Catholic News 2
PARIS (AP) -- Intelligence failures, in France and abroad, led to the failure to foil attacks in Paris last year by Islamic radicals that killed 147 people, while rival units of security forces trapped by rules and stepping on each other's feet made the situation worse during the attacks, the head of an investigating commission of lawmakers concluded Tuesday....
BAGHDAD (AP) -- The government minister largely responsible for security in Baghdad submitted his resignation Tuesday, two days after one of the biggest bombings in more than a decade of war and insurgency killed 175 people as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan came to an especially bloody conclusion....
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Eight years after Hillary Clinton helped unite Democrats behind Barack Obama's presidential campaign, he's returning the favor....
LONDON (AP) -- The race to succeed Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron intensified Tuesday as Britain grappled with growing signs of economic strain resulting from the country's vote to leave the European Union....
KHANKE, Iraq (AP) -- The advertisement on the Telegram app is as chilling as it is incongruous: A girl for sale is "Virgin. Beautiful. 12 years old.... Her price has reached $12,500 and she will be sold soon."...
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Latest on Campaign 2016 weeks before the Republican and Democratic national conventions (all times EDT):...
(Vatican Radio) The head of the Catholic Church in Armenia says Pope Francis' recent visit to the country has helped to strengthen and confirm people in their faith. The Pope visited the Armenian capital Yerevan, the northern city of Gyumri and the ancient monastery of Khor Virap on the Turkish border from June 24th to 26th. He will return to the region for a visit to Azerbaijan and Georgia at the end of September.Among those accompanying the Pope during his stay in Armenia was Archbishop Raphael Minassian who is responsible for the Armenian Catholic Church throughout the Eastern European region. He talked to Philippa Hitchen about the spiritual legacy of the visit …Listen:The Archbishop says there has already been a visible result “in the soul of the people” who heard the Pope’s message during the Mass at Gyumri and it resounded deeply within them. The heart of that message, he says, was the simplicity, spirituality and modest style that the Pope show...
(Vatican Radio) The head of the Catholic Church in Armenia says Pope Francis' recent visit to the country has helped to strengthen and confirm people in their faith. The Pope visited the Armenian capital Yerevan, the northern city of Gyumri and the ancient monastery of Khor Virap on the Turkish border from June 24th to 26th. He will return to the region for a visit to Azerbaijan and Georgia at the end of September.
Among those accompanying the Pope during his stay in Armenia was Archbishop Raphael Minassian who is responsible for the Armenian Catholic Church throughout the Eastern European region. He talked to Philippa Hitchen about the spiritual legacy of the visit …
Listen:
The Archbishop says there has already been a visible result “in the soul of the people” who heard the Pope’s message during the Mass at Gyumri and it resounded deeply within them. The heart of that message, he says, was the simplicity, spirituality and modest style that the Pope showed in his approach to all people in Armenia.
Archbishop Minassian says people have already reacted by visiting churches more frequently and contacting their clergy. He recalls the profound silence of the 30.000 people attending the Mass who were “hypnotized” by the Pope’s presence and atmosphere of prayer.
Martyrs for the faith
Commenting on the political implications of the visit, he says: “For me, the genocide is a historical fact” so the Pope’s use of the word to describe the 1915 massacre is not so significant. Also he notes that since the battle of Vartanantz in 451, so many thousands of Armenian Christians have been martyred for their faith.
He says that of all the places in the world where he has served in his 43 years of priestly ministry, it is in the Caucuses region where people of all ages are most strongly attached to their Christian faith.
Asked about his hopes for the Pope’s visit to Azerbaijan and Georgia, Archbishop Minassian speaks of the Holy Father’s “magic” way of reaching out to people but he adds that all Christians have an obligation to be messengers of peace like him.
(Vatican Radio) A new report has been released by the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission entitled: “The Darkest Moment: The Crackdown on Human Rights in China 2013-2016”.The report, published in June, covers topics from freedom of religion to organ harvesting, and spans the presidency of Xi Jinping.Katie Ascough spoke with Ben Rodgers, Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission, to find out more about the main concerns in this latest report on China.Listen: “The main concerns are that over the last three years…we have seen a very significant crackdown on human rights in China across the board,” explained Ben Rodgers. This includes the rounding up of more than 300 human rights lawyers in the past year and the destruction of over 1500 crosses from churches in one province. According to Rodgers, China has seen the erosion of freedom of expression and freedom of religion, as well as other forms of dissent.When a...
(Vatican Radio) A new report has been released by the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission entitled: “The Darkest Moment: The Crackdown on Human Rights in China 2013-2016”.
The report, published in June, covers topics from freedom of religion to organ harvesting, and spans the presidency of Xi Jinping.
Katie Ascough spoke with Ben Rodgers, Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission, to find out more about the main concerns in this latest report on China.
Listen:
“The main concerns are that over the last three years…we have seen a very significant crackdown on human rights in China across the board,” explained Ben Rodgers. This includes the rounding up of more than 300 human rights lawyers in the past year and the destruction of over 1500 crosses from churches in one province. According to Rodgers, China has seen the erosion of freedom of expression and freedom of religion, as well as other forms of dissent.
