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(Vatican Radio) European Union leaders are assessing the impact of Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's defeat in the Italian constitutional referendum on European unity and the euro currency. Germany's chancellor has expressed sadness, while other leaders tried to calm concerns that uncertainty after the Italian vote and the prime minister's resignation could weaken the euro. Listen to the report by Stefan Bos: German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters that she regretted that Renzi resigned following the referendum. "I am sad that the referendum in Italy didn't turn out the way the prime minister wanted, because I have always supported his course of reform," she said.Merkel explained that it was an Italian domestic decision. But she added: "From my point of view, we will continue our work in Europe and we have set the right priorities."Merkel also welcomed Alexander Van der Bellen's victory over right-wing populist Norb...
Vatican City, Dec 5, 2016 / 10:22 am (CNA/EWTN News).- As Christmas approaches, don't downplay your sins, Pope Francis said. Instead, name them honestly in the Sacrament of Confession, open your heart, and ask the Lord to heal you from within.If we merely say: “yes, yes, I have some sins; I go, I confess…and then I go on as before,” we don't allow ourselves to be recreated by the Lord, the Pope said Dec. 5.It's as if we've applied “two coats of paint” on our heart, believing that is good enough.“No!” he said. What we should do instead is name our sins carefully, saying: “I've done this, and this, and this, and I am ashamed at heart. And I open my heart,” asking the Lord to “recreate me!”Doing this is what will give us the courage to go towards Christmas with “true faith,” Francis said.It often happens that we want “to hide the gravity of our sins,” he said, but when we atte...
Vatican City, Dec 5, 2016 / 12:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis endorsed a recent conference dedicated to the conservation and restoration of art and heritage within the Middle East, as a means to defend the rights of the human person. The Pope gave his support for the Safeguarding Endangered Cultural Heritage Conference, which occurred at Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi, on Dec. 2-3. Supported by UNESCO, France and the UAE set up the conference in hopes of protecting the heritage of the countries torn by war within the Middle East. Identifying the theme as “unfortunately starkly current,” the Pope said that “the protection of cultural treasures constitutes an essential dimension in the defense of what it is to be human.”In countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Mali, and Syria – each exposed to centuries of war – looting, destruction to cultural monuments, and illicit trading are commonplace. Within these cultures, all of which extend over a ...
IMAGE: CNS/Oscar DurandBy Oscar DurandISTANBUL (CNS) -- Sami Dankha,his three brothers and their families used to kick off Christmas celebrationsby attending a packed Christmas Eve Mass at St. Thomas Church in Baghdad. Wearingbrand new clothes and sporting fresh haircuts, they would spend the nightchatting, singing and eating pacha, a dish made from sheep's head that Iraqisconsider a delicacy and a staple of Christmas.But that was 20 years ago.Today, Dankha, 51, his wife, Faten, and their five children live in Turkey asrefugees, far away from the rest of their families. They are waiting for ananswer to their resettlement application to Australia. "If you count Christmas andEaster, it has been about 40 times we haven't gathered," said Dankha,whose brothers now live in New Zealand, Australia and the Netherlands.Years of instability, violenceand discrimination have forced Iraqi Christian families to leave their homes.Christmas, traditionally celebrated with loved ones, is a reminder of...
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The White House shed new light Monday on the legal foundations for President Barack Obama's expansive use of U.S. military power to target extremists overseas, in a report that also offered the first confirmation that the U.S. now deems the al-Shabab group in Somalia to be inherently linked to al-Qaida....
ALEPPO, Syria (AP) -- Rebel shelling killed two Russian nurses and eight civilians Monday in Aleppo, and a Russian fighter jet crashed as it was returning to an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean after a sortie over Syria, but the pilot ejected safely, Moscow officials said....
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- Another crisis looms in an already shook-up European Union. Italian voters rocked Europe's boat more this weekend than Austrian voters were able to steady it. With its shaky banks and massive economy, Italy is now in the throes of energized populists who are no friends of EU leaders in Brussels....
MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) -- A judge on Monday sentenced a Georgia man to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole after a jury found that he intentionally left his toddler son in a hot SUV to die....
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Teenagers, the son of a sheriff's deputy and young artists who loved music were among the dozens of people killed when a fire tore through a converted Oakland warehouse during a dance party....
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- The death toll in the Oakland warehouse fire climbed to 36 Monday with more bodies still feared buried in the blackened ruins, and families anxiously awaited word of their missing loved ones....
