Catholic News 2
PHOENIX (AP) -- A man was arrested Monday in a string of serial killings that terrified a Phoenix neighborhood last year, a huge break in a case that involved nine deaths and a dozen separate shootings....
Madrid, Spain, May 8, 2017 / 03:00 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Police are investigating a case of vandalism with satanic messages at a Spanish monastery, which took place on a reliquary containing a veil believed to have touched the face of Christ.The damage was discovered the morning of May 7 at the Monastery of the Holy Face in Alicante when a priest found the number 666 and an upside down cross on the shatter-proof glass that protects the relic of the Holy Face.Several more upside down crosses on the Stations of the Cross were also discovered.According to tradition, the Holy Face is the veil with which Veronica wiped the face of Christ during the Passion. The monastery has served as a pilgrimage site the second Sunday after Holy Week since the year 536.According to El Mundo, security cameras showed the perpetrator to be a young woman, who apparently hid herself inside the church the night of Saturday, May 6. The suspect has already been identified and the police authorities aim to arres...
Madrid, Spain, May 8, 2017 / 03:00 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Police are investigating a case of vandalism with satanic messages at a Spanish monastery, which took place on a reliquary containing a veil believed to have touched the face of Christ.
The damage was discovered the morning of May 7 at the Monastery of the Holy Face in Alicante when a priest found the number 666 and an upside down cross on the shatter-proof glass that protects the relic of the Holy Face.
Several more upside down crosses on the Stations of the Cross were also discovered.
According to tradition, the Holy Face is the veil with which Veronica wiped the face of Christ during the Passion. The monastery has served as a pilgrimage site the second Sunday after Holy Week since the year 536.
According to El Mundo, security cameras showed the perpetrator to be a young woman, who apparently hid herself inside the church the night of Saturday, May 6. The suspect has already been identified and the police authorities aim to arrest her in the coming hours.
The perpetrator attempted to break the glass that protects the relic with a pointed instrument and scratched the number 666 on it. She also stole a liturgical prayer book and another one where the liturgical acts of the monastery are recorded.
The bishop of the diocese, Jesús Murgui, along with the vicar general visited the monastery after the robbery and met with the community of nuns who keep the Holy Face, who were shocked by the incident. The diocese reported the incident to the police who are currently investigating.
In a statement, the diocese said that it is looking into “increasing or improving” the security measures at the monastery after the acts of vandalism.
The diocese also said that “we are praying to God, Our Lord, for whomever caused this damage” and asked the faithful of Alicante that “the deplorable circumstances not be to the detriment of the love and the devotion that we feel toward this age-old relic of the Holy Face.”
Sabotaje con signos satánicos en el monasterio de la Santa Faz https://t.co/otj7Rw3h7x
— INFORMACION.es (@informacion_es) May 8, 2017
Vatican City, May 8, 2017 / 04:22 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In response to Venezuela's violent riots, inflated prices, and political mistrust, Pope Francis urged the country's bishops to continue promoting a culture of encounter.“Dear brothers, I wish to encourage you to not allow the beloved children of Venezuela to allow themselves to be overcome by distrust or despair since these are evils that sink into the hearts of people when they do not see future prospects,” Pope Francis said in a May 5 letter to the bishops.“I am persuaded that Venezuela's serious problems can be solved if there is the desire to establish bridges, to dialogue seriously and to comply with the agreements that were reached.”Riots have spiked in Venezuela in recent years, resulting from unemployment, food and medicine shortages, and President Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian policies.Price controls in 2003 caused inflation rates to sky rocket on basic necessities, bari...
Vatican City, May 8, 2017 / 04:22 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In response to Venezuela's violent riots, inflated prices, and political mistrust, Pope Francis urged the country's bishops to continue promoting a culture of encounter.
“Dear brothers, I wish to encourage you to not allow the beloved children of Venezuela to allow themselves to be overcome by distrust or despair since these are evils that sink into the hearts of people when they do not see future prospects,” Pope Francis said in a May 5 letter to the bishops.
“I am persuaded that Venezuela's serious problems can be solved if there is the desire to establish bridges, to dialogue seriously and to comply with the agreements that were reached.”
Riots have spiked in Venezuela in recent years, resulting from unemployment, food and medicine shortages, and President Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian policies.
Price controls in 2003 caused inflation rates to sky rocket on basic necessities, baring the access of food and medicines to the people. Poor socialist policies have effected an estimated 160 products, and while they remain affordable on the shelf, they are soon swept off and sold on the black market at a triple digit inflation rate.
Violent riots have fluctuated since the death of the previous president Hugo Chavez in 2013, but gained even more traction after opposition leaders were arrested last year and Maduro's attempt for more power by dissolving the legislature in March of this year.
Archbishop Ubaldo Santana of Maracaibo spoke gravely on the situation in an interview with Alpha and Omega news weekly earlier this year, calling it a “bloodbath of considerable proportions” fueled by riots and criminally charged activities.
