Catholic News 2
NEW YORK (AP) -- President Donald Trump, his administration under siege for contacts with Russian officials, is calling for "an immediate investigation" into Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer's own ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin....
(Vatican Radio) German authorities have detained two Syrians, one of whom allegedly was involved in the slaying of dozens of civilians in Syria. The arrests of the suspected members of the extremist Nusra Front comes amid pressure on Germany's government to bring war crimes suspects to justice.Listen to Stefan Bos' report: Germany's federal prosecutor's office says a Syrian man, identified as 35-year-old Abdalfatah H.A., is suspected of war crimes over the killing of 36 Syrian government employees by his unit in March 2013. Prosecutors say he allegedly carried out "so-called Shariah death sentences" when he was part of the extremist Nusra Front group.German media report that the man came to Germany as an asylum-seeker, but the prosecutors office declined to confirm that.The other suspect, identified as 26-year-old Abdulrahman A.A., belonged to the same combat unit as Abdalfatah H.A.. Investigators say that both men participated in an armed battle ag...
(Vatican Radio) German authorities have detained two Syrians, one of whom allegedly was involved in the slaying of dozens of civilians in Syria. The arrests of the suspected members of the extremist Nusra Front comes amid pressure on Germany's government to bring war crimes suspects to justice.
Listen to Stefan Bos' report:
Germany's federal prosecutor's office says a Syrian man, identified as 35-year-old Abdalfatah H.A., is suspected of war crimes over the killing of 36 Syrian government employees by his unit in March 2013. Prosecutors say he allegedly carried out "so-called Shariah death sentences" when he was part of the extremist Nusra Front group.
German media report that the man came to Germany as an asylum-seeker, but the prosecutors office declined to confirm that.
The other suspect, identified as 26-year-old Abdulrahman A.A., belonged to the same combat unit as Abdalfatah H.A.. Investigators say that both men participated in an armed battle against Syrian government troops, including taking over a big arms depot near the central Syrian town of Mahin in November 2013.
The men, whose surnames weren't published due to German privacy rules, were detained Wednesday and Thursday in the western cities of Duesseldorf and Giessen where their apartments were raided.
BOMB PLOT
Prosecutors said the men belong to a Nusra Front unit which also included Abd Arahman A. K., a Syrian in his early 30s who was detained in Germany in June last year for allegedly being part of a plot to carry out a bomb attack in Duesseldorf.
Human rights groups have pressed the German and other governments to bring people suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity in especially Syria to trial. They view it as part of an effort to resolve the long-running conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions.
The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, or ECCHR, says it has helped submit the first criminal complaint in Germany against six high-level Syrian military intelligence officials. The group says it hopes that prosecutors will take up the case under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
Separately German prosecutors say they have charged a 19-year-old Lebanese man with membership in the Islamic State group on allegations he trained with the extremist group in Syria in 2015 and fought in Iraq.
The suspect, identified only as Tarik A., returned to Germany in January 2016 and was arrested in Duesseldorf on Wednesday.
CONCERNS REMAIN
Munich prosecutors also announced the detention of a 33-year-old Bosnian man who allegedly supported terrorist group Junud al-Sham by delivering them vehicles.
The man, whose name wasn't released, was detained Tuesday in the Nuremberg area.
Despite concerns over extremism, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has defended her open-door policy towards migrants fleeing war and poverty.
Yet she says her government will win the fight against terrorism but with compassion towards innocent people seeking shelter in the country.
More than a million migrants have arrived in Germany, Europe's largest economy, since the start of 2015.
IMAGE: CNS photo/James Ramos, Texas CatBy James RamosHOUSTON (CNS) -- When Nick Guarisco landed at Bush Intercontinental Airport on Ash Wednesday morning, heplanned to catch a late afternoon Mass in his hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana,to get his ashes, but Father Charles Samperi had a different plan.Stationed outside theTerminal C Interfaith Chapel March 1, Father Samperi greeted anyone who walkedpast. A visible and verbal reminder that it was indeed Ash Wednesday, thepastor of nearby St. James Catholic Church calmed fears of missed flights:"It takes just 15 seconds to get ashes," he'd say.Hearing this, Guarisco,23, immediately turned the corner into the chapel where Deacon Paul Pinonmarked his forehead with ashes.Noting the difficultiesof being a young Catholic in college, the Louisiana State University studentsaid ashes help him to "stay true to (his) faith and not get off the path.Now with Lent here, (the ashes) remind you to get prepared."In college "there'sa lot of sin to av...
