Catholic News 2
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- Inky the octopus waited until it was dark and the staff had gone home from the National Aquarium of New Zealand before making his move....
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Year after year, South Carolina Sen. Lee Bright has watched as gays won more rights through legislation and the courts. And as he sees proposals elsewhere in the U.S. aimed at allowing transgender people to use the bathroom that conforms to their identity, he says plenty of people feel just like he does....
HIT, Iraq (AP) -- Iraq's counterterrorism forces are increasingly relying on air power in their battle to take full control of a key town in the sprawling western Anbar desert from Islamic State militants....
MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- In a military buildup certain to inflame tensions with China, the United States said Thursday it will be conducting joint South China Sea patrols - and eventually air patrols - with the Philippines, while dispatching U.S. troops and combat aircraft there on more frequent rotations....
A video purporting to show some of the girls abducted by Boko Haram in Nigeria has been released, two years after they were taken from their school.Listen to Alexander MacDonald's report: 276 young girls were abducted in April, 2014 by the terrorist group Boko Haram which calls itself the Islamic State Africa Western Province. The video just released shows 15 girls clothed in hijabs who are asked to state their names and addresses.The girls are not emaciated and show no visible signs of abuse but some of their parents who have been shown the video break down in tears when they see their children for the first time in 2 years. It is the first video of the girls to surface since May 2014.Identified by their parents, at least this is proof that some of the abducted children are alive.The video was sent to the Nigerian government and obtained by the US news network CNN. In the video the girls plead with the Nigerian government to co-operate with the militants in order to secure th...
A video purporting to show some of the girls abducted by Boko Haram in Nigeria has been released, two years after they were taken from their school.
Listen to Alexander MacDonald's report:
276 young girls were abducted in April, 2014 by the terrorist group Boko Haram which calls itself the Islamic State Africa Western Province. The video just released shows 15 girls clothed in hijabs who are asked to state their names and addresses.
The girls are not emaciated and show no visible signs of abuse but some of their parents who have been shown the video break down in tears when they see their children for the first time in 2 years. It is the first video of the girls to surface since May 2014.
Identified by their parents, at least this is proof that some of the abducted children are alive.
The video was sent to the Nigerian government and obtained by the US news network CNN. In the video the girls plead with the Nigerian government to co-operate with the militants in order to secure their release.
Boko Haram literally means, “Western eductation is forbidden” and its leader has said the abducted girls have converted to Islam. He has threatened to force them into marriage with his fighters or sell them into slavery.
The kidnapping of the girls has become a political issue in Nigeria with the government and military criticized for their handling of the incident and failing to track down the girls.
No member of Boko Haram was visible in the video and local officials were not immediately available to give details on how they received the video.
About 2,000 girls and boys have been abducted by the Boko Haram since 2014, with many used as sex slaves, fighters and even suicide bombers, according to Amnesty International. A recent Unicef report documents how nearly 1 in 5 suicide attacks conducted by Boko Haram uses a child, two-thirds of whom were girls.
Of the 276 girls originally abducted by Boko Haram two years ago, 57 were able to escape, leaving 219 girls still missing.
Bishop Peter Musikuwa of Chikwawa Diocese in Malawi has told over 400 Catholic students from Institutions of higher learning in Malawi to be exemplary in all that they do.The Catholic students met this week at Salima Technical College in the lakeshore district of Salima for a two-days conference organised by the National Movement of Catholic Students (NMCS).Speaking during the closing Mass, Bishop Musikuwa, who is the Bishop-in-charge of the youth ministry in Malawi, challenged the young people always to remember that the future of Malawi and that of the Church was in their hands. He challenged them to be exemplary and conscientious in everything they did. The Bishop urged the students to be at the service of their faith, Church and nation.During the two days, the students took the time to reflect on various Church teachings and were encouraged to familiarise themselves with Church documents such as Pope Francis’ “Laudato sì” and also the recen...
Bishop Peter Musikuwa of Chikwawa Diocese in Malawi has told over 400 Catholic students from Institutions of higher learning in Malawi to be exemplary in all that they do.
The Catholic students met this week at Salima Technical College in the lakeshore district of Salima for a two-days conference organised by the National Movement of Catholic Students (NMCS).
