Catholic News 2
BERLIN (AP) -- The European Space Agency's Rosetta space probe has captured images of a bright burst of light on the comet it is orbiting, apparently caused by a landslide....
NEW YORK (AP) -- In a new project with National Geographic, Barack Obama becomes the first sitting U.S. president to project himself into virtual reality - in this case, a 360-degree representation of Yosemite National Park....
BAGAN, Myanmar (AP) -- It was a time of conquest and conversions. Above all, it was a time of construction, on a scale never seen before. Over 250 years, from the 11th century onwards, the rulers of Bagan built more than 10,000 magnificent religious monuments....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Cars that wirelessly talk to each other are finally ready for the road, creating the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths, improve the safety of self-driving cars and someday maybe even help solve traffic jams, automakers and government officials say....
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran's naval forces will warn or confront any foreign ship entering the country's territorial waters, the Iranian defense minister said Thursday, remarks that came after an incident this week involving a U.S. warship....
PESCARA DEL TRONO, Italy (AP) -- Aftershocks in central Italy rattled residents and rescue workers alike Thursday, as crews worked to find more earthquake survivors and the country anguished over its repeated failure to protect ancient towns and modern cities from seismic catastrophes....
(Vatican Radio) It’s a race against time to reach those people who have been buried under rubble following Wednesday morning’s devastating earthquake in central Italy.Rescue crews worked through the night using heavy equipment and even their bare hands to search for survivors. Residents and volunteers also joined in the search.Rescue teams have come from all over Italy to join in the operation in the hopes of finding more people alive.Pope Francis sent 6 members of the Vatican’s fire service who are helping Italy’s Civil Protection workers search for survivors still under the rubble and assist those already rescued.The death toll has now risen to 247 and there are fears it will rise even further.Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi visited the affected area on Wednesday pledging ``No family, no city, no hamlet will be left behind.''The hardest hit areas were the towns of Amatrice, Accumoli and Pescara del Tronto which were full of holiday makers at t...
(Vatican Radio) It’s a race against time to reach those people who have been buried under rubble following Wednesday morning’s devastating earthquake in central Italy.
Rescue crews worked through the night using heavy equipment and even their bare hands to search for survivors. Residents and volunteers also joined in the search.
Rescue teams have come from all over Italy to join in the operation in the hopes of finding more people alive.
Pope Francis sent 6 members of the Vatican’s fire service who are helping Italy’s Civil Protection workers search for survivors still under the rubble and assist those already rescued.
The death toll has now risen to 247 and there are fears it will rise even further.
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi visited the affected area on Wednesday pledging ``No family, no city, no hamlet will be left behind.''
The hardest hit areas were the towns of Amatrice, Accumoli and Pescara del Tronto which were full of holiday makers at the time of the earthquake.
Many had come to Amatrice for a festival celebrating its famed spaghetti all' amatriciana bacon and tomato sauce.
Thousands of residents have seen their homes reduced to rubble and for the time being Italy's civil protection agency have set up tents in the zones affected to house all those left homeless.
(Vatican Radio) The Colombian Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia...better known as the FARC, have signed an historic Peace Agreement, finally ending a conflict which started in 1964. Listen to James Blears report The talks, negotiations, rows, frustrations, pride swallowing and practical compromises leading to peace, have taken four long years, in Havana Cuba. People smiled, hugged and silently wept as the Head of the Government Delegation Humberto De La Calle and the FARC`s Chief Negotiator Ivan Marquez, signed for PEACE, shook hands and smiled with relief. A bi-lateral ceasefire since June has held, and at long last the conflict is at and end. The cost in every sense has been ghastly and appalling. Almost quarter of a million people have been killed, many thousands wounded and maimed, millions more permanently displaced.The points which have been thrashed out, ironed out and inked in, point by agonizing p...
(Vatican Radio) The Colombian Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia...better known as the FARC, have signed an historic Peace Agreement, finally ending a conflict which started in 1964.
Listen to James Blears report
The talks, negotiations, rows, frustrations, pride swallowing and practical compromises leading to peace, have taken four long years, in Havana Cuba. People smiled, hugged and silently wept as the Head of the Government Delegation Humberto De La Calle and the FARC`s Chief Negotiator Ivan Marquez, signed for PEACE, shook hands and smiled with relief. A bi-lateral ceasefire since June has held, and at long last the conflict is at and end. The cost in every sense has been ghastly and appalling. Almost quarter of a million people have been killed, many thousands wounded and maimed, millions more permanently displaced.
The points which have been thrashed out, ironed out and inked in, point by agonizing point are: Land Reform, Justice for victims of the conflict, Disarmament, Political Participation in the democratic process by the FARC, plus implementation of the entire deal.
To make it binding there will be a nationwide referendum on October 2nd. President Juan Manuel Santos, who`s staked his reputation, career and very life in persisting for peace through thick and thin, is appealing to ALL Colombians to vote for a bright and a stable future.
(Vatican Radio) The Holy Father has named Father Jorge H. Rodríguez-Novelo, of the Archdiocese of Denver, USA, as Auxiliary Bishop of the same Archdiocese. Father Rodríguez has been serving as Pastor of Holy Cross Parish in Denver, and professor at the archdiocesan Seminary of St John Vianney. Bishop-elect Rodríguez will hold the titular see of Azura.Biography of Bishop-elect Jorge Rodriguez, S.T.D.Bishop-elect Rodriguez was born March 22, 1955, in Merida, Mexico, located in the state of Yucatan. He is the son of Nery Maria Novelo and Ramon Rodriguez (deceased), and he has two brothers and four sisters, who live in Merida. In Merida he attended a primary school run by the Maryknoll Sisters, and then secondary and preparatory schools run by the Marist Brothers. When he finished high school, he joined the Legionaries of Christ to study and become a priest. He was ordained Dec. 24, 1987.He was awarded a Doctorate in Sacred Theology by the Gregorian in Rome in 199...
