(Vatican Radio) “2016 drew to a terrible close in Venezuela, amid much desperation. With negative results from all points of view”. This is according to the President of the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference, Archbishop Diego Padron Sanchez, who was addressing the Plenary Assembly of Venezuelan Bishops in Caracas at the beginning of the year.Linda Bordoni reports: A long list of the evils that lambasted the crisis-riddled nation of Venezuela in 2016 topped Archbishop Padron Sanchez’ discourse to his brother bishops, as he thanked the Church for never having given up reaching out to the poor in a desperately difficult situation and for never having stopped offering the world a realistic view of the dire reality.“Almost 29,000 violent deaths; hunger and malnutrition; lack of medicine and the resurgence of epidemics; over 120 political prisoners unjustly and illegally detained; rampant corruption; the systematic attack against private businesses and the ind...
(Vatican Radio) “2016 drew to a terrible close in Venezuela, amid much desperation. With negative results from all points of view”.
This is according to the President of the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference, Archbishop Diego Padron Sanchez, who was addressing the Plenary Assembly of Venezuelan Bishops in Caracas at the beginning of the year.
Linda Bordoni reports:
A long list of the evils that lambasted the crisis-riddled nation of Venezuela in 2016 topped Archbishop Padron Sanchez’ discourse to his brother bishops, as he thanked the Church for never having given up reaching out to the poor in a desperately difficult situation and for never having stopped offering the world a realistic view of the dire reality.
“Almost 29,000 violent deaths; hunger and malnutrition; lack of medicine and the resurgence of epidemics; over 120 political prisoners unjustly and illegally detained; rampant corruption; the systematic attack against private businesses and the independent media; the anti-constitutional attempt to ignore directives issued by the National Assembly; the confusion and fear brought about by the Government’s threat to withdraw the national currency were just some of the evils cited by the prelate.
Padron Sanchez also defended the attempt on the part of the Holy See to provide mediation between President Maduro and the opposition and stated that “never – in the history of the nation – had a Government caused so much suffering to its people due to its actions and omissions”.
The Archbishop ended his speech with a desperate appeal to political actors to continue to press government authorities to allow the opening of a humanitarian channel through which Caritas should be able to distribute much needed medicine and basic goods”.
There are over 3 million children in Venezuela, he said, under five years old, 12 percent of whom will suffer acute malnutrition in 2017 if things don’t change.
The spiritual shepherd of the Church in Singapore is Cardinal William Goh, archbishop since early 2013 and a cardinal since 2022. / Credit: Sean Boyce/EWTN NewsNational Catholic Register, May 3, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).Pope Francis recently announced his intention to travel to Southeast Asia in September to visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore. The island nation of Singapore is one of the most ethnically and religiously diverse regions in Asia and is home to about 395,000 Catholics. The small but strategically important nation also has the highest urban density in Asia but is ranked as the country with the highest quality of life. Like everywhere else, it also faces the threats of secularism and relativism and a loss of traditional values, especially a commitment to family and respect for the elderly. The spiritual shepherd of the Church in Singapore is Cardinal William Goh, archbishop since early 2013 and a cardinal since 2022. He sat down in his res...
null / Credit: ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 2, 2024 / 18:20 pm (CNA).The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) released a pair of emergency rules that it said are aimed at combating "misinformation" and a "deeply dishonest scare campaign" by the Biden administration about the state's new six-week pro-life law. The rules, published on May 1, establish guidance for lifesaving measures and clarify that certain procedures, including treatment for ectopic pregnancies, are not considered abortion and remain legal under the Florida Heartbeat Protection Act, which went into effect on Wednesday. This comes amid significant criticism over the state's pro-life law that prohibits abortions on women after six weeks of pregnancy except for in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is in danger. The new AHCA rules further clarify those exceptions. "The agency finds there is an immediate danger to th...
Oviedo Archbishop Jesús Sanz Montes accused the government of focusing "in a biased and manipulative way on the problem of pedophilia as something attributable only to the Catholic Church." / Credit: Archdiocese of OviedoACI Prensa Staff, May 2, 2024 / 18:50 pm (CNA)."They have done it again. It is a kind of obsessive mantra every time they need a smokescreen to distract from the real problems we have and to which they so clumsily and insidiously apply their tortuous governance."That is how the archbishop of Oviedo, Jesús Sanz Montes, began a letter released this week titled "The Accusing Rattle" in which he responds to the socialist government's announcement of an exclusive plan to address sexual and power abuses committed within the Catholic Church.In the opinion of the prelate, the country's executive "has tried to focus in a biased and manipulative way on the problem of pedophilia as something attributable only to the Catholic Church, which represents an exclusive...