Catholic News 2
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The International Monetary Fund on Monday raised its forecast for the U.S. economy over the next two years, saying President-elect Donald Trump's policies should boost economic growth, particularly in 2018. But officials warned that if Trump's protectionist trade proposals set off a trade war, that could be "quite destructive" for the global economy....
CANCUN, Mexico (AP) -- Gunfire broke out at a crowded beachfront nightclub throbbing with electronic music on Monday, leaving five people dead and setting off a bloody stampede by screaming concertgoers at an international festival in the Caribbean resort of Playa del Carmen....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The wife of the Orlando nightclub shooter, who was extensively questioned by federal agents in the days after the massacre, has been arrested by the FBI on in connection with the attack, authorities said Monday....
Former astronaut Gene Cernan, the last of only a dozen men to walk on the moon who returned to Earth with a message of "peace and hope for all mankind," has died. He was 82....
ATLANTA (AP) -- As Americans celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., civil rights leaders and activists are trying to reconcile the transition from the nation's first black president to a president-elect still struggling to connect with most non-white voters....
(Vatican Radio) The Holy Land Co-ordination, comprising bishops from across Europe, North America, and South Africa, is on its annual pilgrimage to the area with the aim of visiting and supporting the local Christian communities.Bishop Oscar Cantú of Las Cruces in New Mexico, USA, is participating in the pilgrimage which runs from 14-19 of January. In an interview with Devin Watkins, Bishop Cantú said the Co-ordination's theme this year is on the 50th anniversary of the occupation of Palestine.Listen to their conversation: This is the third year that Bishop Cantú participates in the Holy Land pilgrimage."The settlements continue, and there are some small signs on the part of the Israelis that seem to show some good faith, but it's one step forward and two or three steps backwards."But Bishop Cantú said the elements of good faith seem to be "disingenuous". He said the reality is "j...
(Vatican Radio) The Holy Land Co-ordination, comprising bishops from across Europe, North America, and South Africa, is on its annual pilgrimage to the area with the aim of visiting and supporting the local Christian communities.
Bishop Oscar Cantú of Las Cruces in New Mexico, USA, is participating in the pilgrimage which runs from 14-19 of January. In an interview with Devin Watkins, Bishop Cantú said the Co-ordination's theme this year is on the 50th anniversary of the occupation of Palestine.
Listen to their conversation:
This is the third year that Bishop Cantú participates in the Holy Land pilgrimage.
"The settlements continue, and there are some small signs on the part of the Israelis that seem to show some good faith, but it's one step forward and two or three steps backwards."
But Bishop Cantú said the elements of good faith seem to be "disingenuous".
He said the reality is "just a gradual taking-over of land and closing the possibility of a two-state solution. And that's particularly what we're concerned about: the dignity of persons, no matter their religion or their ethnicity, and their self-determination. That is a basic human right that is disrespected."
Bishop Cantú noted that issue is complex and that the motivations for the settlements vary between families, "some are political, some are economic, some are religious". "No matter what the motivations are, the Palestinian people are becoming a people without a land, and they are certainly people without rights."
In conclusion, Bishop Cantú said that, as the group walked through the city of Hebron on Monday, "the tension is palpable..., and I can't imagine having to live in this kind of tension", which he said "day-in and day-out certainly weighs on the human spirit. So it allows us to enter into, a bit, the minds and the psyche of the Palestinians living under occupation."
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent his condolences after a cargo plane crashed in a residential area outside Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. The Turkish plane was flying from Hong Kong, and was scheduled to stop at Manas Airport, before continuing to Istanbul.At least 37 people were killed in the crash, most of them on the ground. Over half the houses in the small village next to the airport were reported destroyed in the accident. The full text of the Message sent by Cardinal Pietro Parolin on behalf of Pope Francis is below. Deeply saddened to learn of the tragic crash of a cargo plane near Bishkek, Pope Francis sends his condolences to all those who have lost loved ones, particularly in Manas, and commends the souls of the deceased to the mercy of Almighty God. In praying for the search and rescue efforts, His Holiness invokes upon the nation the divine blessings of strength and consolation. ...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent his condolences after a cargo plane crashed in a residential area outside Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. The Turkish plane was flying from Hong Kong, and was scheduled to stop at Manas Airport, before continuing to Istanbul.
At least 37 people were killed in the crash, most of them on the ground. Over half the houses in the small village next to the airport were reported destroyed in the accident.
The full text of the Message sent by Cardinal Pietro Parolin on behalf of Pope Francis is below.
Deeply saddened to learn of the tragic crash of a cargo plane near Bishkek, Pope Francis sends his condolences to all those who have lost loved ones, particularly in Manas, and commends the souls of the deceased to the mercy of Almighty God. In praying for the search and rescue efforts, His Holiness invokes upon the nation the divine blessings of strength and consolation.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin
Secretary of State
A prominent Muslim intellectual is urging Indonesian Catholics to put prejudices aside and vote in regional elections next month for leaders who can make society a better place for all citizens, regardless of their religious or ethnic backgrounds. Millions of Indonesians will elect new leaders on Feb. 15 in more than 100 regions across the archipelago, including Jakarta. Three candidates are vying to become Jakarta governor, including Protestant incumbent Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, commonly known as "Ahok, " who is running for a second term. But his popularity has plummeted after alleged blasphemy charges for comments made by him in September which many Muslims insisted insulted the Quran."We have to vote for a brave leader who can make changes in this capital," Mohammad Qodari, a prominent Muslim intellectual and executive director of Indo Barometer, an independent research and survey institute, told hundreds of Catholics at a gathering at Sacre...
