Catholic News 2
VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Pope Francis is allowing all priests to absolve the faithful of the "grave sin" of abortion, extending indefinitely the special permission he had granted for the duration of the just-ended Holy Year of Mercy....
WILLIAMSON, W.Va. (AP) -- The hard-eyed view along the Tug Fork River in West Virginia coal country is that President-elect Donald Trump has something to prove: that he'll help bring back Appalachian mining, as he promised time and again on the campaign trail. Nobody thinks he can revive it entirely - not economists, not ex-miners, not even those recently called back to work....
CANNON BALL, N.D. (AP) -- Authorities on Monday defended their decision to douse protesters with water during a skirmish in subfreezing weather near the Dakota Access oil pipeline, and organizers said at least 17 protesters were taken to the hospital - including some who were treated for hypothermia....
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- A suicide bomber struck a Shiite mosque in the Afghan capital on Monday, killing 32 people, the U.N. office said, the second large-scale attack targeting minority Shiites in Kabul in just over a month....
MOSUL, Iraq (AP) -- He claimed to be a native of Mosul and said he had just escaped his embattled neighborhood. When his cell phone chirped cheerfully, he said it was his mother calling and picked up....
NEW YORK (AP) -- The Latest on President-elect Donald Trump (all times EST):...
NEW YORK (AP) -- President-elect Donald Trump returned to his perch high above Manhattan on Monday, meeting with former rivals and longtime allies a day after he indicated he had worked out agreements to fill major posts in his administration....
(Vatican Radio) Russian president Vladimir Putin has warned that Russia is working to develop new weapons to ensure a global strategic balance. His announcement comes at a time when Moscow's relations with the United States and its allies have plunged to their lowest point since the Cold War.Listen to Stefan Bos' report: Speaking to top military leaders at his residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia is working on state-of-the art arms technologies, including laser, hypersonic and robotic weapons.Military officials have said that Russia is developing new warheads for its ballistic missiles, which would be capable of making sharp maneuvers on their way to the target to dodge enemy defenses. The military also has been working on air-based laser weapons.Putin made clear Moscow wants to fend off threats posed by the NATO military alliance's U.S.-led missile defense system. Russia is also concerned about U.S. efforts to ...
(Vatican Radio) Russian president Vladimir Putin has warned that Russia is working to develop new weapons to ensure a global strategic balance. His announcement comes at a time when Moscow's relations with the United States and its allies have plunged to their lowest point since the Cold War.
Listen to Stefan Bos' report:
Speaking to top military leaders at his residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia is working on state-of-the art arms technologies, including laser, hypersonic and robotic weapons.
Military officials have said that Russia is developing new warheads for its ballistic missiles, which would be capable of making sharp maneuvers on their way to the target to dodge enemy defenses. The military also has been working on air-based laser weapons.
Putin made clear Moscow wants to fend off threats posed by the NATO military alliance's U.S.-led missile defense system. Russia is also concerned about U.S. efforts to develop what is known as Prompt Global Strike — prospective weapons systems that would be capable of delivering a precision strike anywhere in the world within one hour.
Putin said Russia will oppose what he called attempts to break the global strategic balance. "In this regard, I reiterate that we will continue to do everything necessary to ensure a strategic balance of forces. Attempts to change it or break it are extremely dangerous," he said. "Let's remember once again that this strategic balance of forces that emerged in the late 40s–50s of the last century, helped the world avoid major armed conflict."
MILITARY THREAT
He added: "Our job is to neutralize any military threat to Russia's security, including those associated with the creation of strategic missile defence, implementation of the concept of a global strike, and information warfare."
That worries neighboring countries. Lithuania has already warned that that Russian President Vladimir Putin may test NATO in the weeks before Donald Trump becomes US president. Trump views Russia as a potential partner and leaders in former Soviet satellite states fear that he doesn't view Moscow as an immediate military threat.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius he is concerned about the future of the Baltics and other areas and says they are facing a dangerous period even before Trump become president in January. "Before the administration will come in because it is just the second part of January I am very afraid and concerned about this period. And not only because of Ukraine, but also let's hope that Aleppo will be not be smashed to the ground by that time. Russia is not a superpower, Russia is a super problem today. It is a bit different. And Russia regardless of what we wish Russia is not a partner in the conflicts or meeting some challenges. It is a factor."
It has also prompted several neighboring countries of Russia to step up security. In Poland, for instance, the defense minister has officially launched self-defense courses for women on Saturday, saying that training by military instructors will increase individual and national security.
Antoni Macierewicz has repeatedly stressed that the nation's security has decreased amid neighboring Russia's assertiveness. He is strengthening various forms of national defense and recently added a new military force, the Territorial Defense, which should be operational early next year.
"We are very saddened by this tragic incident”, says Bishop. Theodore Mascarenhas, secretary general of the Catholic Bishops' Conference (CBCI) commenting on Sunday’s train disaster near Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.The Indore-Patna train early Sunday Morning, derailed, perhaps due to a crack in the rails, killing at least 143 and injuring around 180."What happened - he says - is especially important because the railways are the common man's means of transportation". The Indian bishops conference, "offers its heartfelt Condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives and prays for the eternal repose of these dear departed. We also pray for those injured in the accident that the Almighty may grant them complete and quick healing".Sunday’s disaster is one of the worst in recent years. Around 3 am (local time) the Indore-Patna train derailed for reasons yet to be determined. Hundreds of rescue workers rushed to the area ...
