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SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) -- Students dove under desks when a man walked into his estranged wife's elementary school classroom and opened fire without saying a word, killing her and an 8-year-old student and wounding a 9-year-old before fatally shooting himself, authorities said....
BEIRUT (AP) -- Turkey's health minister said Tuesday that test results confirm sarin gas was used in an attack on a northern Syrian town earlier this month and the Russian military said the Syrian government is willing to let international experts examine its military base for signs of chemical weapons....
MOSCOW (AP) -- U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrived in Moscow Tuesday with an ultimatum for Russia: Side with the U.S. and likeminded countries on Syria, or embrace Iran, militant group Hezbollah and embattled Syrian leader Bashar Assad....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Latest on U.S. meetings with world leaders on the recent chemical weapons attack in Syria (all times local):...
(Vatican Radio) This Holy Week in Iraq, Christians and Muslims will walk for 140 km through the Nineveh Plain in the name of peace and the end of violence in a once mostly Christian inhabited area.The peace march is supported by the Chaldean Patriarchate, which declared 2017 as “the Year of Peace”.The march started in Ankawa, a suburb of Erbil city in northern Iraq, after participants took part in Palm Sunday Mass. The march will continue through Holy Week and will end in Qaradosh, close to the ruins of the Assyrian cities of Nimrud and Nineveh, about 32km from the city of Mosul.The Nineveh Plain is filled with ancient, religious sites. When the area was captured by so-called Islamic State terrorists in the summer of 2014, historic architecture and archeological remains, including the UNESCO world heritage site Hatra, were destroyed. Part of the territory was liberated in November 2016 by Iraqi forces. However, many towns and villages occupied by Christians were abando...
(Vatican Radio) On Monday near Dunkirk in northern France, a large fire engulfed the Grande-Synthe migrant camp, which housed between 1,000 and 1,500 people in tightly-packed wooden cabins.French officials say the fire was caused by a fight that broke out between the Afghans and the Kurds living in the camp on Monday afternoon. Ten people were injured, including six who sustained wounds from the fight. Reports say riot police intervened and clashed with 100 or 150 migrants.The Grande-Synthe migrant camp was opened in March 2016 by Medecins San Frontieres (Doctors without Borders). Most of the migrants that go to France are fleeing from violence and poverty in North Africa and the Middle East, with the hope of reaching Britain. The camp became more inhabited after another camp near Calais was destroyed in October and an influx of migrants from Afghanistan.The tension between the two groups made officials decide to dismantle the camp last month. Police have been called to break up n...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met on Monday afternoon with a group of young patients, doctors and nurses from Rome’s ‘Bambino Gesù’ children’s hospital. The children, aged between 5 and 18, are taking part in a documentary programme on Italian television exploring the experiences of young patients and their families at the Catholic hospital.Listen to our report: The ‘Bambino Gesù’ hospital, just a stone’s throw away from the Vatican, is the largest pediatric research facility in Europe. It treats over a million and a half young patients each year, with children travelling from all over the world to make use of its specialized services and equipment.This was the second time the youngsters had come for a papal audience, which was being filmed for the TV series showing every Sunday evening on the RAI 3 channel.Hospital must be a familyIn his greetings to the children and staff, including the hospital director, Dr Mariella E...
The Catholic Bishops in West Africa have expressed their concerns about religious intolerance; unemployment among the youth; the menace of marauding herdsmen among other pastoral challenges affecting the countries of West Africa.These were part of the deliberations that the Catholic Bishops belonging to the Regional Episcopal Conference of West Africa (RECOWA-CERAO) told the Chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia. This was at the conclusion of West African Bishops’ fifth Standing Committee meeting, held in Assinie, Ivory Coast, recently.RECOWA-CERAO brings together Catholic Bishops from 15 countries of West Africa, which include Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Sierra-Leone, Senegal, Gambia, and Togo.During their Ivory Coast meeting, the Bishops deliberated on the challenge of youth unemployment including thes...
The Diocese of Miao in remote northeast India last week remembered and prayed for an Indian missionary priest abducted by unknown gunmen in Yemen and whose whereabouts are still unknown. Bishop George Pallipparambil of Miao, in Arunachal Pradesh, gathered his priests around him on Thursday, April 6, to celebrate the Chrism Mass at the Christ the Light Shrine cathedral and prayed for Salesian priest Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil. The native of Kerala state belonging to Bangalore Salesian Province was kidnapped on March 4, 2016 after gunmen attacked a home for the sick and elderly of the Missionaries of Charity in Aden, in southern Yemen. In the assault four nuns of Mother Teresa and 12 other people present in the facility were massacred.Bishops gather their priests of the diocese on Holy Thursday to celebrate the Chrism Mass in commemoration of the institution of the priesthood and the Eucharist by Jesus at the Last Supper, during which the holy oils used in the var...
(Vatican Radio) The Community of Sant’Egidio will hold their annual ecumenical prayer vigil on Tuesday, remembering especially the Coptic Christian martyrs and all those who are persecuted and killed for their faith.The vigil comes just two days after two Coptic churches in Egypt were bombed, killing up to 50 people and injuring dozens more.The prayer vigil will keep their martyrdom and the memory of other Christian martyrs’ alive. By remembering the names and stories of the victims, the community also recalls the words of Pope Francis, “Today, in the twenty-first century, our Church is a Church of martyrs.”The Community of Sant’Egidio is an international movement of Christian lay people who pray and work towards solidarity, dialogue, and Christian unity. It started after the Second Vatican Council in 1968, and is now represented in more than 70 countries.The vigil will be held at 18:30 at Basilica Santa Maria in Trestevere. Cardinal Kevin Josep...