Speaking during the closing Mass, Bishop Musikuwa, who is the Bishop-in-charge of the youth ministry in Malawi, challenged the young people always to remember that the future of Malawi and that of the Church was in their hands. He challenged them to be exemplary and conscientious in everything they did. The Bishop urged the students to be at the service of their faith, Church and nation.
During the two days, the students took the time to reflect on various Church teachings and were encouraged to familiarise themselves with Church documents such as Pope Francis’ “Laudato sì” and also the recent pastoral statement that was issued by the Bishops of Malawi on the state of the nation.
Malawi first-ever female Solicitor General and Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Dr Janet Banda was the guest of honour. She told the students to have great reverence for the Word of God.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of everything. If you want to succeed in your life and as a student, first fear the Lord,” Dr Banda, a Catholic told the students.
She also gave testimony to her Catholic faith and how it influences her life as a person.
Towards the end of the gathering, the students elected a new executive that will now be led by Emanuel Kafulafula of Malawi’s College of Medicine. He was elected new national president of the prestigious students’ body.
(Source: Prince Henderson, ECM Communications)
Email: engafrica@vatiradio.va
Lincoln, Neb., Apr 14, 2016 / 12:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Nebraska’s body governing school athletics has failed to overturn a policy that will recognize gender identity rather than biological sex as a standard for student athletes, and last week the state’s bishops said they “deeply regret” the situation.“Recognizing the truth about each person’s biological sex, and basing policies upon that fundamental truth, would serve the best interest of Nebraska’s students, families and schools,” they said April 8.The bishops said that the Catholic member schools of the association will continue to urge it to rescind the policy, and will “require that students participate in NSAA activities according to their sex at birth.”“Any person who experiences gender dysphoria is entitled to the respect that is the right of every human person, as well as genuine concern and the support needed for personal development and well-being. ...
Lincoln, Neb., Apr 14, 2016 / 12:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Nebraska’s body governing school athletics has failed to overturn a policy that will recognize gender identity rather than biological sex as a standard for student athletes, and last week the state’s bishops said they “deeply regret” the situation.
“Recognizing the truth about each person’s biological sex, and basing policies upon that fundamental truth, would serve the best interest of Nebraska’s students, families and schools,” they said April 8.
The bishops said that the Catholic member schools of the association will continue to urge it to rescind the policy, and will “require that students participate in NSAA activities according to their sex at birth.”
“Any person who experiences gender dysphoria is entitled to the respect that is the right of every human person, as well as genuine concern and the support needed for personal development and well-being. Such support, however, must be provided with due consideration to fairness; the safety, privacy, and rights of all students; and the truth about the human person.”
The Nebraska School Activities Association’s board of directors in January voted to create a process for students who identify as transgender to take part in sports based on their chosen gender.
This differed from the association’s membership, which in district meetings had voted to continue to require athlete participation to be based on the sex of a student’s birth certificate. Four of the six districts had voted in favor of the 'sex at birth' policy.
The NSAA representative assembly on April 8 voted against a proposal to reinstate the policy by a vote of 27-23.
The bishops commented that “the failure of the delegates’ vote to reflect the position of the majority of member schools – including public schools – expressed at the January district meetings is contrary to what one would expect of a 'member-driven organization.'”
In January the activities association’s interim director, Jim Tenopir, said the new policy allows religious schools to follow their beliefs. The policy also puts the burden of legal defense on the schools, not the association.
If a school decides a self-identified transgender student is eligible to play, the association’s gender-eligibility committee would rule on the case based on documentation about the student’s gender expression from a health care professional and from friends, teachers, or family.
Male students who say they are female must document a year of hormone therapy, a requirement intended to address concerns that men are physically larger than women. Self-identified transgender students must use private bathrooms and locker rooms, or those that match their biological sex.
Previous association policy allowed girls to wrestle or play football because there is no comparable girls’ sports.
WALPOLE, Maine (AP) -- Say "infrastructure" and most people think roads and bridges, not tubes and valves. But to Bill Mook, the black box in the basement of his oyster hatchery is every bit as fundamental as the basic facilities and structures that serve as a community's framework....
The stars did not disappoint....
BEIJING (AP) -- China's live-streaming sites have become a burgeoning cottage industry, offering money-making opportunities and even stardom to their mostly female hosts and an entertaining new alternative for millions of viewers to online dramas and stodgy state-controlled TV....