"We are very saddened by this tragic incident”, says Bishop. Theodore Mascarenhas, secretary general of the Catholic Bishops' Conference (CBCI) commenting on Sunday’s train disaster near Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
The Indore-Patna train early Sunday Morning, derailed, perhaps due to a crack in the rails, killing at least 143 and injuring around 180.
"What happened - he says - is especially important because the railways are the common man's means of transportation". The Indian bishops conference, "offers its heartfelt Condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives and prays for the eternal repose of these dear departed. We also pray for those injured in the accident that the Almighty may grant them complete and quick healing".
Sunday’s disaster is one of the worst in recent years. Around 3 am (local time) the Indore-Patna train derailed for reasons yet to be determined. Hundreds of rescue workers rushed to the area and immediately understood the gravity of the situation: carriages had crumpled on each other, overturning, victims and wounded were trapped in the wreckage.
The provisional toll, set to rise, is about 143 confirmed dead and 180 wounded, with nearly 50 of them in critical condition. At the time of the derailment, there were more than 2,500 passengers on the train - one of the busiest sections of northern India - located mainly in the first two carriages which disintegrated on impact.
The convoy consisted of 14 wagons, probably old and poorly maintained. Although the causes of the incident are unclear, local newspapers reported the presence of a break in the tracks, which would have resulted in overturning the carriages.
Bp. Mascarenhas asks the government "to investigate thoroughly and immediately the cause of an accident of this magnitude and to take all measures that such tragedies never occur again."
India, during the economic boom, is deficient in terms of maintenance and infrastructure investment, in spite of its rail network being the third longest in the world. Over the years there have been many accidents, all due to the human error. In 1981 in Bihar a train derailed and plunged into a river, causing 250 deaths; in 1995 in Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh, an express train crashed into a train that had stopped on the tracks and caused the death of 358 persons; in 1999 at least 290 passengers died in the collision between two trains in Assam; in 2010 in West Bengal, the derailment of the Calcutta-Mumbai, killed more than 100 people.
(Source: AsiaNews)
(Vatican Radio) Although the Extraordinary Jubilee Year has concluded, we are still living in a “time of mercy.” That was the message of Pope Francis is a lengthy Apostolic Letter, entitled Misericordia et misera, (“Mercy and Misery”), issued at the close of the Year of Mercy.The title refers to the encounter between Jesus and the woman caught in adultery, from the eight chapter of the Gospel of Saint John. In his commentary on the Gospel, St Augustine said of that encounter, “the two of them” – Jesus and the woman – “remained alone: mercy with misery.” The teaching of this Gospel, the Pope said, “serves not only to throw light on the conclusion of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, but also to point out the path that we are called to follow in the future.”In light of the “great graces of mercy” we have received during the Jubilee, our first response is to give thanks to the Lord for His gifts. Bu...
(Vatican Radio) Although the Extraordinary Jubilee Year has concluded, we are still living in a “time of mercy.” That was the message of Pope Francis is a lengthy Apostolic Letter, entitled Misericordia et misera, (“Mercy and Misery”), issued at the close of the Year of Mercy.
The title refers to the encounter between Jesus and the woman caught in adultery, from the eight chapter of the Gospel of Saint John. In his commentary on the Gospel, St Augustine said of that encounter, “the two of them” – Jesus and the woman – “remained alone: mercy with misery.” The teaching of this Gospel, the Pope said, “serves not only to throw light on the conclusion of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, but also to point out the path that we are called to follow in the future.”
In light of the “great graces of mercy” we have received during the Jubilee, our first response is to give thanks to the Lord for His gifts. But in going forward, we must also continue to celebrate mercy, especially in the liturgical celebrations of the Church, including in the Sacrifice of the Mass, and in the other Sacraments, especially in Reconciliation and in Anointing of the Sick, the two “sacraments of healing.”
Pope Francis proposed a number of ideas to continue the celebration of mercy, including an annual day dedicated making the Scriptures better known and more widely diffused. He also called on the faithful to restore the Sacrament of Reconciliation to a “central place in Christian life.”
The Holy Father also extended a number of initiatives already begun in the Holy Year, asking the Missionaries of Mercy to continue their ministry, and extending indefinitely the faculties of priests of the Society of St Pius X to hear confessions and grant absolution. Pope Francis also extended the faculties of all priests to absolve the sin of procured abortion. “I want to insist as firmly as I can that abortion is a grave sin,” the Pope said, “because it puts an end to an innocent life.” But, he continued, “I can and I must state that there is no sin that God’s mercy cannot reach and wipe away when it finds a repentant heart seeking to be reconciled with the Father.”
Though the Jubilee is closed, Pope Francis said, “the doors of mercy of our heart continues to remain open.” He called on the faithful to continue to practice new works of mercy, and to find new ways to give expression to the traditional works. The corporal and spiritual works of mercy, he said, “continue in our own day to be proof of mercy’s immense positive influence as a social value.” In this vein, the Pope said the Church must continue to be vigilant and offer solidarity in the face of attacks on human dignity.
“This is the time of mercy,” the Pope concluded. “It is the time of mercy because no sinner can ever tire of asking forgiveness, and all can feel the welcoming embrace of the Father.
As a final initiative for the future, Pope Francis asked the whole Church to celebrate, on the second to last Sunday of the liturgical year, the World Day of the Poor.” This Day, he said, “will also represent a genuine form of new evangelization (cf. Mt 11:5) which can renew the face of the Church as She perseveres in her perennial activity of pastoral conversion and witness to mercy.”
Read the full text of Pope Francis' Apostolic Letter Misericordia et misera.
