Catholic News 2
The Latest on the reaction to a court order blocking U.S. President Donald Trump's ban on travelers and immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries (all times Eastern):...
(Vatican Radio) Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine claim that one of their top commanders has been assassinated by Ukrainian government forces. Lugansk People's Militia commander Oleg Anashchenko died early Saturday when his automobile exploded amid the worst clashes in the region since 2015. Listen to the report by Stefan Bos: Security forces and investigators surrounded a burned out vehicle in snow covered eastern Ukraine. The rebels' official Lugansk Information Center also said that a second, unidentified person in the car, was also killed in the explosion in Lugansk city.Lugansk is one of two Ukrainian republics where separatist rebels have been fighting government forces since April 2014 in a war that has killed more than 9800 people.Among those arriving at the scene was Leonid Tkachenko, the leading investigator of the prosecutor's office in the self-declared Lugansk Peoples Republic. "The vehicle, a Toyota Land Cruiser, ex...
(Vatican Radio) Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine claim that one of their top commanders has been assassinated by Ukrainian government forces. Lugansk People's Militia commander Oleg Anashchenko died early Saturday when his automobile exploded amid the worst clashes in the region since 2015.
Listen to the report by Stefan Bos:
Security forces and investigators surrounded a burned out vehicle in snow covered eastern Ukraine.
The rebels' official Lugansk Information Center also said that a second, unidentified person in the car, was also killed in the explosion in Lugansk city.
Lugansk is one of two Ukrainian republics where separatist rebels have been fighting government forces since April 2014 in a war that has killed more than 9800 people.
Among those arriving at the scene was Leonid Tkachenko, the leading investigator of the prosecutor's office in the self-declared Lugansk Peoples Republic. "The vehicle, a Toyota Land Cruiser, exploded today at around 7:58am [local time]," he told reporters. "The explosive device had been placed under the hood," he added.
KIEV BLAMED
A militia spokesman, Andrei Marochko, said Ukrainian special services were responsible for the blast. Fighting in eastern Ukraine sharply escalated this week. The Ukrainian command said Saturday that three of its soldiers were killed in the past day.
More than 30 people, including civilians, are now known to have died and several dozen injured in fighting this week in eastern Ukraine between government forces and the pro-Russia separatist rebels.
Fighting is especially reported around the town of Avdiivka. A deputy chief monitor of Europe's security organization OSCE, Alexander Hug, urged the warring sides to immediately end the worst violence in the region since 2015. "The heavy weapons that have been used by the other side to hit this this part of Avdiivka, and by this side to hit [nearby] Donetsk," he said while visiting the troubled region and meeting desperate residents.
"They [the heavy weapons] should not be there where they have been fired from," Hug explained. "And there were moments when it was not possible to count the violations [of the ceasefire and peace agreements] because they were overlapping and constant," he noted. "The sides have to stop firing immediately. We know they can. We have seen many times that they have full command and control. It is not an impossibility," Hug stressed.
Yet, his appeal has done little to ease tensions and many civilians now suffer in freezing temperatures amid power and food shortages.
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Vatican City, Feb 4, 2017 / 08:16 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In his newest prayer video Pope Francis focused on the poor and refugees, saying we shouldn’t be like immobile mannequin’s when faced with their needs, but must instead reach out and help.“We live in cities that throw up skyscrapers and shopping centers and strike big real estate deals, but they abandon part of themselves to marginal settlements on the periphery,” the Pope said in his prayer video, released Feb. 4.Francis speaks as the video opens to a scene of people doing a “Mannequin Challenge” -- a viral internet trend where people freeze in their positions as music plays in the background -- on a crowded city street.“The result of this situation is that great sections of the population are excluded and marginalized: without a job, without options, without a way out.”“Don't abandon them,” he said, as the frozen figures jump into action and help a homeless man hu...
Vatican City, Feb 4, 2017 / 08:16 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In his newest prayer video Pope Francis focused on the poor and refugees, saying we shouldn’t be like immobile mannequin’s when faced with their needs, but must instead reach out and help.
“We live in cities that throw up skyscrapers and shopping centers and strike big real estate deals, but they abandon part of themselves to marginal settlements on the periphery,” the Pope said in his prayer video, released Feb. 4.
Francis speaks as the video opens to a scene of people doing a “Mannequin Challenge” -- a viral internet trend where people freeze in their positions as music plays in the background -- on a crowded city street.
“The result of this situation is that great sections of the population are excluded and marginalized: without a job, without options, without a way out.”
“Don't abandon them,” he said, as the frozen figures jump into action and help a homeless man hunched by the side of a building.
He asked viewers to join him in praying for his February prayer intention, which is “that all those who are afflicted, especially the poor, refugees, and marginalized may find welcome and comfort in our communities.”
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The Pope’s prayer is timely, as it falls on the heels of U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed immigration ban, which would halt the influx of refugees into the U.S., except in the cases of religious minorities fleeing persecution. Part of the ban could also mean suspending visas issued to persons from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, and Libya.
The temporary ban could last four months, and presidential approval could be required to renew refugee resettlement from Syria.
Pope Francis has not made any comment on the issue, however, American Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark said during a recent trip to Rome that the Pope thinks the country’s bishops are giving the issue “a Gospel response,” and doesn’t feel the need to intervene.
Francis’ prayer intention this month also draws on his “urgent intention” for January, which was dedicated to homeless persons forced to stay out on the streets during the winter.
An initiative of the Jesuit-run Apostleship of Prayer project, the Pope’s monthly prayer intentions typically focus on things close to his heart, such as the poor and needy, refugees, child soldiers, migrants, families, women, workers, youth, elderly and the unemployed.
Founded by Jesuit seminarians in France in 1884, the Apostleship of Prayer was established as a means of encouraging Christians to serve God and others through prayer, particularly for the needs of the Church. Since its foundation, the organization has received a monthly universal prayer intention from the Pope, but in 1929 an additional “evangelization intention” was added, aimed at the faithful in particular.
However, after nearly 100 years, Francis has decided to return to the old system and will alternate between universal and evangelistic themes each month, with a specific “urgent” intention being announced during his first Angelus address of the month.
According to the Apostleship of Prayer’s website, the Pope’s additional urgent intention will focus on “current events or urgent needs,” such as disaster relief, and will “help mobilize prayer and action related to the urgent situation.”
The videos on the prayer intentions were launched as part of a project specifically for the Jubilee of Mercy, and marked the first time his prayer intentions had been featured on video as part of an initiative called “The Pope Video.”
Although the Jubilee has ended, the videos will continue throughout 2017. The intentions for the rest of the year have already been listed on the Apostleship of Prayer’s website.