IMAGE: CNS photo/James Ramos, Texas Cat
By James Ramos
HOUSTON (CNS) -- When Nick Guarisco landed at Bush Intercontinental Airport on Ash Wednesday morning, he planned to catch a late afternoon Mass in his hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to get his ashes, but Father Charles Samperi had a different plan.
Stationed outside the Terminal C Interfaith Chapel March 1, Father Samperi greeted anyone who walked past. A visible and verbal reminder that it was indeed Ash Wednesday, the pastor of nearby St. James Catholic Church calmed fears of missed flights: "It takes just 15 seconds to get ashes," he'd say.
Hearing this, Guarisco, 23, immediately turned the corner into the chapel where Deacon Paul Pinon marked his forehead with ashes.
Noting the difficulties of being a young Catholic in college, the Louisiana State University student said ashes help him to "stay true to (his) faith and not get off the path. Now with Lent here, (the ashes) remind you to get prepared."
In college "there's a lot of sin to avoid," he said. Inspired by the deep faith of his grandparents, Guarisco wears a scapular given to him by his grandmother. He had Deacon Ray Odeon bless his brown scapular in the airport chapel.
Travelers like Guarisco are exactly who Father Samperi, Deacon Pinon and Deacon Odeon want to minister to at the airport.
People are excited because people don't expect to see ashes distributed at an airport, said Father Samperi, who estimated more than 200 received ashes in a span of two hours. Flight attendants and captains in between flights, along with local airport staff and travelers, all took Father Samperi's invitation and received ashes.
Father Samperi's voice seemed to rise above the din of rolling suitcase wheels, terminal announcements and clinking glass from a nearby restaurant.
"We're glad to be here at the airport to minister to the people, the travelers," he said. Most think travel is always for vacation or for work, but sometimes a death in the family is a reason for travel, and the chaplains are here for that too, he said. As part of a Catholic airport chaplain program, Catholic priests like Father Samperi and deacons offer counseling for those who need it.
Father Samperi said he heard several confessions, noting he was happy to offer the Sacrament of Reconciliation, "which is always a blessing."
Deacon Pinon assisted in distributing ashes and said both travelers and airport employees were grateful to have the chance to celebrate Ash Wednesday.
"Sometimes people can't attend Mass because of work, so it's good to minister at the airport," he told the Texas Catholic Herald, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. "It's a form of service to the church and to his people. I'm grateful to be one of the servants."
Just outside the chapel, a passenger said: "I've been traveling on Ash Wednesday for the last five years and I've never been able to receive my ashes until today."
The distribution of ashes drew dozens to stay inside the chapel, several stopping to say rosaries. A small space, the chapel offers a handful of pews and a stained glass window for reflection and quiet in a busy airport that services more than 43 million passengers annually. Thirteen of the nation's 15 busiest airports, including Houston, have dedicated chapels, according to a 2015 Pew survey.
On his way back to Louisiana, Guarisco opted out of his home state's Mardi Gras tradition for a trip to Colorado. He said that in a time when a lot of people his age struggle with their beliefs, "it's good to still stay in touch with the faith."
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Ramos is a staff writer and designer for the Texas Catholic Herald, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.
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Copyright © 2017 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.
IMAGE: CNS photo/EPABy Jonathan LuxmooreOXFORD, England (CNS) -- Aspokesman for Egypt's Catholic Church praised local Muslims for helpingembattled Christians after a series of Islamic State attacks in Sinai.Father Rafic Greiche, spokesman for the CopticCatholic Church, said Christians must differentiate between ordinary Muslimsand extremists."Ordinary Muslims are kindand try to help however they can -- they'reoften first on the scene, rescuing the injured and taking them to hospitals,"he told Catholic News Service March 3, as Christians continued to flee Egypt'sNorth Sinai region.Father Greiche said the attackshad affected only Coptic Orthodox Christians, but added that Catholic churchesand schools in Ismailia had offeredshelter to Orthodox families with help from Caritas.Father Greiche said Islamic Statemilitants were now "strongly entrenched" in North Sinai, having beenallowed by the Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood organizations to use tunnels fromthe Gaza Strip.He added that civil...
