Catholic News 2
DALLAS (AP) -- A Texas nurse who is in prison for the 1982 killing of a toddler has been charged with murder in the death of an infant a year earlier, and authorities said Friday that they think she may have killed up to 60 young children around that time....
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) -- The general sat on a plastic lawn chair in the garden of his mother's home, the scent of tropical blooms filling the air as he talked about the alleged rape and sodomy of a Haitian teenager by a Sri Lankan peacekeeper....
LONDON (AP) -- Four days after a suicide bombing plunged Britain into mourning, political campaigning for a general election in two weeks resumed Friday with the main opposition leader linking acts of terrorism at home to foreign wars like the one in Libya....
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Following a spike in deadly attacks on police, more than a dozen states have responded this year with "Blue Lives Matter" laws that come down even harder on crimes against law enforcement officers, raising concern among some civil rights activists of a potential setback in police-community relations....
TAORMINA, Italy (AP) -- President Donald Trump's views on climate change are "evolving" following discussions with European leaders who are pushing for him to stay in the Paris climate accord, a top White House official said Friday....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Preparing for North Korea's growing threat, the Pentagon will try to shoot down an intercontinental-range missile for the first time in a test next week. The goal is to more closely simulate a North Korean ICBM aimed at the U.S. homeland, officials said Friday...
NEW YORK (AP) -- He slept next to his son's ashes most nights back when Kraig Moss first met Donald Trump....
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met on Friday with the Little Missionary Sisters of Charity who are holding their 12th General Chapter in Rome this month. The theme of their assembly is focused on the need “to give oneself completely to God, to be completely given to one’s neighbour: missionary disciples and joyful witnesses to charity in the suburbs of the world”.Listen to our report: In his words to the sisters, Pope Francis noted that their institute, founded by Don Luigi Orione, is dedicated to caring especially for the poor and most marginalized members of society.Thanking them for the work they do, the Pope urged them to be "missionaries without frontiers", bringing God’s love and mercy to all they meet.Be bold and creativeMissionaries, he said, are called to be bold and creative people, capable of rethinking “the goals, structure, style and method” of their mission. We are living, he stressed, in a time when “it is necessary ...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met on Friday with the Little Missionary Sisters of Charity who are holding their 12th General Chapter in Rome this month. The theme of their assembly is focused on the need “to give oneself completely to God, to be completely given to one’s neighbour: missionary disciples and joyful witnesses to charity in the suburbs of the world”.
Listen to our report:
In his words to the sisters, Pope Francis noted that their institute, founded by Don Luigi Orione, is dedicated to caring especially for the poor and most marginalized members of society.
Thanking them for the work they do, the Pope urged them to be "missionaries without frontiers", bringing God’s love and mercy to all they meet.
Be bold and creative
Missionaries, he said, are called to be bold and creative people, capable of rethinking “the goals, structure, style and method” of their mission. We are living, he stressed, in a time when “it is necessary to rethink everything in light of what the Spirit is asking us”.
Be free from all ties
Pope Francis said missionaries are also called to be free and able to live with nothing but the word of the Lord to sustain them. He urged the sisters to free themselves from all material or emotional ties which hinder them from setting out on their missionary journey.
Be led by the Spirit
As missionaries, he continued, you are called to be filled with the Spirit, letting yourselves be guided as you bring the Gospel to the most unlikely places.
Be prophets of mercy
Finally, Pope Francis told the sisters they are called to be prophets of mercy, letting themselves be provoked by the call for help from so many situations of pain and suffering. Together with the other institutes founded by Don Orione, he urged them to work together in a spirit of encounter and cooperation as they share God’s love and forgiveness with all who are searching for Him in today’s world.
Nepali political parties and security forces who are accused of war crimes during the country's decade-long civil war are hampering efforts to bring justice to tens of thousands of victims and their families, a study said on Thursday. More than 17,000 people were killed and more than 1,300 went missing during the conflict between government forces and Maoist rebels in the Himalayan nation. The war ended more than 10 years ago but families and victims are still waiting to find out what happened to their loved ones and see those responsible punished.The study, by the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), found there was a "widespread misunderstanding" of transitional justice in Nepal, with policy often motivated by the interests of political leaders and the army. "There continues to be resistance to criminal investigations and prosecutions of conflict-related human rights violations by the main political parties and the security f...
Nepali political parties and security forces who are accused of war crimes during the country's decade-long civil war are hampering efforts to bring justice to tens of thousands of victims and their families, a study said on Thursday. More than 17,000 people were killed and more than 1,300 went missing during the conflict between government forces and Maoist rebels in the Himalayan nation. The war ended more than 10 years ago but families and victims are still waiting to find out what happened to their loved ones and see those responsible punished.
The study, by the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), found there was a "widespread misunderstanding" of transitional justice in Nepal, with policy often motivated by the interests of political leaders and the army. "There continues to be resistance to criminal investigations and prosecutions of conflict-related human rights violations by the main political parties and the security forces," it said. "Authorities promote, at best, a version of transitional justice that is limited to an ill-defined notion of truth and an emphasis on forms of reconciliation and relief for victims wherein protection of perpetrators is privileged over victims' right to remedy."
