Catholic News 2
KHAZER, Iraq (AP) -- Kurdish forces have launched a new push on Mosul as part of a massive Iraqi operation aimed at retaking the country's second largest city from the Islamic State group....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hillary Clinton bested Donald Trump in three debates. She leads in many preference polls of the most competitive states. Barring a significant shift in the next two weeks, she is in a strong position to become the first woman elected U.S. president....
BOSTON (AP) -- Tim Kaine is sounding a hopeful note that a Democratic White House could work with Republicans to bridge deep divides laid bare by this bitter presidential campaign....
GETTYSBURG, Pa. (AP) -- Donald Trump is laying out an ambitious agenda for his first 100 days as president but pointedly noting that he will find time to sue the numerous women who have accused him of groping and other unwanted sexual behavior....
NEW YORK (AP) -- AT&T's $85.4 billion purchase of Time Warner represents a new bet on synergy between companies that distribute information and entertainment to consumers and those that produce it....
CHICAGO (AP) -- Cursed by a Billy Goat, bedeviled by Bartman and crushed by decades of disappointment, the Chicago Cubs are at long last headed back to the World Series....
NEW YORK (AP) -- AT&T is buying Time Warner, the owner of the Warner Bros. movie studio as well as HBO and CNN, for $85.4 billion in a deal that could shake up the media landscape....
Large crowds of students attended the opening of a three-day drama festival on Thursday, to foster strong bonds of friendship between followers of different religions. The drama festival on the theme of interfaith harmony, peace and tolerance was held at Alhamra Cultural Complex, Gaddafi Stadium. The objective of the colorful festival was to underscore these values and their need in today's world, said a press release by Punjab’s Minorities Affairs Department."We wanted to promote social justice and respect of all faiths through arts. In some institutes, the students are being taught extremism through the syllabus. This event is an effort to show that religious minorities are also part of our society", Minister for Human Rights and Minority Affairs Khalil Tahir Sindhu told AsiaNews.Sindhu was speaking at the inauguration of the festival, which presented 24 plays on various themes as well as a Sufi music competition. The festival was followed by an awards ceremo...
Large crowds of students attended the opening of a three-day drama festival on Thursday, to foster strong bonds of friendship between followers of different religions. The drama festival on the theme of interfaith harmony, peace and tolerance was held at Alhamra Cultural Complex, Gaddafi Stadium. The objective of the colorful festival was to underscore these values and their need in today's world, said a press release by Punjab’s Minorities Affairs Department.
"We wanted to promote social justice and respect of all faiths through arts. In some institutes, the students are being taught extremism through the syllabus. This event is an effort to show that religious minorities are also part of our society", Minister for Human Rights and Minority Affairs Khalil Tahir Sindhu told AsiaNews.
Sindhu was speaking at the inauguration of the festival, which presented 24 plays on various themes as well as a Sufi music competition. The festival was followed by an awards ceremony on Saturday (22 October). Some 250 students from 23 schools performed at the venue decorated with pro-minority banners.
"Not only will minorities get justice from our traditions, culture and Islamic teachings but this will also be a proof of our nobility and high morality", stated a flex banner bearing the image of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, founder of the country.
According to Fareeha Arshad, additional director of Lahore-based Unique School, the themes of stage dramas focus on human rights and justice.
"Our first drama, Importance of Salt, was inspired by a holy book. During the period of Islamiyat (Islamic education), controversial issues are not discussed. We respect the religious sensitivities of all our students; it is a part of our policy," she said.
Saeed Ahmad, a grade-five Shia student, said that most of his friends are Sunni Muslims. "I never thought about their religion. We play and study together. My father shuts down the TV or sends us out whenever bombings are reported", he said.
Provincial Minister Zakia Shahnawaz and Khalil Tahir Sindhu were the special guests at the awards night on Saturday evening.
(Source: AsiaNews)
Cotonou, Benin, Oct 22, 2016 / 04:05 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Holy See and the Republic of Benin have signed an agreement formally recognizing the legal status of the Catholic Church in the country, guaranteeing the Church’s ability to carry out her mission in service of the common good.Representatives from both the Holy See and the Republic of Benin gathered at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation in Cotonou, the African country’s largest city, Friday, Oct. 21, to seal the deal.Called the “Framework Agreement between the Holy See and the Republic of Benin relating to the Legal Status of the Catholic Church in Benin,” the accord was signed by Archbishop Brian Udaigwe, nuncio to Benin, on the part of the Holy See, and on behalf of the Republic of Benin, Mr. Aurélien Agbenonci, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.According to an Oct. 22 Vatican communique, the agreement consists of a preamble and 19 articles, and &l...
