Catholic News 2
COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (AP) -- A man wanted by Idaho authorities in an attack that left a church pastor seriously wounded has been arrested by U.S. Secret Service agents after allegedly throwing items over the fence at the White House, police said....
The Beatles were a miracle not only of talent, but of chemistry. No producer was better suited for them than the resourceful and open-minded Sir George Martin, who dedicated himself to serving their vision instead of imposing his own. And no act Martin worked with before or after approached the Beatles' historic power....
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JERUSALEM (AP) -- Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday criticized Palestinians for a "failure to condemn" a stabbing spree that killed an American student and war veteran the day before, after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' political party posted a statement online praising the stabber....
(Vatican Radio) Vincent Cochetel, Europe regional director of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), has said a European deal to send masses of refugees back to Turkey would flout their right to protection under international law.Listen to Peter Kenny's report: Cochetel has told a UN news briefing, "The collective expulsion of foreigners is prohibited under the European convention of human rights."The UNHCR, took note of the March 7 statement of the EU heads of State and Turkey concerning refugees but said it was concerned with some aspects of the proposal.Turkey hosts close to 3 million refugees and has made enormous contributions for years and just recently adopted a work regulation for Syrian refugees.Yet due to the enormity of the task, Turkey still struggles to provide for all the basic needs of the swelling Syrian population. Still the UN refuge agency welcomed the EU's financial contribution to support Turkey and the refugee communities in Turkey.UNHCR spoke...
(Vatican Radio) Vincent Cochetel, Europe regional director of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), has said a European deal to send masses of refugees back to Turkey would flout their right to protection under international law.
Listen to Peter Kenny's report:
Cochetel has told a UN news briefing, "The collective expulsion of foreigners is prohibited under the European convention of human rights."
The UNHCR, took note of the March 7 statement of the EU heads of State and Turkey concerning refugees but said it was concerned with some aspects of the proposal.
Turkey hosts close to 3 million refugees and has made enormous contributions for years and just recently adopted a work regulation for Syrian refugees.
Yet due to the enormity of the task, Turkey still struggles to provide for all the basic needs of the swelling Syrian population. Still the UN refuge agency welcomed the EU's financial contribution to support Turkey and the refugee communities in Turkey.
UNHCR spokesman William Spindler, said, however, that after the meeting between the EU and Turkey, the refugee agency was not a party to nor privy to the details of implementation.
He said, "On the face of what appears to have been agreed, we are, however, concerned about any arrangement that involves the blanket return of all individuals from one country to another without sufficiently spelt out refugee protection safeguards in keeping with international obligations."
The UN refugee agency said an asylum-seeker should only be returned to a third State if strict criteria are met that prevents the person being protected from persecution from the place he or she is fleeing and that they can enjoy social assistance where they are sent.
(Vatican Radio) Slovenia has effectively closed its borders to most migrants fleeing war and poverty as part of efforts to close the Balkans route from Greece to Western Europe. In reaction, Serbia said it would shut its borders with Macedonia and Bulgaria to those without valid documents, causing thousands of people lose their patience as they struggle in the mud and rain.Listen to Stefan Bos' report: "Open the borders, safe our children", shouted refugees stranded in the Greek border town of Idomeni near border of Macedonia. Yet their cry for help didn't impress border guards and police who sometimes violently pushed them back.Macedonia says it reacts to measures taken by other countries. But refugees are shocked that further away Slovenia has closed its borders around midnight local time while other European Union and non-EU nations along the Balkan route have taken similar action. "Here there will be a human crisis. The nations need...
(Vatican Radio) Slovenia has effectively closed its borders to most migrants fleeing war and poverty as part of efforts to close the Balkans route from Greece to Western Europe. In reaction, Serbia said it would shut its borders with Macedonia and Bulgaria to those without valid documents, causing thousands of people lose their patience as they struggle in the mud and rain.
Listen to Stefan Bos' report:
"Open the borders, safe our children", shouted refugees stranded in the Greek border town of Idomeni near border of Macedonia. Yet their cry for help didn't impress border guards and police who sometimes violently pushed them back.
Macedonia says it reacts to measures taken by other countries. But refugees are shocked that further away Slovenia has closed its borders around midnight local time while other European Union and non-EU nations along the Balkan route have taken similar action.
