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The Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia plan to closely cooperate to halt the flow of militants, weapons, funds and extremist propaganda across their borders as they expressed alarm over recent attacks in their region. Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano and his Indonesian and Malaysian counterparts gathered in Manila with top security officials Thursday to discuss a joint plan of action amid a disastrous siege of southern Marawi city by militants aligned with the Islamic State group that has left about 369 combatants and civilians dead.As the IS loses territory in Syria and Iraq, Southeast Asian governments worry that battle-hardened Asian fighters, including those from Indonesia and Malaysia, may return to exploit social restiveness, weak law enforcement, a surfeit of illegal arms and raging insurgencies to establish a foothold. Many worry that the month-long siege in Marawi could draw in the returning jihadis.``We expect that those who will be displaced...
(Vatican Radio) A new album from a group of traditional Catholic priests has been sitting atop the Billboard charts for classical music for four weeks. “The Requiem,” by members of the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter (FSSP), focuses on the traditional Gregorian chants sung at funerals in the Roman Rite.The Fraternity is a society of apostolic life dedicated to the formation and sanctification of priests in the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite, and to the pastoral development of the priests in the service of the Church.It may seem strange an album of Latin chant music, sung by priests dedicated to the ancient form of the liturgy, should achieve such wide renown. To find out more about the popularity of “The Requiem,” Vatican Radio spoke with Father Zachary Akers, a young priest of the Fraternity.“I think people are drawn to beauty, whether it be in the Catholic Church, or even the secular world,” Fr Akers told us. “People are drawn to t...
The population of India, which currently ranks as the world’s 2nd most populous country with 1.3 billion inhabitants, is expected to surpass China's 1.4 billion by 2024; and Nigeria, which ranks 7th, is expected to replace the United States as the 3rd most populous country by 2050, according to a new report by the United Nations published on Wednesday. The current world population of nearly 7.6 billion will increase to 8.6 billion by 2030, 9.8 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion in 2100, said the report titled, “World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision.” Published by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs' Population Division, the study said the growth will be spurred by the relatively high levels of fertility in developing countries – despite an overall drop in the number of children people have around the globe. Roughly 83 million people are added to the world's population every year and the upward trend is expected to cont...
(Vatican Radio) Led by the community of Saint Egidio and together with other faith-based organizations and groups who care for refugees and forced migrants, the city of Rome gathers in prayer on Thursday evening for a vigil to remember the tens of thousands of people who have died trying to reach Europe in hope of safety and a future. The UN Migration Agency reports that over 82,000 migrants, including refugees, have entered Europe by sea so far this year, with 85 per cent arriving in Italy and the remainder divided among Greece, Cyprus and Spain. Some 2,000 deaths have been monitored in 2017, but no one really knows how many men, women and children have drowned during the unregistered journeys captained by human traffickers. Most of the dead have no names. We do not know their personal stories, their hopes and certainly not their faces. Today’s vigil – entitled “To die of hope” – which takes place each year in the week we mark World Re...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received King Willem-Alexander and his wife, Queen Máxima, of the Netherlands in a private audience at the Vatican on Thursday.A communiqué from the Holy See Press Office said their discussions were “cordial” and touched on issues of shared interest, including “the protection of the environment and the fight against poverty, as well as on the specific contribution of the Holy See and the Catholic Church in these fields.”They also paid “particular attention to the phenomenon of migration, underlining the importance of peaceful co-existence between different cultures, and joint commitment to promoting peace and global security, with special reference to various areas of conflict.”The King, the Queen, and the Pope also reflected together “on the prospects of the European project”, according to the communiqué.Afterwards, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima met with Cardina...
Vatican City, Jun 22, 2017 / 07:32 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Thursday Pope Francis met with King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, as part of the visit returning to them a long-lost royal stick of a 16th century Dutch king.An important diplomatic portion of the audience June 22, was the Vatican's return of the stick of William I, Prince of Orange, which until recently had remained lost in the Jesuit Catalan archives.The stick, which resembles a sort of scepter or baton, and depicts the coat of arms of William of Orange, was given by the 16th century Dutch royal to a Dutch commander in the Battle of Mookerheyde in 1574.The stick was waved by William's brother, Luigi of Nassau, during the battle.After it was lost, it came into the hands of a Spanish general and eventually a Jesuit general, until being returned Thursday, through the Vatican, to Willem-Alexander, current King of the Netherlands and Prince of Orange.According to a press release from the N...
Manchester, N.H., Jun 22, 2017 / 09:05 am (CNA).- Chiara Corbella Petrillo lived a short life. She met her husband Enrico Petrillo at age 18, became the mother of three children, and died at the age 28. But what happened within those 10 years has touched the hearts of thousands across the globe. Chiara's sainthood cause was opened last week, five years after her death. Her story is told in the 2015 book, “Chiara Corbella Petrillo: A Witness to Joy,” published by Sophia Institute Press. “In the story of the Petrillo couple, many people recognize a providential consolation from heaven,” said Simone Troisi and Christiana Paccini, close friends of the Petrillo's who wrote the biography of Chiara's life. “They discover that in any situation, there is no real reason to be sad. This is because Chiara shows that if you have God as your guide, misfortunes do not exist,” they told CNA. Chia...
IMAGE: CNS photo/Chaz MuthBy Cindy WoodenQUEBEC CITY (CNS) -- Faith and films have been lifelongobsessions for director Martin Scorsese, obsessions that he said have given himmoments of peace amid turmoil, but also challenges and frustrations that, inhindsight, he will accept as lessons in humility."For me, the stories have always been about how weshould live who we are, and have a lot to do with love, trust andbetrayal," he said, explaining that those themes have been with him sincehis boyhood spent in the rambunctious tenements of New York and in the peace ofthe city's St. Patrick's Old Cathedral, where he was an altar server.Scorsese spoke June 21 in Quebec City at a joint session ofthe Catholic Press Association's Catholic Media Convention and the worldcongress of Signis, the international association of Catholic mediaprofessionals. That evening, both groups presented him with a lifetime achievement award for excellence in filmmaking.Before Scorsese answered questions posed by ...
LIMA, Peru (AP) -- Sara Moran never thought her home in a poor part of Peru's capital would become a makeshift shelter for 70 strays when she first rescued a dog after it was run over by a car in 2007....
NEW YORK (AP) -- Ron Howard is taking command of the Han Solo "Star Wars" spinoff after the surprise departure of directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller....
