Catholic News 2
CHICAGO (AP) -- It could take months for investigators to determine what preceded the deaths of at least nine people found with dozens of ailing individuals in a tractor-trailer discovered outside a Walmart in San Antonio, Texas, in what authorities are calling an immigrant-smuggling attempt gone wrong....
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- At least nine people died after being crammed into a sweltering tractor-trailer found parked outside a Walmart in the midsummer Texas heat, victims of what authorities said on Sunday was an immigrant-smuggling attempt gone wrong....
(Vatican Radio) The European Union has condemned moves by the U.S. Congress to step up sanctions on Russia without consulting the EU and other allies amid concerns it could impact energy supplies and have other negative economic consequences for Europe. Its statement came after Democrats and Republicans in Congress reached a deal that could see new legislation pass to tighten sanctions against Russia's over its alleged meddling in the recent U.S. presidential elections. Listen to the report by Stefan Bos: The European Commission, the EU's executive, warned the U.S. Congress that its proposed punitive measures against Russia would have what it called "wide and indiscriminate" "unintended consequences". Brussels is especially concerned about the impact new US sanctions will have on the block's efforts to diversify energy sources. Germany has already said it could retaliate if the United States moves to sanction firms involved wit...
(Vatican Radio) The European Union has condemned moves by the U.S. Congress to step up sanctions on Russia without consulting the EU and other allies amid concerns it could impact energy supplies and have other negative economic consequences for Europe.
Its statement came after Democrats and Republicans in Congress reached a deal that could see new legislation pass to tighten sanctions against Russia's over its alleged meddling in the recent U.S. presidential elections.
Listen to the report by Stefan Bos:
The European Commission, the EU's executive, warned the U.S. Congress that its proposed punitive measures against Russia would have what it called "wide and indiscriminate" "unintended consequences". Brussels is especially concerned about the impact new US sanctions will have on the block's efforts to diversify energy sources.
Germany has already said it could retaliate if the United States moves to sanction firms involved with building a new Baltic pipeline for Russian gas.
European Union officials fear a German-U.S. row over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, built by Russia's state-owned company Gazprom, could make it difficult to reach an EU consensus over the project.
The Commission's statement came while leaders of both parties of the United States Congress agreed on a law allowing fresh sanctions to punish Russia for alleged election meddling.
NEW SANCTIONS
It would also sharply limit U.S. President Donald Trump's ability to lift any sanctions against Russia. Trump has previously said he needs diplomatic leeway with the Kremlin.
But under the proposed bill, Trump must submit to Congress a report on proposed actions that would "significantly alter" U.S. foreign policy in connection with Russia, including easing sanctions or returning diplomatic properties in Maryland and New York that former President Barack Obama ordered vacated in December.
The House is set to vote on Tuesday on a package of bills on sanctions covering Russia as well as Iran and North Korea. President Trump's time in office has been overshadowed by claims that Russia tried to influence last year's US election.
Moscow denies wrongdoing, but several U.S. investigations are looking into whether anyone in the Trump campaign colluded with Russian officials. Analysts say that the bipartisan agreement between Democrats and Republicans indicates a determination in Congress to maintain a firm line against Russia, whatever President Trump's view.
However, the European Commission is urging Washington to keep coordinating its plans with the EU and other partners in the G7 group of highly industrialized democracies at a time when Brussels is already worried about Trump's "America First" policies.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- It's victory for "Dunkirk" and "Girls Trip" at the box office this weekend. Both original and well-reviewed films smashed expectations and enticed diverse audiences to the theaters, even though cumulatively summer remains down from last year....
KUWAIT CITY (AP) -- Turkey's president waded into the diplomatic crisis gripping Qatar and four other Arab nations on Sunday, traveling to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as part of a three-country Gulf tour aimed at helping break the impasse....
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) -- Three people, including an Israeli man, were wounded by gunfire Sunday in a residential building in the heavily fortified Israeli embassy compound in Jordan's capital, the kingdom's Public Security Directorate said....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The White House indicated Sunday President Donald Trump would sign a sweeping Russia sanctions measure, which the House could take up this week, that requires him to get Congress' permission before lifting or easing the economic penalties against Moscow....
JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israel's security Cabinet met Sunday to review a decision to install metal detectors at a contested Jerusalem holy site, following a week of escalating tensions with the Muslim world, mass prayer protests and Israeli-Palestinian violence....
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- At least 10 people died after being crammed into the back of a sweltering tractor-trailer found parked outside a Walmart in the midsummer Texas heat, authorities said Sunday in what they described as an immigrant-smuggling attempt gone wrong....
Bishop Augustine Shao of Zanzibar, says he wants issues relating to interreligious dialogue and solidarity to be empahsised in the next Plenary Assembly of the regional grouping of bishops’ conferences of eastern Africa, AMECEA.In an interview with AMECEA News Online, the bishop said coming from a diocese where Islam is the main religion, he feels disappointed that the issue of interreligious dialogue has not been given the emphasis it deserves, adding that, the issue of solidarity with the dioceses and countries in the region where Catholic Christians are in a minority also needs to be looked at.The bishop proposed that the Commission on Interreligious Dialogue and Solidarity be one of the key issues to be considered for deliberations during the 19th Plenary Assembly of AMECEA to be held in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa in July 2018.“Previously there was strong Pastoral care to the Nomadic Communities in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, this ensured that people who mo...
