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By Alastair WanklynTOKYO (CNS) -- Heavy damage wasreported to homes and farm land in the northern Philippines Oct. 20 after thestrongest storm in three years struck overnight.Typhoon Haima barreled intonorthern Cagayan and Isabella provinces, ripping the roofs off homes andflattening crops. Nearly every building in thecity of Tuguegarao was damaged, Philippine media quoted officials as saying. Thecity's communication links were down, and phone calls to the archdiocesanoffice in Tuguegarao did not connect.Across the district, many roadswere flooded or blocked by fallen trees. Aid groups said the disruption made itdifficult to assess the extent of damage, with one aid official calling it"a communications black hole."Thousands of people inneighboring Isabella province spent the night sheltering in public evacuationcenters such as schools and churches."Most of the time, thechurches serve as evacuation centers if the government evacuation centerscannot accommodate some of the people," Ap...
JERICHO, West Bank (AP) -- Archaeologists have removed the protective cover from one of the Middle East's largest carpet mosaics - but only for a day....
MOSCOW (AP) -- The Russian military has conducted drills involving state-of-the art missiles near the nation's western border, amid tensions in relations with the West....
BELLEFONTAINE, Ohio (AP) -- An Ohio woman accused of suffocating her three young sons over a 13-month period says in a recorded police interview that she smothered each boy with a blanket over the face because she didn't want to see them suffering....
NEW YORK (AP) -- Bitter presidential rivals Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have one more face-to-face showdown before Election Day. And they're supposed to make it funny....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Donald Trump launched into the campaign's closing stretch with a shot across the bow to American democratic tradition: He may reject the election's results if he loses. As Democrats pounced, Republicans braced for a fresh political headache with less than three weeks left until Election Day....
(Vatican Radio) Pilgrimages, being active on social media, sacrament of reconciliation initiatives and visits to the Holy Door. These are just some of the events the Diocese of Paisley in Scotland has been organizing during the Jubilee of Mercy. So what effect has the year had on the faithful there? Lydia O’Kane spoke to the Bishop of Paisley, John Keenan.Listen: As this Extraordinary Year draws to a close, the Bishop observed that, “one of the things I’ve noticed about this Holy Year distinct from perhaps the other ones is that, whereas like the others it started with a bang, the Year of Mercy hasn’t really fizzled out, it seems to be that it has kept this steady pulse going right through the year”.WYD in the Year of MercyOne of the highlights of the Jubilee was the World Youth Day celebrations in Krakow, Poland which Bishop Keenan participated at. He says, that the focus on mercy at this event had an “astounding effect on the young peopl...
(Vatican Radio) The Holy See reiterated its support for a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Wednesday during a United Nations Security Council debate on the situation in the Middle East.“If Israel and Palestine do not agree to exist side-by-side, reconciled and sovereign within mutually agreed and internationally recognized borders, peace will remain a distant dream and security an illusion,” said a statement by Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations.The Vatican diplomat also voiced concern about the ongoing violence in the wider region, such as in Syria and Iraq.The cradle of civilizations and the birthplace of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the Middle East has become the theater of incredible brutality,” Archbishop Auza’s statement said.The utter disregard of international humanitarian law has reached alarming levels of inhumanity,” – he continued – ...
(Vatican Radio) Earlier this week the Islamic extremist group in Nigeria, Boko Haram, released from captivity 21 students, who are known collectively as the Chibok schoolgirls. They were abducted in April 2014 from the Government Secondary School in the town of Chibok in Borno State.The Nigerian government is currently negotiating the release of an additional 83 girls, but some appear unwilling to leave their captors, reportedly fearing stigmatization and possible rejection on their return. Meanwhile, aid agencies are warning that the girls who have been released will require extensive support to help them recover from the physical and mental trauma they have endured while in captivity.Doune Porter, the Chief of Communications for UNICEF in Nigeria spoke to Vatican Radio’s Hayley Susino about the challenges facing these girls and about the need to remember the many other people still being held hostage in the region.Listen: Doune Porter explains that although the news ...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said the catechism on its own is not sufficient to truly know Jesus and we need prayer, worship and to recognize ourselves as sinners. His words came during his morning Mass celebrated on Thursday in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence.The cue for the Pope’s reflections during his homily came from St Paul’s letter to the Ephesians where the Apostle prayed that they may be strengthened with power through the Holy Spirit and that Christ may dwell in their hearts.Noting that Paul spoke of plunging into the immense sea that is the person of Christ, Pope Francis asked “how can we know Christ, How can we understand His love that is beyond all knowledge?”“Christ is present in the Gospel and we know Christ by reading the Gospel. And all of us do this, at least we hear the Gospel when we go to Mass. And studying the catechism teaches us who Christ is. But this is not enough. In order to understand the breadth and length and hei...
