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WASHINGTON (AP) -- The deepening U.S. military involvement against Islamic State militants in northern Syria indicates the Pentagon will likely send even more troops in coming weeks. Their mission won't be to fight on the front lines but to bolster Syrian Arab and Kurdish forces in a coming battle for the key city of Raqqa....
BETHESDA, Md. (AP) -- A Maryland high school has been thrust into the national immigration debate after a 14-year-old student said she was raped in a bathroom there by two classmates, including one who authorities said came to the U.S. illegally from Central America....
LONDON (AP) -- Authorities on Thursday identified a 52-year-old Briton as the man who mowed down pedestrians and stabbed a policeman to death outside Parliament in London, saying he had a long criminal record and once was investigated for extremism - but was not currently on a terrorism watch list....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The White House on Thursday defended the House intelligence committee chairman's extraordinary decision to openly discuss and brief President Donald Trump on typically secret intelligence intercepts, even as Rep. Devin Nunes privately apologized to his congressional colleagues....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- After seven years of fervent promises to repeal and replace "Obamacare," President Donald Trump and GOP congressional leaders buckled at a moment of truth Thursday, putting off a planned showdown vote in a stinging setback for the young administration....
Flavia Agnes is a noted Catholic women’s lawyer and rights activist who co-founded the Majlis Legal Centre in Mumbai, India, that campaigns for and provides legal aid to vulnerable women and children, focusing specially on domestic and sexual violence. Herself a victim of a violent and abusive marriage for 13 years, she fought for her rights in the courts and then used this experience to help other women in similar situations, qualifying herself as a lawyer. Flavia who participated in the annual ‘Voices of Faith’ forum in the Vatican on the occasion of Women Day, 8 March, spoke to Vatican Radio about her efforts to bring women’s rights to the forefront of India’s legal system and in the Catholic Church. She also explained how the Church should change its attitude and approach to women and their issues. She said much has changed in society and in the Church but there is still a long way to go. Flavia first talked about the ...
Flavia Agnes is a noted Catholic women’s lawyer and rights activist who co-founded the Majlis Legal Centre in Mumbai, India, that campaigns for and provides legal aid to vulnerable women and children, focusing specially on domestic and sexual violence. Herself a victim of a violent and abusive marriage for 13 years, she fought for her rights in the courts and then used this experience to help other women in similar situations, qualifying herself as a lawyer.
Flavia who participated in the annual ‘Voices of Faith’ forum in the Vatican on the occasion of Women Day, 8 March, spoke to Vatican Radio about her efforts to bring women’s rights to the forefront of India’s legal system and in the Catholic Church. She also explained how the Church should change its attitude and approach to women and their issues. She said much has changed in society and in the Church but there is still a long way to go. Flavia first talked about the Majlis Legal Centre.
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Sister Rani Maria, professed sister of the Franciscan Clarist Congregation, who died of 54 stab wounds from as assassin in central India 22 years ago, has been cleared for beatification. by the Vatican.During an audience on Thursday with Cardinal Angelo Amato, S.D.B., Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the Holy Father authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, among others, to promulgate the decree of the martyrdom of Servant of God Regina Mariam Vattalil (née Rani Maria), killed in hatred of the faith on 25 February 1995.Beatification is the penultimate stage in the four-phased canonization process in the Catholic Church. Rani Maria’s cause of canonization began in 2003 and she was declared a Servant of God four years later.The nun was 41 when Samandar Singh, hired by some landlords, stabbed her inside a bus on February 25, 1995. She was on traveling to Indore, the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh state, en route her native place in ...
Sister Rani Maria, professed sister of the Franciscan Clarist Congregation, who died of 54 stab wounds from as assassin in central India 22 years ago, has been cleared for beatification. by the Vatican.
During an audience on Thursday with Cardinal Angelo Amato, S.D.B., Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the Holy Father authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, among others, to promulgate the decree of the martyrdom of Servant of God Regina Mariam Vattalil (née Rani Maria), killed in hatred of the faith on 25 February 1995.
Beatification is the penultimate stage in the four-phased canonization process in the Catholic Church. Rani Maria’s cause of canonization began in 2003 and she was declared a Servant of God four years later.
The nun was 41 when Samandar Singh, hired by some landlords, stabbed her inside a bus on February 25, 1995. She was on traveling to Indore, the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh state, en route her native place in Kerala, southern India. The attacker followed her when she ran out of the crowded bus and continued to stab her. She died on the roadside at Nachanbore Hill, near Indore.
She was buried at Udaingar in Dewas district where she had worked among poor landless agricultural laborers and others to fight for just wages and other rights. This upset the landlords.
As part of her beatification process, on November 18, 2016 Bishop Chacko Thottumarikal of Indore supervised the opening of the slain nun’s tomb and shifted the mortal remains to a church.
Rani Maria was born on January 29, 1954, as the second of seven children of Paily and Eliswa Vattalil at Pulluvazhy, a small village near Kochi, Kerala’s commercial capital. She was baptized on February 5, the same year and was given the name Mariam.
She joined Franciscan Clarist Convent at Kidangoor near Palai in 1972 and made her first profession on May 1, 1974, and chose the name Rani (queen) Maria. She began her mission in northern India in Bijnore in 1975 and then came to Udainagar in 1992.
The slain nun’s family made international headlines when it accepted Singh as a member after forgiving him. Rani Maria’s young sister Selmy Paul, also a member of the same congregation, accepted Singh as her brother by tying “rakhi,” a sacred thread, on the festival of siblings Rakshabandan. Some people, though not born of the same parents, tie the “rakhi” and accept each other as brothers and sisters. Sister Paul’s gesture helped Singh to regret his action. He now leads an exemplary life in his village in central India after serving his life term.