Bishop Augustine Shao of Zanzibar, says he wants issues relating to interreligious dialogue and solidarity to be empahsised in the next Plenary Assembly of the regional grouping of bishops’ conferences of eastern Africa, AMECEA.
In an interview with AMECEA News Online, the bishop said coming from a diocese where Islam is the main religion, he feels disappointed that the issue of interreligious dialogue has not been given the emphasis it deserves, adding that, the issue of solidarity with the dioceses and countries in the region where Catholic Christians are in a minority also needs to be looked at.
The bishop proposed that the Commission on Interreligious Dialogue and Solidarity be one of the key issues to be considered for deliberations during the 19th Plenary Assembly of AMECEA to be held in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa in July 2018.
“Previously there was strong Pastoral care to the Nomadic Communities in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, this ensured that people who move from one area to the other were well taken care of in terms of their pastoral needs and something needs to be done to reawaken it”, Bishop Shao, a member of the Spiritan Missionaries said.
He observed that there is infiltration of activities of other religions, especially Islam in the most Catholic dominated areas and such activities are often geared towards “luring Catholics to abandon their faith," he said.
According to Bishop Shao, the AMECEA Commission for Solidarity needs to be in the forefront to reach out to the dioceses and countries in the region facing persecution.
The diocese of Zanzibar faced a series of attacks between 2012 and 2013 from Islamic fundamentalists. The diocese comprises of the Islands of Unguja and Pemba and many other small Islets. It has an area of 2,352 square kilometers, with a total population of 1,420,000, based on 2012 National Census. The number of baptized Catholics is 10,152.
You can read below Pamela Adinda’s full article
ZANZIBAR: Interreligious Dialogue and Solidarity Commission Needs to be Emphasised during the forthcoming AMECEA Plenary Assembly, says Catholic Bishop of Zanzibar
By Pamela Adinda, AMECEA Online News
Zanzibar Bishop Rt. Rev. Augustine Ndeliakyama Shao, C.S.Sp. has proposed Interreligious Dialogue and Solidarity Commission as key issues to be considered for deliberations during the forthcoming 19th AMECEA Plenary Assembly in Addis Ababa Ethiopia in July 2018.
Coming from a diocese where Islam is the main Religion with just a handful of Catholic population that barely make 1%, Bishop Shao feels disappointed that the issue of Interreligious Dialogue has not been given the emphasis it deserves adding that, the issue of solidarity with the dioceses and countries where Catholic Christians are the minority also needs to be looked at to strengthen the activities of the Commission of Solidarity at AMECEA
“Previously there was strong Pastoral care to the Nomadic Communities in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, this ensured that people who move from one area to the other were well taken care of in terms of their pastoral needs and something needs to be done to reawaken it.” Bishop Shao said in an interview with AMECEA Online News in Zanzibar.
He observed that there is infiltration of activities of other Religion in the most dominated Catholic areas and such activities are often geared towards luring Catholics to abandon their faith.
“You can say that as Bishops we are not aware of what is happening; but the reality of the amount of land being bought by Muslims for the erection of Mosques is just alarming, the reality of how other denominations are spreading as whirlwind sweeping along our Catholic faithful is alarming. I might be wrong in that but if you consider the universal trend on how the Muslims are moving very fast even to predominant areas of Christians then there is a reason for us to do something.”
Bishop Shao mentioned his birthplace in Kilimanjaro Rombo where there was no single mosque but now the situation is totally different as numerous mosques have been built.
“So one may wonder that what are the priests doing, what are the Bishops saying, I am not saying that other religions should not flourish in our turfs, but it is a caution that we should strengthen our Christians in their faith through deeper evangelization.” Bishop Shao said adding that it is high time AMECEA considered serious deliberation on interreligious dialogue to come up with resolutions that can form the basis of tackling the infiltrations.
“Let us not only do the beautiful paper works, we come from these international meetings and we discuss a lot of important issues, come up with beautiful ideas, but at the end of the day, the implementation of those ideas remain the prerogatives of the individual bishops. Is he ready to implement it, is he ready to execute it? That is my big concern. He said
Equally important is the issue of solidarity, according to Bishop Shao, the AMECEA Commission for Solidarity needs to be in the forefront to reach out to the dioceses and countries facing persecution. He explained that when his diocese faced the atrocities from the Muslims in 2012-2013, he had 15 priests at that time and they were scared because of the propaganda that the Islamic fundamentalists were looking for priests and religious sisters to assassinate and the priests suggested to him to consider possibility of doing exchange with other dioceses.
“They said that we who have been working in Zanzibar for 20 years, 15years, 12 years can do some exchange with dioceses in Tanzania Mainland in order to debrief. I said my brothers, this has come at a wrong time, at this time everybody is scared of Zanzibar and if I bring this idea to the conference it will not be taken because the bishops are not going to force their priests to come to Zanzibar. Nobody will want to come here so let us persevere.” He explained saying that deep inside he expected more solidarity and so were his priests.
