Catholic News 2
LONDON (AP) -- The official cause may not be known for months. The death toll is unclear - and rising. No one has said exactly where the fire started. But experts suspect recent renovations at the Grenfell Tower, including newly installed external cladding, played a tragic role in spreading the fire so quickly....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered more money and a bigger role for private companies in designing apprenticeship programs meant to fill some of the 6 million open jobs in the U.S....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A clear majority of Americans believe President Donald Trump has tried to interfere with the investigation into whether Russia meddled in the 2016 election and possible Trump campaign collusion, a new poll released Thursday shows. Just one in five support his decision to oust James Comey from the FBI....
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) -- Jurors in Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial said Thursday they are deadlocked on charges he drugged and molested a woman in 2004, but a judge ordered them to keep trying to reach a unanimous decision in a case that has already helped obliterate the TV star's career and nice-guy reputation....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- In critical condition and undergoing repeated surgery, GOP House Whip Steve Scalise faces a "much more difficult" struggle to recover from his gunshot wound than first thought, President Donald Trump said Thursday. The House lurched back to business in a somber mood as law enforcement tracked the path the shooter traveled to his ball field carnage....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- It didn't take long for the capital's post-shooting talk of unity to begin fraying....
WYOMING, Ohio (AP) -- The Latest on an American college student freed this week by North Korea (all times local):...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has written the preface for a new book on corruption by Cardinal Peter Turkson, former president of the Vatican’s Justice and Peace Council and current head of the office for Integral Human Development.The volume, which was published on Thursday, explores the origins and devastating consequences of corruption, which the Pope describes as a "curse" and a “cancer” that can consume our lives.Listen to Philippa Hitchen's report: In his preface, the Pope describes corruption as the breakdown of relationships that every human being has with God, with our neighbours and with the natural world around us.Origin of all exploitationHe describes it as the worst scourge of societies because it is the lifeblood of the mafia and other criminal organisations. Corruption, he says, is the origin of all exploitation and trafficking of people, drugs and weapons. It is at the heart of all injustice, lack of development, unemployment and soci...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has written the preface for a new book on corruption by Cardinal Peter Turkson, former president of the Vatican’s Justice and Peace Council and current head of the office for Integral Human Development.
The volume, which was published on Thursday, explores the origins and devastating consequences of corruption, which the Pope describes as a "curse" and a “cancer” that can consume our lives.
Listen to Philippa Hitchen's report:
In his preface, the Pope describes corruption as the breakdown of relationships that every human being has with God, with our neighbours and with the natural world around us.
Origin of all exploitation
He describes it as the worst scourge of societies because it is the lifeblood of the mafia and other criminal organisations. Corruption, he says, is the origin of all exploitation and trafficking of people, drugs and weapons. It is at the heart of all injustice, lack of development, unemployment and social degradation.
Corruption tempts us all
Pope Francis praises the book for exposing the ramifications of corruption and the way it can tempt all of us in our political, economic, cultural or spiritual lives. The spirit of worldliness can corrupt us all, the pope warns, leading to a hardening of our hearts and indifference to those around us.
The Pope ends his preface with an urgent appeal to all Christians and all people of good will to combat this curse, this cancer which can consume our lives.
Caritas Pakistan in Karachi has distributed food aid to Muslim villagers in a rural mountainous area to help them cope with the effects of prolonged drought and ease their problems during the holy month of Ramadan. Caritas helped 90 families from seven villages bordering Karachi June 11 with each family receiving a bag containing food items for their daily needs. "People in this area are extremely poor. No rains in the territory for the past four years have affected them a lot, their lands are barren, and they cannot cultivate any crops," said Mansha Noor, executive secretary of Caritas Pakistan Karachi. Villagers had contacted Caritas during the first week of Ramadan and "we immediately started working to raise funds to support them," he said. Each bag costs about Rs. 2,000 (US$20). "This is the first time we are helping Muslims with rations during their holy Month. Earlier we only provided aid during floods and other natural ...
Caritas Pakistan in Karachi has distributed food aid to Muslim villagers in a rural mountainous area to help them cope with the effects of prolonged drought and ease their problems during the holy month of Ramadan. Caritas helped 90 families from seven villages bordering Karachi June 11 with each family receiving a bag containing food items for their daily needs.