When asked what he hopes the report can accomplish, Rodgers replied: “We’re calling for a total review and rethink of British policy toward China. In basically the same time as the crackdown [on human rights], the United Kingdom has developed a much closer, much friendlier relationship with China which has been described with the term ‘a golden era’. Our report is titled ‘the darkest moment’ which is a phrase that comes from one of the people that gave evidence to us.”
After highlighting this dangerous irony, Rodgers commented: “We’re not saying that we shouldn’t engage with China or trade with China [but]…the British government should start to speak out much more strongly within the context of that relationship, and to do so publicly as well as privately.”
Though Rodgers welcomes the pope’s concern for the people of China, he says the current government is “quite hard-line” and it’s difficult to see who will influence them at this stage.
The apostolic nuncio to Bangladesh has offered a memorial Mass for the victims, mostly foreigners, massacred in Friday’s terror attack on a popular restaurant in Dhaka. In an interview to TV2000 of the Italian Catholic bishops, Archbishop George Kocherry, the nuncio or Vatican ambassador expressed his pain at the death of 20 hostages, particularly 9 Italians. “We are going through a troubling situation. We are afraid but we entrust everything in God’s hands.” “I could not listen to the Pope but he has sent the Bangladeshi Prime Minister a beautiful message, condemning the terror attack,” the archbishop said. Monday evening Archbishop Kocherry concelebrated a memorial Mass for the dead in Dhaka’s major seminary with Archbishop Patrick D’Rozario of Dhaka. Many local faithful as well as Italians and other nationals attended the service. The total death toll from the attack stands at ...
The apostolic nuncio to Bangladesh has offered a memorial Mass for the victims, mostly foreigners, massacred in Friday’s terror attack on a popular restaurant in Dhaka. In an interview to TV2000 of the Italian Catholic bishops, Archbishop George Kocherry, the nuncio or Vatican ambassador expressed his pain at the death of 20 hostages, particularly 9 Italians. “We are going through a troubling situation. We are afraid but we entrust everything in God’s hands.” “I could not listen to the Pope but he has sent the Bangladeshi Prime Minister a beautiful message, condemning the terror attack,” the archbishop said. Monday evening Archbishop Kocherry concelebrated a memorial Mass for the dead in Dhaka’s major seminary with Archbishop Patrick D’Rozario of Dhaka. Many local faithful as well as Italians and other nationals attended the service. The total death toll from the attack stands at 28, including 20 hostages, 2 Bangladeshi police officers and 6 terrorists.
Earlier on June 20, Archbishops D’Rozario and Kocherry had joined other Protestant clergymen in a prayer meeting in Dhaka to awaken consciences against the surge in Islamic terrorism, which has left a trail of blood across the country. Faithful from various denominations joined in the ecumenical prayer service in which the Church leaders took turns to read passages from the Bible.
(Vatican Radio) Britain’s decision to leave the European Union after voting in a referendum last month has left the world reeling.The fallout from Brexit has sparked a feeling of uncertainty throughout Europe and many fear that other European countries will follow suit.Catholic aid agency, Caritas Europa, published a statement expressing its concern that “our core European values are being threatened” and it’s urging all factions of society to act together.Vatican Radio’s Georgia Gogarty spoke with Jorge Nuño Mayer, the Secretary General of Caritas Europa, to found out more about the effects Brexit will have on the work Caritas does.Listen: Mayer said that at the moment we cannot measure what the effects of Brexit will be. However he did reiterate that the main concern of Caritas Europa will be to prevent increased poverty both in Europe and Britain.He said “we want to build bridges” and “we need more dialogue”, stressin...
(Vatican Radio) Britain’s decision to leave the European Union after voting in a referendum last month has left the world reeling.
The fallout from Brexit has sparked a feeling of uncertainty throughout Europe and many fear that other European countries will follow suit.
Catholic aid agency, Caritas Europa, published a statement expressing its concern that “our core European values are being threatened” and it’s urging all factions of society to act together.
Vatican Radio’s Georgia Gogarty spoke with Jorge Nuño Mayer, the Secretary General of Caritas Europa, to found out more about the effects Brexit will have on the work Caritas does.
Listen:
Mayer said that at the moment we cannot measure what the effects of Brexit will be. However he did reiterate that the main concern of Caritas Europa will be to prevent increased poverty both in Europe and Britain.
He said “we want to build bridges” and “we need more dialogue”, stressing that the referendum discussion inside the UK show a divide, and that “people are not listened to by politicians and the real concerns of the people are not being taken into account”. He said that Brexit is “one symptom more of many where there is a gap between the political decision and the needs of the people”.
When asked if Europe has started to experience the ramifications of Brexit, Mayer said that “what people want now is clarity”. He stressed the importance that civil society, and Christians in particular, have a role to play in ensuring that “people are better listened to”.
A major concern of Caritas Europa is that core European values of solidarity and social justice are being undermined by the pressure for economic growth in Europe. To ensure that European values are upheld, Mayer said “it is important that when economic decisions are being taken there must be an assessment; what impact will the decision have on people?”.
In a statement Pope Francis said that Brexit leaves Europe with a “great responsibility” to ensure a peaceful co-existence between Britain and the EU. Mayer echoed this statement saying that “regardless of the legal framework for Britain, we need all Europeans to work together”.
Caritas, Mayer stressed, has a responsibility together with the whole of Europe, not just the European Union, to not sever ties but instead to “strengthen the relationships between countries, between cultures, between languages: to show we really are one human family”.