IMAGE: CNS photo/EPA
By Jonathan Luxmoore
OXFORD, England (CNS) -- A spokesman for Egypt's Catholic Church praised local Muslims for helping embattled Christians after a series of Islamic State attacks in Sinai.
Father Rafic Greiche, spokesman for the Coptic Catholic Church, said Christians must differentiate between ordinary Muslims and extremists.
"Ordinary Muslims are kind and try to help however they can -- they're often first on the scene, rescuing the injured and taking them to hospitals," he told Catholic News Service March 3, as Christians continued to flee Egypt's North Sinai region.
Father Greiche said the attacks had affected only Coptic Orthodox Christians, but added that Catholic churches and schools in Ismailia had offered shelter to Orthodox families with help from Caritas.
Father Greiche said Islamic State militants were now "strongly entrenched" in North Sinai, having been allowed by the Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood organizations to use tunnels from the Gaza Strip.
He added that civilians were better off not staying in the surrounding military zone, which was now "under attack all the time," but said he believed the Egyptian authorities were committed to protecting Christians against the Islamist insurgency.
"You can never do enough against jihadist and terrorist attacks, which come, like any criminal acts, at a time no one can foresee," the priest said. "But while no country can be fully secure, I think there's will on government side to act decisively against these constant attempts to destabilize Egypt."
In Britain, Coptic Orthodox Bishop Angaelos said from December through February, 40 Coptic Christians had been murdered in Egypt.
"These horrific attacks have gone largely unnoticed by the international community, but Copts continue to suffer tragic violations daily," he said in a statement Feb. 28. "The common denominator is that these innocent children, women and men have had their lives brutally and tragically ended for no other reason except that they are Christians."
Bishop Angaelos noted that dozens of "Egyptian civilians, soldiers and police officers have lost their lives as a result of this wave of terrorist activity."
The 200,000-member Catholic Coptic Church has 14 dioceses in Egypt, including pastoral services for Latin, Melkite, Armenian, Chaldean, Maronite and Syrian Catholics.
The much larger Coptic Orthodox Church, dating its origins from a first-century mission by St. Mark, makes up at least a tenth of Egypt's population of 82.5 million and has more than 100 churches in the United States.
News reports said that, during the Sinai attacks, some victims had been beheaded and burned alive, while at least 1,000 Christians had fled to Ismailia and Cairo after death threats were daubed on their homes.
Addressing a Feb. 27 Cairo youth gathering, Egypt's president, Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, condemned the Sinai attacks as "a cowardly plot by evil people intended to undermine national unity and confidence in the state." He said he had instructed the defense, interior and intelligence ministries to "resist all attempts to sabotage stability and security."
However, in a March 1 statement, Amnesty International said the government had "consistently failed to protect Coptic residents of North Sinai from a long-standing pattern of violent attacks."
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Copyright © 2017 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.
CHICAGO (AP) -- When street-gang thieves slipped with ease into a Norfolk Southern rail yard on Chicago's South Side and ripped locks off one train, they likely expected to see merchandise like toys or tennis shoes. What they beheld instead was a gangster's jackpot: box after box of brand new guns....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen signaled Friday that the Fed will likely resume raising interest rates later this month to reflect a strengthening job market and inflation edging toward the central bank's 2 percent target rate....
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) -- A Palestinian guesthouse packed with artwork of the elusive British graffiti artist Banksy unveiled itself Friday in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, with a sneak peek of what the owner sarcastically called the "hotel with the worst view in the world."...
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- It's an only in Silicon Valley kind of story: A well-to-do private Catholic high school makes a $15,000 investment five years ago in the company developing the Snapchat app, holds onto it for years and ends up with a windfall of $24 million....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- As part of a sustained assault on the extremist group known as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, U.S. warplanes have launched more than 30 airstrikes in Yemen the past two days, a Pentagon spokesman said Friday....
NEW YORK (AP) -- A former journalist fired for making up details in stories is behind at least eight of the scores of threats made against Jewish institutions nationwide, as well as a bomb threat to New York's Anti-Defamation League, in an effort to harass and vilify his ex-girlfriend, federal officials said Friday....