"Here there will be a human crisis. The nations need to open the borders. We don't have money, Children are sick, it's freezing. I expected to cross as a human being. I came here thinking that they are the nations of humanity, but I am shocked," a woman said.
Slovenia restrictions
Countries such as Slovenia say only migrants who plan to seek asylum in the country, or those with clear humanitarian needs will be allowed entry.
But in practise many remain stuck, awaiting an uncertain future.
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees says it also has deep concerns about the EU’s proposed agreement to solve Europe's biggest refugee crisis since World War Two.
Vincent Cochetel, the UNHCR’s Director for Europe, is especially concerned about a plan to return people deemed illegal migrants back to Turkey. “Collective expulsion of foreigners is prohibited under the European Convention of Human Rights, so an agreement that would be tantamount to blanket return of any foreigners to a third country is not consistent with European law, is not consistent with international law,” he said.
Hungary's fiercely ant-migration Prime Minister Viktor Orbán wants to go even further than the EU. He has already threatened to veto the EU-Turkish agreement if it involves resettling at least some refugees in Europe, a move that could jeopardize the deal.
Hungary already launched a legal challenge against an EU plan to redistribute as many as 160,000 refugees among member states. It also emerged that Hungary wants to reduce cash and other subsidies for asylum-seekers in Hungary, reduce the individual space they are allotted in detention centers to the size given to prison inmates and scrap measures assisting their integration.
Orbán says he wants to protect the Christian culture of Hungary and Europe against an influx of Muslims. But critics point out that Hungary nation of some 10 million people, granted asylum and other protection to just 508 people.
Vatican City, Mar 9, 2016 / 12:25 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The number of Catholics has increased at a faster rate than the rest of the population, newly released statistics by the Vatican reveal.Over the course of nine years, the number of Catholics worldwide has increased by 17.8 percent, compared to the global population, which increased by 17.3 percent.From 2005-2014, the number of Catholics grew from 1.12 billion to 1.27 billion.These and other statistics, released by the Vatican on Saturday, are contained within the 2016 Pontifical Yearbook, and the 2014 Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae.These volumes, compiled by the Central Office of Church Statistics and edited by the Vatican Typography, are set to be released in bookshops within days.The books also show changes in the Church's life over the course of 2015, according to the March 5 statement.The greatest increase in Catholics was seen in the African continent at 41 percent, amid an overall population growth of 23.8 percen...
Vatican City, Mar 9, 2016 / 12:25 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The number of Catholics has increased at a faster rate than the rest of the population, newly released statistics by the Vatican reveal.
Over the course of nine years, the number of Catholics worldwide has increased by 17.8 percent, compared to the global population, which increased by 17.3 percent.
From 2005-2014, the number of Catholics grew from 1.12 billion to 1.27 billion.
These and other statistics, released by the Vatican on Saturday, are contained within the 2016 Pontifical Yearbook, and the 2014 Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae.
These volumes, compiled by the Central Office of Church Statistics and edited by the Vatican Typography, are set to be released in bookshops within days.
The books also show changes in the Church's life over the course of 2015, according to the March 5 statement.
The greatest increase in Catholics was seen in the African continent at 41 percent, amid an overall population growth of 23.8 percent. This was followed by Asia, with a 20 percent Catholic increase vs. the 9.6 percent population increase, then America which saw an 11.7 percent increase in Catholics compared to 9.6 percent of the population.
In Europe, the number of Catholics increased only by 2 percent compared to the overall population. Oceana, in contrast, saw an increase of Catholics that was just slightly lower than the overall population growth.
The statement also notes a global increase in the number of bishops from 2005-2014, although America and Oceana saw a slightly lower increase than the world average.
There was also a worldwide increase in the number of diocesan and religious priests, mostly in Africa and Asia, although there was a decline in new priests in Europe and Oceana.
While the number of permanent deacons increased in the African continent, the rest of the world saw a decline. Likewise, female religious saw a decline, but an increase in Africa and Asia.
Seminarians for the priesthood increased from 114,439 in 2005 to 116,939 in 2014, peaking in 2011 at 120,616. The number of seminarians was consistently highest in Africa, Asia, and Oceana, while Europe and America saw a decline.
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