light, transfigures and inflames the universe with expectation,” and greets participants in the initiatives underway for the world Year of Astronomy Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - “With the feast of Christmas just a few days away, we are invited to fix our gaze upon the ineffable mystery that Mary carried for nine months in her virginal womb: the mystery of God who ...
• 22 December 2008
  VATICAN - “You can pray to the Lord that he will change the hearts of those who make weapons, bring terrorists to their senses, convert the heart of those who think always of war and help humanity to build a better future for all the children of the world.” The Pope addresses the youth of Italy's Catholic Action (A.C.R.) Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – According to custom, on December 20, the Holy Father Benedict XVI received a group of youth representing Italy's Catholic Action (A.C.R.), in an audience to wish them a blessed Christmas. ...
• 22 December 2008
  VATICAN - Pope tells Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology: “Every man, every society, needs a culture that is open to the anthropological, moral, and spiritual dimension of its existence.” Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - “The diffusion of artistic and historical culture in all sectors of society provides the men and women of our age with means to rediscover their own roots and extract cultural and spiritu ...
• 22 December 2008
  VATICAN - Apostolic Letter of the Holy Father, on the occasion of the 8th Centenary of the death of Blessed John Duns Scotus: “Solid as he was in the Catholic Faith, he made all efforts to understand, explain, and defend the truths of the faith through the light of human reason.” Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – The Holy Father Benedict XVI sent an apostolic letter to the Archbishop of Cologne, Cardinal Joachim Meisner, and the participants in the International Scientific Congress, on the occasio ...
• 22 December 2008
  ASIA/SOUTH KOREA - “May the Holy Family be the model of the Christian family”: Christmas message from the Bishops' Commission for the Family Seoul (Agenzia Fides) - “Spousal love and the sign of divine love”: this is the title of the message issued by the Commission for the Family, of the South Korean Bishops' Conference, on the occasion of Christmas and ...
• 22 December 2008
  ASIA/INDIA - Strike and protests of Hindu extremists in Orissa on Christmas Day: Christians fear more violence is yet to come New Delhi (Agenzia Fides) – Hindu radicalist groups, those responsible for the anti-Christian violence reported in Orissa and in other Indian states in past months, have announced that they will hold a nationwide strik ...
• 22 December 2008
  VATICAN - Fraternal gathering for all those working in International Secretariats of the Pontifical Mission Societies Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – On Saturday, December 20, at the CIAM (International Center for Missionary Animation) headquarters, a Christmas gathering was held for all the personnel working in the International Secre ...
• 22 December 2008
  AMERICA/PERU - In their Christmas Message, the Bishops tell people to look upon the poverty of children Lima (Agenzia Fides) – The announcement of the birth of the Savior “is a cause for joy and hope; a source of strength for overcoming the culture of violence and death and for building solidarity, progress, and peace ...
• 22 December 2008
  AMERICA/MEXICO - For the first time, the flame from Bethlehem to Mexico will bring a “light of hope” to all homes. Mexico City (Agenzia Fides) – For the first time, the flame that the Scouts send from Bethlehem to Europe and the United States will reach Mexico, as well. The flame reached the “Templo Expiatorio Cristo” (Old Basi ...
• 22 December 2008
  AFRICA/CONGO DR - An uncertain Christmas in East Congo, where hundreds of thousands of refugees are living in make-shift camps. Reflections from a missionary. Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - “What is cause for concern is the situation of absolute uncertainty that continues to weigh heavily on Congo and on the neighboring countries, like a black cloud,” Fr. Antonio Trettel, Jave ...
• 22 December 2008
  AMERICA/ARGENTINA - Thanksgiving Mass in Corrientes, for the 30th anniversary of the Papal Mediation: “Chileans and Argentineans, by the grace of God, were able to escape from the shadows of an imminent and threatening war, with the hope of peace.” Corrientes (Agenzia Fides) – Archbishop Andres Stanovnik of Corrientes (Argentina) presided a Mass in Thanksgiving for the 30th anniversary of the mediation effort made by Pope John Paul II in the conflict over the Bea ...
• 22 December 2008
  EUROPE/GERMANY - “ Whereas in Italy one hears about Italians all over the world promoting 'made in Italy' , here we have an Italian community in need of assistance.” - if the Mafia is one channel of illegal immigration, on the other it forces many poor people to emigrate from southern Italy to other countries-: testimonial from Scalabrini Fr. Ermenegildo Baggio, parish priest for the Italian community in Cologne (correspondence from Luca De Mata in Germany- part 9) Cologne (Agenzia Fides) - "I have been in Cologne for sixteen years now, as parish priest for the immigrant Italian community. In the city, here in Cologne, there are about twenty thousand Italians and in the mission ar ...
• 20 December 2008
  EUROPE/GERMANY - “Believing in Jesus Christ is a decision that demands awareness, especially in the nations with a larger number of immigrants and a greater confrontation between peoples and cultures, in peace and in mutual respect.” Agenzia Fides interviews Fr. Silvio Vallecoccia, Scalabrinian missionary (Luca de Mata writes from Germany) Cologne (Agenzia Fides) – Father Silvio Vallecoccia, Scalabrinian missionary works as head of the International Youth Ministry program in Cologne. Fr. Silvio, finding missionaries not in Africa, nor in Asia, but her ...