A documentary, “The Heart of a Murderer,” which depicts the murder and subsequent repentance of Singh, won an award at the World Interfaith Harmony Film Festival in 2013.
The Congregation for the Causes of Saints granted the “nihil obstat” (‘nothing against’) to the cause. The subsequent diocesan process took place in Indore from June 29, 2005, to June 28, 2007. It received the congregation’s validation on November 27, 2009.
The C.C.S. received the Positio in 2014 and passed it onto consulting theologians who on February 11, 2016, voiced their approval to the cause. The congregation’s website says the saintly nun’s courageous sacrifice and martyrdom has helped sow “the seed of love and justice and brotherhood in many hearts.”
It also says the nun, during her initial years in the mission, showed keen interest in educating children through formal and non-formal methods. “This slowly gave way to a much wider field of development of the poor, the oppressed and the marginalized,” the website says.
Once she was asked why she had chosen the saffron shawl she replied, matter becomes red hot when it absorbs heat. This is true for human soul also. He developmental programs among poor tribals went against to the vested interests of unscrupulous moneylenders and social exploiters, it explains.
The congregation hails Rani Maria’s martyrdom as “the most glorious event in the history of Udainagar as well as of Amala Province.”
(Source for Biography: Matters India)
IMAGE: CNS photo/Rafael Marchante, ReutersBy Junno Arocho EstevesVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis has approved the recognition of amiracle attributed to the intercession of two of the shepherd children who saw Our Ladyof Fatima in 1917, thus paving the way for their canonization. Pope Francis signed the decree for the causes of Blesseds Francisco and JacintaMarto during a meeting March23 with Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints'Causes, the Vatican said. The recognition of the miracle makes it likely that thecanonization ceremony for the two children will be scheduled soon. Thecardinals and bishops who are members of the congregation must vote torecommend their canonization and then the pope would convene the cardinalsresident in Rome for a consistory to approve the sainthood. Many people are hoping Pope Francis will preside over thecanonization ceremony during his visit to Fatima May 12-13. The pilgrimage will mark the 100th anniversary of the Marianapp...
IMAGE: CNS photo/Rafael Marchante, Reuters
By Junno Arocho Esteves
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis has approved the recognition of a miracle attributed to the intercession of two of the shepherd children who saw Our Lady of Fatima in 1917, thus paving the way for their canonization.
Pope Francis signed the decree for the causes of Blesseds Francisco and Jacinta Marto during a meeting March 23 with Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes, the Vatican said.
The recognition of the miracle makes it likely that the canonization ceremony for the two children will be scheduled soon. The cardinals and bishops who are members of the congregation must vote to recommend their canonization and then the pope would convene the cardinals resident in Rome for a consistory to approve the sainthood.
Many people are hoping Pope Francis will preside over the canonization ceremony during his visit to Fatima May 12-13.
The pilgrimage will mark the 100th anniversary of the Marian apparitions, which began May 13, 1917, when 9-year-old Francisco and 7-year-old Jacinta, along with their cousin Lucia dos Santos, reported seeing the Virgin Mary. The apparitions continued once a month until Oct. 13, 1917, and later were declared worthy of belief by the Catholic Church.
A year after the apparitions, both of the Marto children became ill during an influenza epidemic that plagued Europe. Francisco died April 4, 1919, at the age of 10, while Jacinta succumbed to her illness Feb. 20, 1920, at the age of 9.
Francisco and Jacinta's cause for canonization was stalled for decades due to a debate on whether non-martyred children have the capacity to understand heroic virtues at a young age. However, in 1979, St. John Paul II allowed their cause to proceed; he declared them venerable in 1989 and beatified them in 2000.
Their cousin Lucia entered the Institute of the Sisters of St. Dorothy and, later, obtained permission to enter the Carmelite convent of St. Teresa in Coimbra, where she resided until her death in 2005 at the age of 97.
Following her death, Pope Benedict XVI waived the five-year waiting period before her sainthood cause could open. Bishop Virgilio Antunes of Coimbra formally closed the local phase of investigation into her life and holiness Feb. 13, 2017, and forwarded the information to the Vatican.
Also March 23, Pope Francis signed other decrees recognizing miracles, martyrdom and heroic virtues in six other causes, the Vatican said.
The pope also approved the bishops' and cardinals' vote to canonize two Brazilian priests -- Blessed Andre de Soveral and Blessed Ambrosio Francisco Ferro -- as well as Mateus Moreira and 27 laypeople, who were killed in 1645 as violence broke out between Portuguese Catholics and Dutch Calvinists in Brazil.
Pope Francis also approved the vote to canonize three young Mexican martyrs, known as the child martyrs of Tlaxcala, who were among the first native converts in Mexico. Known only by their first names -- Cristobal, Antonio and Juan -- they were killed in 1529 for rejecting idolatry and polygamy in the name of their faith.
In addition, Pope Francis signed a decree recognizing the martyrdom of Franciscan Claretian Sister Rani Maria Vattalil, who died in 1995 after being stabbed 54 times, apparently because of her work helping poor women in India organize themselves. With the signing of the decree, a date can be set for her beatification.
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SOLANA BEACH, Calif. (AP) -- Once a week, union leaders representing U.S. Border Patrol agents host a radio show from a sleepy office park near San Diego, where studio walls are covered with an 8-by-12-foot American flag and portraits of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence....
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