"People in this area are extremely poor. No rains in the territory for the past four years have affected them a lot, their lands are barren, and they cannot cultivate any crops," said Mansha Noor, executive secretary of Caritas Pakistan Karachi. Villagers had contacted Caritas during the first week of Ramadan and "we immediately started working to raise funds to support them," he said. Each bag costs about Rs. 2,000 (US$20). "This is the first time we are helping Muslims with rations during their holy Month. Earlier we only provided aid during floods and other natural calamities," Noor said. (Source: UCAN)
Muslim religious and civil leaders in the southern Philippine city of Marawi appealed on Thursday to the government of President Rodrigo Duterte to resolve in a "civilized manner" the conflict that has besieged the city for four weeks now. The fighting between security forces and terrorists has displaced most of the more than 200,000 residents of Marawi, the bastion of Islamic faith in the south of the predominantly Roman Catholic nation. According to the army 290 people have been killed in the more than three weeks of fighting for control of the city, including 206 militants, 58 soldiers and 26 civilians. A total of 132 public and private schools, 22,000 students, and 2,200 teaching staff in Marawi have been affected by the fighting that broke out on May 23."The socio-economic and religious activities of our people have been tremendously affected," said Abdul Hamidullah Atar, the sultan of Marawi, in a l...
Muslim religious and civil leaders in the southern Philippine city of Marawi appealed on Thursday to the government of President Rodrigo Duterte to resolve in a "civilized manner" the conflict that has besieged the city for four weeks now.
The fighting between security forces and terrorists has displaced most of the more than 200,000 residents of Marawi, the bastion of Islamic faith in the south of the predominantly Roman Catholic nation. According to the army 290 people have been killed in the more than three weeks of fighting for control of the city, including 206 militants, 58 soldiers and 26 civilians. A total of 132 public and private schools, 22,000 students, and 2,200 teaching staff in Marawi have been affected by the fighting that broke out on May 23.
"The socio-economic and religious activities of our people have been tremendously affected," said Abdul Hamidullah Atar, the sultan of Marawi, in a letter dated June 15 addressed to Duterte. A copy of the letter obtained by UCANEWS bore 18 signatures of other tribal leaders. Atar said the crisis could have been prevented if Duterte had listened to "traditional and religious leaders" before declaring war against the terrorist group. "We could have influenced these radical people, however our voice was never recognized by the government," he regretted. Referring to the local terrorist Maute group, the Muslim leaders said, "the radical people in some way respect the elders of a clan." "Conflicts" among clans and tribes in Mindanao, the Muslim leaders said, are resolved "using traditional negotiation." "We would like to convey to you that war is not an option," they said. They said they all “condemn the act of terrorism in any form but we need you also to listen."
Violence in southern Philippines erupted on the night of 23 May after a botched attempt by the security forces to capture a noted rebel commander. The militants called for reinforcements from the Maute, a group allied to the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, and some 50 gunmen entered Marawi. They took a Catholic priest and more than a dozen churchgoers hostage in an attack in which they burned buildings, ambushing soldiers and hoisting IS flags. President Rodrigo Duterte has declared martial law in the southern third of the nation and warned he would enforce it harshly.
Muslim civil leader Samira Gutoc-Tomawis has appealed to the warring sides to observe a ceasefire to allow trapped civilians to escape the war zone. "Please give life a chance. The fight to liberate Marawi out of radical ideology is long term, and it must not be at the expense of civilian lives," said Tomawis. Governor Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao said at least 1,000 civilians remained trapped.
Meanwhile, Muslim and Christian volunteers launched a "humanitarian mission" this week to help communities affected by the ongoing conflict. "We will visit victims of forced evacuations, provide relief packs, and conduct psychosocial intervention," said Aida Ibrahim, spokeswoman of Kalinaw Mindanao, an alliance of faith-based and human rights groups. Kalinaw Mindanao launched the "National Interfaith Humanitarian Mission", June 13-16, aimed at bringing relief and medical services to victims of the conflict. "Kalinaw, meaning peace, is what we seek in Mindanao," Ibrahim, adding that "so much suffering and violence has been done. "This has to stop now," she stressed. "We will also listen to the stories of Marawi residents on the extent of damage done by military airstrikes and martial law in Mindanao," said Ibrahim.
Jerome Succor Aba of the group Suara Bangsamoro said that while they condemn the violence committed by the terrorist gunmen "the exaggerated counter-terror response [by the military] has aggravated the situation."
Caritas Philippines, the social action arm of the Catholic Church, has called on the people to keep supporting the displaced. “Let us all work together and put our minds, emotions, and assistance together for our countrymen in need,” said Archbishop Rolando Tria Tirona of Caceres, chairman of Caritas Philippines. Caritas had earlier appealed for solidarity to the families adversely affected by the clashes.
“We hope the chaos, the war will soon be over and we can all return to our normal and peaceful life,” Bishop Edwin de la Pena of Marawi Prelature told Radio Veritas on tuesday He hoped the government will be able to bring back peace as people are longing to return home live a normal life.
