Catholic News 2
CHICAGO (AP) -- Chicago police have violated the constitutional rights of residents for years, permitting racial bias against blacks, using excessive force and shooting people who did not pose immediate threats, the Justice Department announced Friday after a yearlong investigation....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- You can't really call them "yes men." Maybe we're meeting Donald Trump's "yes, but" men....
LONDON (AP) -- Christopher Steele, the one-time British spy who has compiled an explosive dossier on President-elect Donald Trump, is a well-regarded operative who wouldn't make up stories to satisfy his clients, according to diplomatic and intelligence experts who know him....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Ascendant Republicans drove a budget through Congress on Friday that gives them an early but critical victory in their crusade to scrap President Barack Obama's health care overhaul....
Vatican Weekend for January 14th, 2017 features a report on the Pope’s General Audience on January 11th, a review of the Pope’s address to the Diplomatic Corps with two ambassadors sharing their impressions of his speech plus a look at how the centenary of the birth of Blessed Archbishop Oscar Romero is being marked in 2017.Listen to this programme produced and presented by Susy Hodges:
Vatican Weekend for January 14th, 2017 features a report on the Pope’s General Audience on January 11th, a review of the Pope’s address to the Diplomatic Corps with two ambassadors sharing their impressions of his speech plus a look at how the centenary of the birth of Blessed Archbishop Oscar Romero is being marked in 2017.
Listen to this programme produced and presented by Susy Hodges:
Vatican Weekend for January 15th, 2017 features our weekly reflection on the Sunday Gospel reading, “There’s More in the Sunday Gospel than Meets the Eye,” plus our resident Vatican watcher Joan Lewis reviews the past week’s events in the Vatican.Listen to this programme produced and presented by Susy Hodges:
Vatican Weekend for January 15th, 2017 features our weekly reflection on the Sunday Gospel reading, “There’s More in the Sunday Gospel than Meets the Eye,” plus our resident Vatican watcher Joan Lewis reviews the past week’s events in the Vatican.
Listen to this programme produced and presented by Susy Hodges:
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis greeted the members of the General Inspectorate for Public Security at the Vatican of the Italian State Police (Polizia di Stato) in a traditional new year meeting on Friday. Although Vatican City State has its own police force – the Vatican Gendarmerie Corps – this force cooperates closely with its Italian counterparts, and the Italian police help patrol St. Peter’s Square.In his address, Francis expressed his gratitude to all of them for their generous service, not without difficulties and risks. “I know that you run risks”, he said. “You are, in a certain sense, the ‘guardian angels’ of St. Peter’s Square. Indeed, every day you keep watch over this peculiar centre of Christianity, and other relevant areas of the Vatican, with great care, professionalism and a sense of duty. And especially in these recent times, you have shown competence and courage in facing the many challenges and various ...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis greeted the members of the General Inspectorate for Public Security at the Vatican of the Italian State Police (Polizia di Stato) in a traditional new year meeting on Friday. Although Vatican City State has its own police force – the Vatican Gendarmerie Corps – this force cooperates closely with its Italian counterparts, and the Italian police help patrol St. Peter’s Square.
In his address, Francis expressed his gratitude to all of them for their generous service, not without difficulties and risks. “I know that you run risks”, he said. “You are, in a certain sense, the ‘guardian angels’ of St. Peter’s Square. Indeed, every day you keep watch over this peculiar centre of Christianity, and other relevant areas of the Vatican, with great care, professionalism and a sense of duty. And especially in these recent times, you have shown competence and courage in facing the many challenges and various dangers, working with generosity in the prevention of crimes. In this way you have ensured safe access for pilgrims to the Basilica and to meetings with Peter’s Successor. For all this I thank you. I thank you: they are not merely words, these, they come from the heart. Thank you! I know the hardships of your work and the sacrifices that you must make every day. Know that I appreciate you greatly and often think with sincere gratitude of you and your valuable work”.
“The extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, an event of unique spiritual significance, has seen many pilgrims flock to Rome from all over the world in recent months. You too have been required to make greater efforts in your work, to ensure that the celebrations and events connected with the Jubilee were able to take place in safety and serenity. The external order over which you kept watch with great diligence, thoughtful care and constant willingness, thus contributed to fostering inner calm in pilgrims in search of peace in their encounter with the Lord’s mercy”.
The Pope recalled that the Christmas celebrations came to an end just a short while ago, in which “we turned our gaze to Bethlehem, to that land and that family who became Jesus’ dwelling. Christmas urges us to measure ourselves, once again, with the lowering of the Son of God, Who wished to make Himself similar to us in everything other than sin, to make us understand the love with which He loved, and loves, us. This immeasurable love is a constant invitation to turn to acceptance, solidarity and forgiveness of our brothers. In this way we will be able to experience within ourselves that peace that the angels in Bethlehem proclaimed to men of good will”.
The Holy Father concluded by asking the Lord to protect those present and commending them to the Virgin Mary, and reiterating his gratitude for the tenacity and fidelity with which they perform their work. “I ask you to pray for me, and impart my heartfelt apostolic blessing”.
(Vatican Radio) Due to the extreme cold in Rome, the St. Egidio Community has kept the Church of St. Callixtus in Trastevere open since 7 Jan as a refuge from the cold for homeless people who have no other place to keep warm.A communique from the Office of the Papal Charities said the church will remain open as long as cold temperatures persist.There are around 30 people – Italians and foreigners – who sleep rough in the area and have been welcomed into St. Callixtus so they may stay the night out of the low temperatures.The communique said guests are offered dinner at St. Egidio’s nearby soup kitchen before being allowed into the church to sleep. Their needs are looked after by volunteers.St. Callixtus and its annexes are extraterritorial property of the Holy See. Though the current church building dates from the 17th century, it was built upon an ancient Roman church, built around the well in which Pope St. Callixtus I was martyred in 222.