Nepal's Law Minister Shankar Nayak told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that the government had no intention of delaying or hampering the issue of accountability for war crimes, but admitted there were setbacks due to political instability. "We are committed to concluding this in accordance with international standards as early as possible," said Nayak. "But the country’s fluid political situation, where governments change every nine or 10 months, wrangling between political parties over the constitution making and its implementation, have contributed to the delay in delivering transitional justice."
The conflict ended in 2006 with the government and the Maoists signing a peace agreement. Seeking justice for killings, disappearances, rapes, arbitrary arrests and torture is a key provision of the agreement, but the process has been slow. Two commissions were established in 2015 - one to probe enforced disappearances and another to investigate more than 60,000 complaints of violations committed during the decade-long war. But survivors, victims' families and activists believe legislation relating to war crimes must be amended as currently perpetrators can be granted amnesty. They say politicians - many of which have members accused of war crimes - have no intention to seriously address victims' grievances.
The report recommended Nepali authorities provide adequate state resources to the two commissions, ensure transparency in the truth-seeking process, and reach out to the public and promote reconciliation by building trust. The government, it said, should issue an official apology to victims for human rights violations experienced at hands of government forces, as well as for the state's failure to protect victims of violations committed by the Maoist rebels. (Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation)
The Apostolic Vicariate of Meki, in Ethiopia, has inaugurated the newly built Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, this week on Wednesday, during the feast day of Kidanemihret (Our Lady of Perpetual Help) according to the Ethiopian Liturgical Calendar. The Cathedral was blessed by His Eminence Cardinal Berhaneyesus the Metropolitan Archbishop of Addis Ababa and President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Ethiopia. This was during Holy Mass concelebrated by Archbishop Luigi Bianco, the Apostolic Nuncio to Ethiopia; Catholic Bishops of Ethiopia and priests. The completion of the Cathedral that can hold more than 1500 congregants coincides with the Silver Jubilee of the Apostolic Vicariate of Meki since it was elevated from the status of a Prefecture. The foundation for the construction of a bigger Cathedral was laid six years ago with the hope that Meki town, which is centrally located among cities of the southern part of Ethiopia would become a pilgrimage centre...
The Apostolic Vicariate of Meki, in Ethiopia, has inaugurated the newly built Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, this week on Wednesday, during the feast day of Kidanemihret (Our Lady of Perpetual Help) according to the Ethiopian Liturgical Calendar. The Cathedral was blessed by His Eminence Cardinal Berhaneyesus the Metropolitan Archbishop of Addis Ababa and President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Ethiopia. This was during Holy Mass concelebrated by Archbishop Luigi Bianco, the Apostolic Nuncio to Ethiopia; Catholic Bishops of Ethiopia and priests.
The completion of the Cathedral that can hold more than 1500 congregants coincides with the Silver Jubilee of the Apostolic Vicariate of Meki since it was elevated from the status of a Prefecture. The foundation for the construction of a bigger Cathedral was laid six years ago with the hope that Meki town, which is centrally located among cities of the southern part of Ethiopia would become a pilgrimage centre particularly for those who seek the intercession of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
On the occasion of the inauguration, Bishop Abraham Desta, Apostolic Vicar of Meki said that the completion of the Cathedral is a witness that God is always with those who trust in Him throughout their most challenging times. He said this recalling the very stressful situation the Vicariate went through last year with the loss of many of its properties including the burning of a parish.
“We have just closed the Extraordinary Year of Mercy during which time our Vicariate underwent a lot of challenging and difficult situations. Meki Vicariate was tested as gold is tested in a fire in order to testify whether it is pure. I must say we were tested deeply to check our confidence in God. But today with a grateful heart I can proudly say that these moments of challenges have brought us closer spiritually, mentally and physically to God Our Loving Father,” said Bishop Abraham.
The Apostolic Vicar also recalled that when the construction of a bigger Cathedral was planned the Vicariate did not have a budget set aside for it but just started with the encouragement of all the clergy, the religious men and women and all the faithful and friends of the Apostolic Vicariate of Meki. He thanked God for providing all the blessings through friends and family of the Vicariate both in the country and outside of Ethiopia.
“This Cathedral which has been consecrated today is the fruit of those who journey with us in faith and hope. As the saying goes, ‘a house is made of bricks but the home is made of hearts,’ and that is what we have experienced today when we look at and admire this place of worship. I am speechless before God and you for the blessings we have received from God Almighty,” exclaimed the Bishop of Meki.
The Feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help and the inauguration of the Cathedral was attended by clergy, religious men and women, representatives of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and many of the faithful from different parts of Ethiopia.
The Apostolic Vicariate of Meki was entrusted to the Consolata Fathers in 1970. It was apportioned from the Apostolic Vicariate of Harar, and it was erected as an Apostolic Prefecture on 6 March 1980 with Fr. John Bonzanimo appointed the Apostolic Administrator. On 8 December 1981, Bishop Yohannes Woldeghiorghis was appointed Prefect Apostolic of Meki.
Meki was later elevated to the status of an Apostolic Vicariate on 25 January 1992 with Bishop Yohannes as the first Apostolic Vicar of Meki. Currently, there are 14 parishes, and 82 outstations in the Vicariate and the number of Catholics has tripled since Meki was elevated as an Apostolic Vicariate.
(Makeda Yohannes, Ethiopian Catholic Secretariat)
Email: engafrica@vatiradio.va
