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SOCHI, Russia (AP) -- Investigators recovered the flight-data recorder from a crashed Russian military plane Tuesday and began reviewing its contents to learn why the jet went down moments after takeoff, killing all 92 people aboard, including members of a famous choir....
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) -- Putting 75 years of resentment behind them, the leaders of the United States and Japan are coming together at Pearl Harbor for a historic pilgrimage to the site where a devastating surprise attack sent America marching into World War II....
Carrie Fisher, best remembered as the tough, feisty and powerful Princess Leia in the original "Star Wars," has died at 60. Fisher made the role iconic, and lines like "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope," and her futuristic braided bun hairstyle became part of film lore. She recently reprised the role in a sequel, Episode VII, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" in 2015, and her digitally rendered image appears in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.&q...
President Barack Obama's foreign policy doctrine has been rooted in the belief that while United States has the capability to take action around the world on its own, it rarely should....
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Carrie Fisher, a daughter of Hollywood royalty who gained pop-culture fame as Princess Leia in the original "Star Wars" and turned her struggles with addiction and mental illness into wickedly funny books, a hit film and a one-woman stage show, died Tuesday after falling ill aboard a flight last week. She was 60....
(Vatican Radio) Russia's government has played down suggestions that a terror attack might have downed a Syria-bound Russian plane, killing all 92 people on board, amid concerns among experts that this possibility is being overlooked. The Kremlin made the comments after a day of mourning for the victims, including most members of Russia's world famous military choir.Listen to the report by Stefan Bos: "Let us honour the memory of the victims with minute of silence," said Russian Prime Minister Dmitrii Medvedev as he opened a government session. Across the nation people mourned the people who died when the Tupolev-154 plane crashed into the Black Sea on Sunday. It happened just two minutes after taking off in good weather from the city of Sochi. The plane was carrying members of the Alexandrov Ensemble, often referred to as the Red Army Choir, to a New Year's concert at a Russian military base in Syria. Others included journalists and a doctor who ...
(Vatican Radio) Russia's government has played down suggestions that a terror attack might have downed a Syria-bound Russian plane, killing all 92 people on board, amid concerns among experts that this possibility is being overlooked. The Kremlin made the comments after a day of mourning for the victims, including most members of Russia's world famous military choir.
Listen to the report by Stefan Bos:
"Let us honour the memory of the victims with minute of silence," said Russian Prime Minister Dmitrii Medvedev as he opened a government session. Across the nation people mourned the people who died when the Tupolev-154 plane crashed into the Black Sea on Sunday.
It happened just two minutes after taking off in good weather from the city of Sochi. The plane was carrying members of the Alexandrov Ensemble, often referred to as the Red Army Choir, to a New Year's concert at a Russian military base in Syria. Others included journalists and a doctor who was famous for her work in war zones.
However Russia's Transport Minister Maksim Sokolov has tried to play down suggestions that the crash might have been caused by a bomb planted on board or a portable air defense missile. "According to our information, at the current moment the main theories of the crash don't include terror attack. That is why we are considering that the plane crash might have been caused whether by technical condition of the plane or piloting error," he said.
"I would like to stress that the cause of the crash will be investigated by investigative authorities and technical commission of Defence Ministry. Our commission is dealing with elimination of consequences of the crash and work with victims' relatives."
QUESTIONS REMAIN
But some aviation experts say the crew's failure to communicate any technical problem and a large area over which fragments of the plane were scattered point at a possible explosion on board. In October 2015, a Russian passenger plane was brought down by a bomb over Egypt, killing all 224 people aboard in an attack claimed by a local affiliate of the Islamic State group.
In August 2004, two Russian planes were blown up on the same day by suicide bombers, killing 89 people, for which a Chechen warlord claimed responsibility.
Evidence of a bombing of the Syria-bound military flight would badly embarrass the Kremlin, highlighting Russia's extreme vulnerability to attacks even as it boasts its success in Syria after Aleppo fell into President Bashar Assad's hands.
At the same time a technical failure would underscore concern over Russia's notorious air safety record.