“We're talking about 30,000 people murdered a year, and if we don't manage to find peaceful ways to understand each other, that number can increase.”
In the letter, Pope Francis commended the pastors who have shared in the suffering of their flock.
“I also know that you, dear brothers, share the situation of your people, who along with the priests, consecrated women and men and the lay faithful are suffering for the lack of food and medicines, and that some have even endured personal attacks and acts of violent acts in your Churches.”
But hunger and lack of basic necessities has also fueled violence among the people and looting has notably increased. According to The New York Times, shopping carts full of food and other supplies were stripped from supermarkets and liquor stores during riots among poor and working class communities.
Opposition leaders have also struggled with the violent riots, trying to channel the political unrest into peaceful demonstrations, but even the peaceful protests have been greeted by rubber bullets and tear gas.
Archbishop Diego Padrón Sánchez of Cumaná, President of Venzeuala’s bishop conference, said the government “carried out violence with the various persecutions conducted against different opposition leaders” in response to peaceful protests late last year.
Venezuela is noted to be one of the most politically corrupt countries in Latin America, and anger recently arose after the Supreme Court’s attempted to strip legislative power from the National Assembly. The move was identified by the United States and the United Nations as a power grab by Maduro, whose supporters hold seats in most of the court.
However, despite the political unrest the bishops have continuously called for people to avoid “any form of violence, to respect the rights of citizens and to defend and promote human dignity and fundamental rights,” Pope Francis said.
“I urge you to continue doing everything necessary so that this difficult path may be possible, convinced that the communion among you and your priests will give you the light to find the right path.”
Abuja, Nigeria, May 8, 2017 / 05:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Another of the young women abducted from their school by Boko Haram militants have been freed, with more than 100 still missing.The Nigerian government announced the release of the girls, who were among the 300 abducted from the high school in Chibok in April 2014. The mass abduction by the militant Islamist group drew international outcry that adopted the rally cry “Bring Back Our Girls,” focusing attention on the conflict with Boko Haram.The latest group of freed captives was released in exchange for as many as six suspected militants who were not identified, though some reports say the militants were high-ranking commanders in Boko Haram. There are also rumors of a large ransom paid.Parents of missing girls quickly tried to determine if their daughters were among the freed.Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari, who campaigned on promises to free the girls, met with them in the national capital of Abu...
Abuja, Nigeria, May 8, 2017 / 05:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Another of the young women abducted from their school by Boko Haram militants have been freed, with more than 100 still missing.
The Nigerian government announced the release of the girls, who were among the 300 abducted from the high school in Chibok in April 2014. The mass abduction by the militant Islamist group drew international outcry that adopted the rally cry “Bring Back Our Girls,” focusing attention on the conflict with Boko Haram.
The latest group of freed captives was released in exchange for as many as six suspected militants who were not identified, though some reports say the militants were high-ranking commanders in Boko Haram. There are also rumors of a large ransom paid.
Parents of missing girls quickly tried to determine if their daughters were among the freed.
Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari, who campaigned on promises to free the girls, met with them in the national capital of Abuja. They had been taken from a northeast town near the Cameroon border, with their release beginning on Sunday morning.
The Swiss government and the International Committee of the Red Cross had worked to help free the captives.
More than 100 are still missing. Six months ago, 21 were released. Another was found wandering in the forest scavenging for food.
Boko Haram has begun to focus on suicide bombings, sending dozens of young girls and children as young as seven into crowded areas like markets and camps. It continues to attack military outposts and convoys.
The Nigerian military has successfully destroyed many strongholds of the group, and its leadership has split into factions amid infighting.
Boko Haram militants continue to exist in small groups in Nigeria and across the border with neighboring countries. At the same time, many are undersupplied and suffer from famine-like conditions in the region.
One of the Boko Haram factions is recognized by the Islamic State group. The girls are being held by a different faction, led by Abubakar Shaku.
The cartoonist who created Pepe the Frog has killed off the character in a rebuke to far-right extremists who transformed a benevolent internet meme into a racist, anti-Semitic symbol....
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- South Koreans voted Tuesday for a new president, with victory widely predicted for a liberal candidate who has pledged to improve ties with North Korea, re-examine a contentious U.S. missile defense shield and push sweeping economic changes....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama personally warned Donald Trump against hiring Michael Flynn to serve as his national security adviser, three former Obama administration officials said Monday, underscoring the depths of the outgoing White House's concern about the man Trump would ultimately fire....
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- A challenge to President Donald Trump's revised travel ban appears to hinge on whether a federal appeals court agrees that the Republican's past anti-Muslim statements can be used against him....
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) -- A former Kansas bail bondsman was sentenced to life in prison Monday for killing his 7-year-old son, who authorities say endured abuse and starvation before his remains were fed to pigs on the family's rental property....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former acting Attorney General Sally Yates told Congress Monday she bluntly warned the Trump White House in January that new National Security Adviser Michael Flynn "essentially could be blackmailed" by the Russians because he apparently had lied to his bosses about his contacts with Moscow's ambassador in Washington....
