(Vatican Radio) A bleak 2017 is staring Venezuela in the face, with hyper inflation, food queues and a long winter of discontent. In his "Urbi et Orbi" message on Christmas Day, Pope Francis wished peace upon our broken world and highlighted the situation in Venezuela saying: “May courage motivate the beloved country of Venezuela to undertake the necessary steps to put an end to current tensions, and build together a future of hope for the whole population”.James blears reports on the economic and social difficulties faced by the population and on a political impasse which does not bode well for the future.Listen: THE 100 bolivar banknote will soon be replaced by a five hundred. but this cant keep pace with rampant inflation, which is more than 200 percent, and could treble in this coming year. Long food queues, acute shortages of basic commodities, even toilet paper, a currency which is reminiscent of the wheel barrows of banknotes, in...
(Vatican Radio) A bleak 2017 is staring Venezuela in the face, with hyper inflation, food queues and a long winter of discontent.
In his "Urbi et Orbi" message on Christmas Day, Pope Francis wished peace upon our broken world and highlighted the situation in Venezuela saying: “May courage motivate the beloved country of Venezuela to undertake the necessary steps to put an end to current tensions, and build together a future of hope for the whole population”.
James blears reports on the economic and social difficulties faced by the population and on a political impasse which does not bode well for the future.
Listen:
THE 100 bolivar banknote will soon be replaced by a five hundred. but this cant keep pace with rampant inflation, which is more than 200 percent, and could treble in this coming year.
Long food queues, acute shortages of basic commodities, even toilet paper, a currency which is reminiscent of the wheel barrows of banknotes, in the long ago era of the Weimar republic in a desperate post world one Germany.
It's all unravelled since the death of hugo Chavez on October 13th 2013. oil prices which made vezezuela rich have plummented and hard times are gripping it.
The national electoral council refused a recall referendum on president Nicolas maduro before January, so he or his vice president will complete the presidential term. the outlook politically, economically and socially appears bleak for Venezuela.
God "is our peace" and "prayer leads us to meet him," said the archbishop of Bogotá, Cardinal Luis José Rueda Aparicio. / Credit: Colombian Bishops Conference / ScreenshotACI Prensa Staff, May 2, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).The Colombian Bishops' Conference (CEC by its Spanish acronym) has called on all Catholics to join on May 3, Day of the Holy Cross, in a day of prayer for peace and reconciliation in the country."The call is made directly by the bishops and is based on recognizing the serious humanitarian crisis that multiple territories face amid armed conflict and other types of violence, as well as the complex sociopolitical panorama that the nation is experiencing today, permeated by division and polarization," the CEC announced on its website.Since Pope Francis' visit to Colombia in September 2017 and his meeting with victims of the armed conflict, the Church in that country has established a National Day of Prayer for Reconciliation and Peace to be celebrated every May...
Thousands of pilgrims come together each year to take part in the annual Walk to Mary, which takes place on the first Saturday of May in Wisconsin. The 21-mile pilgrimage starts at the National Shrine of St. Joseph in De Pere, Wisconsin, and ends at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in Champion, Wisconsin. / Credit: The Shrine of Our Lady of ChampionCNA Staff, May 2, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).Thousands of pilgrims come together each year to take part in the annual Walk to Mary, which takes place on the first Saturday of May in Wisconsin. The 21-mile pilgrimage starts at the National Shrine of St. Joseph in De Pere, Wisconsin, and ends at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in Champion, Wisconsin.The Walk to Mary will take place on May 4 this year and includes several "join in" points along the route that offer participants unable to walk the entire distance to participate. These locations shorten the pilgrimage length, allowing pilgrims of all ages to take part in...
null / Credit: Juthamat8899/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 1, 2024 / 17:05 pm (CNA).The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released a new report on Wednesday highlighting the countries with the worst religious persecution in the world.From this report, which is released annually, USCIRF makes recommendations to the State Department on how to best advocate for religious freedom. The suggestions typically translate into sanctions from the U.S. against violating countries to pressure them to improve their religious tolerance. This year, the countries topping USCIRF's list of the world's most egregious religious freedom violators were Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, India, Iran, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam.USCIRF recommends these nations be designated as "countries of particul...