As Russia now searches for answers, about 3,500 people, 43 ships and 182 divers have been sweeping a vast crash site for bodies of the victims and debris. Dozens of drones and several submersibles also have been involved in the search. Rescue teams so far have recovered several bodies and numerous body fragments, which have been flown to Moscow for identification.
SOLOIST MOURNING
Whatever will be discovered, the pain will remain for people including Vadim Ananyev, a soloist of the world famous Alexandrov Ensemble, who stayed home with his family.
He said he lost friends and colleagues including five soloists adding that he had known them people for 30 years, as well as their wives and children. He added: "I feel terrible for the children and for all that I have lost. We were loved all over the world, never mind the political situation."
His pain was shared by Pope Francis.
The pope led thousands of in silent prayer for the plane crash victims and noted that the Russian army choir had performed in 2004 at the Vatican.
(Vatican Radio) On Christmas Eve Pope Francis appointed Paul Desfarges, Archbishop of Algiers.The 72-year-old Jesuit French-Algerian was at the head of the Catholic Diocese of Constantine and Hippo in Algeria since 2009.Archbishop Desfarges spent nearly 30 years in Constantine, where he taught psychology at the University there. He was given Algerian nationality in 1982. He also acted as Jesuit Superior in Algiers until his nomination as Bishop by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008.Speaking to Vatican Radio’s Sara Bakaloglou, Desfarges talks about the life of the Christian minority in the Muslim nation and about his joy for his new, important, nomination:“It is a challenge but at the same time a grace. In everyday life here in Algiers we enjoy a good [interreligious] relationship: a relationship of closeness, collaboration and even friendship” he says.Archbishop Desfarges says his community is a witness of good cohabitation, possibly because it unfolds day by day in big a...
(Vatican Radio) On Christmas Eve Pope Francis appointed Paul Desfarges, Archbishop of Algiers.
The 72-year-old Jesuit French-Algerian was at the head of the Catholic Diocese of Constantine and Hippo in Algeria since 2009.
Archbishop Desfarges spent nearly 30 years in Constantine, where he taught psychology at the University there. He was given Algerian nationality in 1982. He also acted as Jesuit Superior in Algiers until his nomination as Bishop by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008.
Speaking to Vatican Radio’s Sara Bakaloglou, Desfarges talks about the life of the Christian minority in the Muslim nation and about his joy for his new, important, nomination:
“It is a challenge but at the same time a grace. In everyday life here in Algiers we enjoy a good [interreligious] relationship: a relationship of closeness, collaboration and even friendship” he says.
Archbishop Desfarges says his community is a witness of good cohabitation, possibly because it unfolds day by day in big and small things.
“We do not have to make a special effort to make it happen!” he says.
He speaks of how Pope Francis, during the Algerian Bishops’ last ‘ad limina’ visit told them: “You are witnesses of Christ’s mercy” and this, he says, is Christ’s mercy: “It is the apostleship of goodness as Charles de Foucault would say. And our joy is in service”.
Desfarges says that his vocation and that of his brother bishops in Algieria is "to be Church for all".
The Archbishop goes on to explain that the Church in Algiers counts a great number of students from Sub Saharan Africa, as well as communities made up of foreign professionals and diplomats who work in the country.
“For this reason it is a very international Catholic Church. […] It is very dynamic” he says.
One of Pope Francis’ messages that Desfarges says he feels most meaningful for his particular mission is that of reaching out to the peripheries.
“The Pope speaks of peripheries; we are in the peripheries” he says.
Archbishop Desfarges says that he has discovered that his particular ‘periphery’ is an ordinary place of mercy, where, once again, “we are not the only actors, but witnesses of our Muslim brothers and sisters who enrich us with their welcome, who give us of themselves, are open to dialogue and encounter”.
“I know that on Christmas night many Muslim friends went to our Churches, certainly not to try and convert us, but simply to see how Christians worship… this too is a way to get to know each other. We are very happy for this! In a world in which tension between Muslims and the West, between Muslims and Christians seems to be growing, there is a place in which it is possible to give life to something different…” he says.