(Vatican Radio) The Holy Father has named Father Jorge H. Rodríguez-Novelo, of the Archdiocese of Denver, USA, as Auxiliary Bishop of the same Archdiocese. Father Rodríguez has been serving as Pastor of Holy Cross Parish in Denver, and professor at the archdiocesan Seminary of St John Vianney. Bishop-elect Rodríguez will hold the titular see of Azura.
Biography of Bishop-elect Jorge Rodriguez, S.T.D.
Bishop-elect Rodriguez was born March 22, 1955, in Merida, Mexico, located in the state of Yucatan. He is the son of Nery Maria Novelo and Ramon Rodriguez (deceased), and he has two brothers and four sisters, who live in Merida. In Merida he attended a primary school run by the Maryknoll Sisters, and then secondary and preparatory schools run by the Marist Brothers. When he finished high school, he joined the Legionaries of Christ to study and become a priest. He was ordained Dec. 24, 1987.
He was awarded a Doctorate in Sacred Theology by the Gregorian in Rome in 1994. He also has a licentiate in philosophy from the same pontifical university, and a diploma in Mariology from the Marianum in Rome.
He was the dean of the Theology Department of the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome (1994-1997). He has taught theology at the Pontifical Lateran University, at the Pontifical Institute Regina Mundi and at the Institute for Religious Sciences at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
In 1999, he was invited by then Archbishop Charles Chaput to teach in the newly launched St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver, and to serve as Associate Pastor of St. Therese Parish in Aurora.
In 2002, he returned to Rome to serve as Associate Pastor of Stella Maris Parish in the Diocese of Rome, but then returned to Denver in 2006 to be a professor at St. John Vianney.
From 2007-2014, Father Rodriguez served as vice-rector of St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver. He was incardinated as a priest of the Archdiocese of Denver in 2008.
Since 2014, he has served as pastor of Holy Cross Parish in Thornton, Colorado, and he continues to teach the seminarians as well as the permanent diaconate candidates.
He speaks Spanish, English and Italian, and reads French, and is the author of various Italian-language theological publications.
It will no longer be possible to exploit the female body for commercial purposes. This was decided yesterday the Government of India, presenting the new bill that regulates the practice of surrogacy to the public.According to the legislation, that still has to be debated in Parliament, only infertile Indian couples can resort to surrogacy pregnancy and the surrogate mother must be a close relative of the couple. In an effort to put an end to a practice that has made India the world capital of the womb-for-rent industry, the government has ruled out entirely singles, gays and foreigners.Dr. Pascoal Carvalho, a Catholic doctor and member of the Pontifical Academy for Life, told AsiaNews: "This law is a step forward towards the traditional values ??of the family. Subrogation is a manipulation of embryos".In recent years India has become a top destination for medical tourism, particularly for the in vitro treatment or surrogacy. Each year the assisted fertilization industry ...
It will no longer be possible to exploit the female body for commercial purposes. This was decided yesterday the Government of India, presenting the new bill that regulates the practice of surrogacy to the public.
According to the legislation, that still has to be debated in Parliament, only infertile Indian couples can resort to surrogacy pregnancy and the surrogate mother must be a close relative of the couple. In an effort to put an end to a practice that has made India the world capital of the womb-for-rent industry, the government has ruled out entirely singles, gays and foreigners.
Dr. Pascoal Carvalho, a Catholic doctor and member of the Pontifical Academy for Life, told AsiaNews: "This law is a step forward towards the traditional values ??of the family. Subrogation is a manipulation of embryos".
In recent years India has become a top destination for medical tourism, particularly for the in vitro treatment or surrogacy. Each year the assisted fertilization industry netted an estimated 5 billion dollars [4.4 billion euro] and the country has more than 500 clinics.
Couples with fertility problems, especially foreign parents usually from rich countries, come to the country in search of surrogates mostly belonging to the poorer classes, who "rent" their wombs in exchange for money and frequently are victims of exploitation.
The commodification of the female body has created a burgeoning market, also accentuated by the "cheaper" costs of pregnancies compared to Western countries: between 18 thousand and 30 thousand dollars (one third of the price in the US), of which about 8 thousand belong to the woman who carried the embryos donated by couples in her womb.
The Indian authorities have decided to fight the industry of commercial surrogacy, ruling that the practice must be a kind of "altruistic surrogacy". Presenting the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill 2016, Wednesday, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj defined new conditions: under the proposed law, only local infertile couples, married for at least five years, would be able to seek a surrogate, who must be a close relative.
"This is a comprehensive bill to completely ban commercial surrogacy," she told reporters. "Childless couples, who are medically unfit to have children, can take help from a close relative, which is called altruistic surrogacy," she said.
The uterus donor cannot receive compensation for the altruistic task; Moreover, clinics that operate in the sector have to be registered.
Also anyone who breaks the new law, unlawfully taking advantage of mothers or manipulating embryos, will be punishable by imprisonment up to 10 years and fines of up to one million rupees (more than EUR 13 thousand). Dr. Carvalho concludes: "Surrogacy is a threat to the intrinsic value of human dignity".
(Source: AsiaNews)