A prominent Muslim intellectual is urging Indonesian Catholics to put prejudices aside and vote in regional elections next month for leaders who can make society a better place for all citizens, regardless of their religious or ethnic backgrounds. Millions of Indonesians will elect new leaders on Feb. 15 in more than 100 regions across the archipelago, including Jakarta. Three candidates are vying to become Jakarta governor, including Protestant incumbent Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, commonly known as "Ahok, " who is running for a second term. But his popularity has plummeted after alleged blasphemy charges for comments made by him in September which many Muslims insisted insulted the Quran.
"We have to vote for a brave leader who can make changes in this capital," Mohammad Qodari, a prominent Muslim intellectual and executive director of Indo Barometer, an independent research and survey institute, told hundreds of Catholics at a gathering at Sacred Heart Church in Central Java, on Jan. 15. At the gathering Qodari, who appeared to back Ahok for his reforms, said that Catholics are not only good citizens but also good nation-builders.
Father Guido Suprapto, executive secretary of Indonesian Bishops' Commission for the Laity, said the bishops' conference issued a pastoral letter in November last year, encouraging Catholics to participate in the election and even monitor the entire process. Catholics can change society by voting for leaders who understand religious values, take the side of poor people and who love peace and care for the environment, he said. (Source: UCAN)
Catholic and Protestant leaders from India and abroad have resolved to share resources and cooperate in evangelization work in a bid to foster ecumenism and counter anti-Christian harassment in the country. Some 3,600 leaders from India and another 260 from abroad on Sunday concluded a 4-day meeting in Damoh, a town in central India’s Madhya Pradesh state, ahead of the worldwide Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Jan. 18-25. The annual gathering, 19th in a series, was jointly organized by a collection of groups called the International Conference on Missions and Global Gathering. It assumes significance in the background of increasing anti-Christian incidents in the country from Hindu nationalist groups. Over the last several years Christian leaders across India have been reporting of their churches being attacked, pastors beaten up and Christian villages threatened with social boycott to force them to abandon their faith.Ajai Lall, president o...
Catholic and Protestant leaders from India and abroad have resolved to share resources and cooperate in evangelization work in a bid to foster ecumenism and counter anti-Christian harassment in the country. Some 3,600 leaders from India and another 260 from abroad on Sunday concluded a 4-day meeting in Damoh, a town in central India’s Madhya Pradesh state, ahead of the worldwide Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Jan. 18-25. The annual gathering, 19th in a series, was jointly organized by a collection of groups called the International Conference on Missions and Global Gathering. It assumes significance in the background of increasing anti-Christian incidents in the country from Hindu nationalist groups. Over the last several years Christian leaders across India have been reporting of their churches being attacked, pastors beaten up and Christian villages threatened with social boycott to force them to abandon their faith.
Ajai Lall, president of the India Christian Mission, and chief organizer of the program said delegates have agreed to "share our resources and talents" and "it will not only multiply but also fetch greater good to the suffering humanity" and to create a just society to exploitation.
Church leaders speaking in a special session agreed to forge greater unity among churches in Asia by bridging their differences and together facing challenges, he said. Anti-Christian incidents have increased ever since the pro-Hindu nationalist party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in New Delhi two years ago as extremist Hindu groups took the victory as a mandate to press for a Hindu-only India. The BJP is already in power in several states, and it work toward gaining power in five more states that go to polls later this year.
India has some 27 million Christians and 17 million of them Catholics. Majority of the other 10 million are Protestant Christians but many Pentecostal groups, especially in the villages, compete with each other to claim Christians. Aggressive evangelization methods that include preaching in the streets without respecting local religions and culture and engaging in "sheep stealing" Christians from other churches have led to violence and rivalry in the past, pastors said. (Source: UCAN)
Chad is going through a very difficult time because "of disputes from the presidential election management, the non-payment of wages and the austerity measures taken by the government to tackle the economic and financial crisis," write the Bishops of Chad in their 2016 end of year message.Politically the Bishops decry "the lack of dialogue" between government and opposition political parties and with institutions and civil society. The Bishops view this development as "a serious threat to democracy."Since Chad has been exporting oil "the country has lost its agricultural and pastoral vocation" stressed the message. "But the mismanagement of oil revenues and the steep plunge in international oil prices have brought to light, the fragility of an economy based on such a resource.The lack of interest in the primary sector and the advance of desertification are causing "bloody conflicts between pastoralists and farmers, causing human an...
Chad is going through a very difficult time because "of disputes from the presidential election management, the non-payment of wages and the austerity measures taken by the government to tackle the economic and financial crisis," write the Bishops of Chad in their 2016 end of year message.
Politically the Bishops decry "the lack of dialogue" between government and opposition political parties and with institutions and civil society. The Bishops view this development as "a serious threat to democracy."
Since Chad has been exporting oil "the country has lost its agricultural and pastoral vocation" stressed the message. "But the mismanagement of oil revenues and the steep plunge in international oil prices have brought to light, the fragility of an economy based on such a resource.
The lack of interest in the primary sector and the advance of desertification are causing "bloody conflicts between pastoralists and farmers, causing human and material loss."
The Bishops ask everyone in Chad to do their part to get the country out of the crisis by inviting the population to "resist the temptation of violence and discouragement," say the Chadian prelates
"The future of the country belongs to you. It is up to you to draw a new path, away from beaten paths marked by the errors of the past. This happens if there is tolerance, respect for differences and beliefs and mutual acceptance," the Bishop’s message reads in part.
(L.M; Agenzia Fides)