IMAGE: CNS photo/ParamountBy Mark PattisonWASHINGTON (CNS) -- In a real-lifesituation akin to the "High School Musical" movie franchise, Russell Hornsbywas a jock who got the acting bug via the high school musical.Hornsby, a native of Oakland,California, was a sophomore at the all-boys St. Mary's College High School inBerkeley, where he played football. But teammates dared him to try out for theschool musical, "The Wiz.""And when it's a dare, you've got todo it," said Hornsby, who portrays Lyons in the new movie "Fences," which hitsmultiplexes nationwide on Christmas Day.So, for his audition, Hornsbyprepared Bert Lahr's soliloquy on courage as the Cowardly Lion from "The Wizardof Oz," the 1939 movie musical upon which "The Wiz" was based.And, to the delight of, and an ovationfrom, his fellow actors from "Fences," Hornsby -- who might have refined hisapproach in the ensuring years -- took it from the top, playing the part notonly of the Cowardly Lion but all his companions on the Ye...
IMAGE: CNS photo/Paramount
By Mark Pattison
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- In a real-life situation akin to the "High School Musical" movie franchise, Russell Hornsby was a jock who got the acting bug via the high school musical.
Hornsby, a native of Oakland, California, was a sophomore at the all-boys St. Mary's College High School in Berkeley, where he played football. But teammates dared him to try out for the school musical, "The Wiz."
"And when it's a dare, you've got to do it," said Hornsby, who portrays Lyons in the new movie "Fences," which hits multiplexes nationwide on Christmas Day.
So, for his audition, Hornsby prepared Bert Lahr's soliloquy on courage as the Cowardly Lion from "The Wizard of Oz," the 1939 movie musical upon which "The Wiz" was based.
And, to the delight of, and an ovation from, his fellow actors from "Fences," Hornsby -- who might have refined his approach in the ensuring years -- took it from the top, playing the part not only of the Cowardly Lion but all his companions on the Yellow Brick Road, getting not only the cadence and inflections of Lahr's voice perfectly, but also the character's sputtering false bravado.
"Your majesty, if you were king, you wouldn't be afraid of anything?
"Not nobody, not nohow!"
"Not even a rhinoceros?"
"Imposserous!"
"How about a hippopotamus?"
"Why, I'd thrash him from top to bottomamus!"
"Supposin' you met an elephant?"
"I'd wrap him up in cellophant!"
"What if it were a brontosaurus?"
"I'd show him who was King of the Forest!"
"How?"
"How? Courage! What makes a king out of a slave? Courage! What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage! What makes the elephant charge his tusk, in the misty mist or the dusky dusk? What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage! What makes the sphinx the seventh wonder? Courage! What makes the dawn come up like thunder? Courage! What makes the Hottentot so hot? What puts the 'ape' in apricot? What have they got that I ain't got?"
"Courage!"
Hornsby snared not the Cowardly Lion in tryouts, but the Scarecrow, and he was hooked. "Plus, there were girls there, so that helped," he laughed during a Dec. 6 interview with Catholic News Service as Hornsby and other cast members from "Fences" visited Washington for a preview screening.
On a serious note, Hornsby said, "Athletes can get discarded quickly. I could see it even then." That, for him, made the switch to performing easier.
He headed east to Boston University and got a bachelor's degree in performance, then snagged a coveted spot in Oxford, England, at the British Academy of Dramatic Art.
On television, Hornsby plays Detective Hank Griffin on the NBC series "Grimm." But in "Fences," he plays Lyons, the son of Troy (Denzel Washington) from an earlier marriage. As passionate as Troy was about playing baseball -- he was a Negro Leaguer but too old to benefit from the erasure of the color line -- Lyons' passion is music and he seeks a small loan from his dad to give his career a boost.
Hornsby and Washington are just two of the actors reprising their roles in the film version after having acted in a 2010 Broadway revival of the August Wilson play. Wilson wrote the movie screenplay for the film, but died in 2005. According to Mykelti Williamson, who plays Troy's brother on stage and on film, said Washington won the rights to the movie, but insisted on mounting a stage production first "to be true to the material."