Cotonou, Benin, Oct 22, 2016 / 04:05 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Holy See and the Republic of Benin have signed an agreement formally recognizing the legal status of the Catholic Church in the country, guaranteeing the Church’s ability to carry out her mission in service of the common good. Representatives from both the Holy See and the Republic of Benin gathered at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation in Cotonou, the African country’s largest city, Friday, Oct. 21, to seal the deal. Called the “Framework Agreement between the Holy See and the Republic of Benin relating to the Legal Status of the Catholic Church in Benin,” the accord was signed by Archbishop Brian Udaigwe, nuncio to Benin, on the part of the Holy See, and on behalf of the Republic of Benin, Mr. Aurélien Agbenonci, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. According to an Oct. 22 Vatican communique, the agreement consists of a preamble and 19 articles, and “guarantees the Church the ability to carry out its mission in Benin.” “In particular, the legal status of the Church and its institutions is recognized,” it said, explaining that the two parties, “while safeguarding the independence and autonomy proper to them,” are committed “to work together for the moral, spiritual and material well-being of the human person and for the promotion of the common good.” Several representatives from each side were present for the signing of the agreement. Attendees from the Holy See included: Bishop Eugène Houndékon of Abomey, Vice President of the Benin Bishop’s Conference; Bishop François Gnonhossou of Dassa-Zoumé; Bishop Aristide Gonsallo of Porto-Novo; Fr. Paschal Guezodje, Secretary General for the Bishop’s Conference of Benin; Fr. Axel Chékété, Assistant Secretary General and Fr. Emmanuel Michodjehoun, a local collaborator with the apostolic nunciature. Among the representatives from Benin were: Mr. Eric Franck Saïzonou, Director of Legal Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation; Mr. William Comlan, Director of the Cabinet; Mr. Saturnin Tonoukouin, Director of State Protocol; Mr. Bienvenu Houngbédji, Adjunct-Director of Legal Affairs; Ms. Nelly Awouilihoua, Technical Advisor and Mr. Ghislain Agbozo, Special Assistant to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. St. John Paul II visited Benin in 1982. The most recent Pope to travel to the African nation was Pope Benedict XVI in 2011, when he made an official Nov. 18-20 visit to Cotonou. Benedict made the trip in large part to deliver his Apostolic Exhortation about the future of Christianity on the continent, “Africae Munus” (The Commitment of Africa), which was written in response to the conclusions of the 2009 Synod of African Bishops in Rome. Another motivation for the voyage was to visit the tomb of his late friend, Cardinal Bernardin Gantin, a prominent Beninese cardinal who served as Archbishop of Cotonou for several years before coming to the Vatican as president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. The cardinal also served as head of the Congregation for Bishops and later as Dean of the College of Cardinals before his death in 2008. In addition to Benedict XVI, Cardinal Gantin was a close friend of Popes St. John XXIII, Bl. Paul VI and St. John Paul II. Benedict’s 2011 visit to Benin also marked the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the first Catholic missionaries in the country. In his Nov. 23 general audience after the visit, Benedict said that “in Africa I saw a freshness in the ‘yes’ to life, a freshness of religious meaning and hope, a holistic vision of reality where God is not confined to that positivist perspective which, in the final analysis, extinguishes all hope.” “This tells us that the continent is a reservoir of life and vitality for the future upon which we can rely, upon which the Church can rely.”
Bogotá, Colombia, Oct 22, 2016 / 05:20 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- For two days this week, a shopping mall in Bogota, Colombia was transformed into a “Confess-a-thon,” as 120 priests administered the Sacrament of Reconciliation to shoppers and those passing by.Priests from all over the country flocked to the Gran Estación Mall on Oct. 18-19 for the Confession event. This is the second time that the initiative has taken place. Last October, the first Confess-a-thon was held at the mall, with great success. Some 70 percent of the country is Catholic.The Colombian Conference of Catholic Bishops said that the event is a sign of the Jubilee of Mercy that “is inspired by what the pontiff has asked for, to be a Church that reaches out, as a sign of the presence of God.”The event took place during the Faith Cup, a soccer tournament among priests to help build fraternity and outreach.The bishops' conference stated that the first day of this year’s Confess-a-...
Bogotá, Colombia, Oct 22, 2016 / 05:20 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- For two days this week, a shopping mall in Bogota, Colombia was transformed into a “Confess-a-thon,” as 120 priests administered the Sacrament of Reconciliation to shoppers and those passing by.
Priests from all over the country flocked to the Gran Estación Mall on Oct. 18-19 for the Confession event. This is the second time that the initiative has taken place. Last October, the first Confess-a-thon was held at the mall, with great success. Some 70 percent of the country is Catholic.
The Colombian Conference of Catholic Bishops said that the event is a sign of the Jubilee of Mercy that “is inspired by what the pontiff has asked for, to be a Church that reaches out, as a sign of the presence of God.”
The event took place during the Faith Cup, a soccer tournament among priests to help build fraternity and outreach.
The bishops' conference stated that the first day of this year’s Confess-a-thon began around 5:00 p.m. Some people looked at the priests with surprise and curiosity. Others lined up to take part in the sacrament.
Gladys Lopez was among those who went to Confessions. She said that it was an opportunity to unburden herself.
“You come totally convinced that God is giving you the chance to have a clear conscience and to be able remove those things that are weighing us down in our lives, and it's an opportunity that everyone should take advantage of,” she said.
Luz Estella Rey said that it had been a long time since she had experienced this sacrament and said that she felt “very grateful, with no fear of doing something scary.” She also emphasized that the appearance of the priest she confessed to “conveyed a lot of peace and made me feel at peace.”
Miguel Marquina Acevedo was surprised to see this initiative. In Bogota just for a visit, he and his children went to Confession. “It's not just an occasion to get closer to God, but also to be reconciled, because we often don't have time to get to the church,” he said.
Besides the Confessions at the mall, another group of priests visited different prisons in Bogota on Oct. 19 and 20 to administer the sacrament.