(Vatican Radio) Due to the extreme cold in Rome, the St. Egidio Community has kept the Church of St. Callixtus in Trastevere open since 7 Jan as a refuge from the cold for homeless people who have no other place to keep warm.
A communique from the Office of the Papal Charities said the church will remain open as long as cold temperatures persist.
There are around 30 people – Italians and foreigners – who sleep rough in the area and have been welcomed into St. Callixtus so they may stay the night out of the low temperatures.
The communique said guests are offered dinner at St. Egidio’s nearby soup kitchen before being allowed into the church to sleep. Their needs are looked after by volunteers.
St. Callixtus and its annexes are extraterritorial property of the Holy See. Though the current church building dates from the 17th century, it was built upon an ancient Roman church, built around the well in which Pope St. Callixtus I was martyred in 222.
Australia's poor treatment of refugees in offshore detention camps is "draconian" and is causing lasting damage to refugees and to Australia's reputation as a rights-respecting country, Human Rights Watch said on Friday. Conditions in the camps are abusive and detainees "regularly endure violence, threats and harassment", Human Rights Watch said in the Australian chapter of its annual global report. Under Australian rules, anyone intercepted while trying to reach the country by boat is sent for processing to camps in the Pacific Island nation of Nauru and at Manus Island, in Papua New Guinea (PNG). They are never eligible to be resettled in Australia.A spokeswoman for the Department of Immigration, asked about the report before its release, declined to comment but referred to earlier department assertions that conditions at the camps were adequate and were the responsibility of Nauru and PNG. Those governments did not immediately respo...
Australia's poor treatment of refugees in offshore detention camps is "draconian" and is causing lasting damage to refugees and to Australia's reputation as a rights-respecting country, Human Rights Watch said on Friday. Conditions in the camps are abusive and detainees "regularly endure violence, threats and harassment", Human Rights Watch said in the Australian chapter of its annual global report. Under Australian rules, anyone intercepted while trying to reach the country by boat is sent for processing to camps in the Pacific Island nation of Nauru and at Manus Island, in Papua New Guinea (PNG). They are never eligible to be resettled in Australia.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Immigration, asked about the report before its release, declined to comment but referred to earlier department assertions that conditions at the camps were adequate and were the responsibility of Nauru and PNG. Those governments did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Australia's tough policy has drawn strong criticism from the United Nations and other international rights organisations amid a global debate on how to manage huge numbers of asylum seekers displaced by conflict. More than 1,990 asylum seekers have drowned on voyages to Australia since January 2000, according to Monash University's Australian Border Deaths Database. (Source: Reuter)
(Vatican Radio) Ireland’s ambassador to the Holy See says Pope Francis’ speech to the diplomatic corps on Monday, serves as a reminder that we should always be thinking about peacebuilding.Ambassador Emma Madigan, who was giving her reaction to the Pope’s annual discourse also said that it offered a message of hope despite a year that saw conflicts and terror attacks around the world.Listen to Lydia O’Kane's interview with the Irish Ambassador to the Holy See, Emma Madigan Ambassador Madigan who has been Ireland’s representative to the Vatican, since September 2014 noted that, “it is perhaps an anxious time to be living in the world today and to have someone like the Pope, a moral authority, a moral leader being very visible on this and saying…we want peace and we want to continue to strive for peace; I think that was very important.”Hope in troubled timesSpeaking about the aspect of hope contained in the speech, the Ambassador ...
(Vatican Radio) Ireland’s ambassador to the Holy See says Pope Francis’ speech to the diplomatic corps on Monday, serves as a reminder that we should always be thinking about peacebuilding.
Ambassador Emma Madigan, who was giving her reaction to the Pope’s annual discourse also said that it offered a message of hope despite a year that saw conflicts and terror attacks around the world.
Listen to Lydia O’Kane's interview with the Irish Ambassador to the Holy See, Emma Madigan
Ambassador Madigan who has been Ireland’s representative to the Vatican, since September 2014 noted that, “it is perhaps an anxious time to be living in the world today and to have someone like the Pope, a moral authority, a moral leader being very visible on this and saying…we want peace and we want to continue to strive for peace; I think that was very important.”
Hope in troubled times
Speaking about the aspect of hope contained in the speech, the Ambassador recalled a key theme Pope Francis discussed, that of humanitarian assistance. It is an area, she said, which is a top priority for Ireland, adding, “it recalls those elements of that overall peacebuilding; giving people back their dignity in these situations of emergency, of crisis. That is something very important to us through our overseas aid programme.”
Migration and Welcome
On the issue of migration, which was another key theme of the Pope’s Annual Address, Ambassador Madigan said, “as with many receiving countries, what we’ve been trying to do is in a way strike that balance which is absolutely creating a welcoming environment for someone who is fleeing a situation of crisis…and at the same time to balance that with looking at a long term solution…”
World Meeting of Families
In 2018, Ireland’s capital Dublin will play host to the World Meeting of Families and looking towards this event the Ambassador said that “the Pope did confirm his intention to the Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) that he would visit Ireland in 2018. She goes on to say that there is a real sense of family in Ireland underlining, “it’s something we are very proud of, that family still holds a very special role in society.