The reason for the six-year gap between the revival and the movie? "Denzel's got a busy dance card," replied Stephen McKinley Henderson, another featured performer in both the play and the film. Henderson has acted in nine of the 10 August Wilson plays that constitute the "Pittsburgh Cycle" -- all of the shows are set in Pittsburgh -- but called in some circles the "American Century Cycle," partly given Wilson's standing in American theater and partly because the plays look at the evolution of black life and race relations in the United States through the generations.
"Suffering is a leitmotif" in "Fences," but "also brutal honesty and joy in unexpected moments, which is what enlivens the movie, said Kurt Jensen, a guest reviewer for Catholic News Service, in his review of the film. "Moral decisions, and the consequences of immoral ones, lurk at every turn in the plot as well."
"Fences" received a classification of A-III ? adults ? for references to adultery, frequent use of the n-word and a single instance each of profanity and rough language. Even so, Jensen advises, "the movie's focus on ideas and their consequences makes it acceptable for mature adolescents."
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Follow Pattison on Twitter: @MeMarkPattison.
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Copyright © 2016 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.
By Carol GlatzVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Despite increased persecution andattacks against Christians, the faithful must strengthen their courage andjoyful desire to follow Christ no matter the cost, Pope Francis said.By choosing God's path of truth, "light andlife" over all else, Christians continue to give witness and persevere in"living according to the logic of the Gospel and refusing the logic of therulers of this world," he said at a noon blessing Dec. 26 at the Vaticanto those gathered in St. Peter's Square.The pope spoke on the feast of St. Stephen, the firstmartyr, saying that by choosing truth, St. Stephen also "became victim ofthe mystery of wickedness present in the world. But in Christ, Stephenwon."Jesus forewarned his disciples that they would be hatedand suffer in his name, the pope said, adding that such persecution continues today with so many men and women experiencing oppression,violence, hatred and even martyrdom because of their faith."Why does the world persecute Ch...
By Carol Glatz
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Despite increased persecution and attacks against Christians, the faithful must strengthen their courage and joyful desire to follow Christ no matter the cost, Pope Francis said.
By choosing God's path of truth, "light and life" over all else, Christians continue to give witness and persevere in "living according to the logic of the Gospel and refusing the logic of the rulers of this world," he said at a noon blessing Dec. 26 at the Vatican to those gathered in St. Peter's Square.
The pope spoke on the feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr, saying that by choosing truth, St. Stephen also "became victim of the mystery of wickedness present in the world. But in Christ, Stephen won."
Jesus forewarned his disciples that they would be hated and suffer in his name, the pope said, adding that such persecution continues today with so many men and women experiencing oppression, violence, hatred and even martyrdom because of their faith.
"Why does the world persecute Christians?" the pope asked.
For the same reason the world hated Jesus, "because he brought God's light and the world prefers darkness for hiding its evil deeds."
"Following Jesus means following his light, which was lit in the night of Bethlehem, and abandoning the darkness of the world," the pope said.
The same cruelty experienced in the early church continues to exist and "there are more martyrs today" than during the early centuries, he said.
The pope asked people to think of those "who suffer persecution, to be close to them with our affection, our prayers and even our tears."
He cited the courage of Iraqi Christians, saying those who had celebrated Mass Christmas Eve in their destroyed churches were "an example of fidelity to the Gospel."
Hundreds of Iraqi Christians attended Christmas Eve Mass at St. George Chaldean Catholic in Bartella, near Mosul, in northern Iraq, after the area was freed from Islamic State forces who had occupied the area for more than two years.
"Despite the hardship and dangers, they courageously give witness to their belonging to Christ and live the Gospel dedicating themselves to the least, the most neglected, doing good to everyone without distinction, in this way, witnessing charity in the truth," the pope said.
With Christmas being the time to make more room in our hearts for Jesus, "let us renew the joyous and courageous desire to faithfully follow him as the one and only guide," he said.
After praying the Angelus, the pope thanked everyone who had sent him Christmas greetings and prayers, apologizing for not being able to personally respond to the many messages he received.
A "heartfelt thank you! May the Lord reward you with his generosity," he said.
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Follow Glatz on Twitter: @carolglatz.
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Copyright © 2016 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) -- A naval program that has become a target for critics is preparing to commission the USS Gabrielle Giffords, named for the U.S. politician who survived an assassination attempt in 2011....
