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Christians in India on Thursday marked the 8th anniversary of the terrible anti-Christian massacres and atrocities in eastern India’s Odisha state, with survivors still awaiting justice and compensation from the government. The orchestrated violence against Christians erupted with untold savagery on August 25 2008, with Hindu extremists blaming Christians for the August 23, 2008 murder of Hindu leader Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati, despite Maoist rebels claiming the assassination. The carnage led to the death of about 100 Christians, although the government officially speaks of 38 victims. An estimated 5,600 homes were looted and burned, while about 300 churches and other places of worship were destroyed. More than 50 thousand faithful fled into the woods and began a life as refugees to survive ethnic cleansing.The Governor of Odisha, Senayangba Chubatoshi Jamir, on August 25 received a copy of journalist Anto Akkara's investigative...
People in eastern India’s Kolkata city on Friday marked the 106th birthday of Blessed Mother Teresa with prayers Friday, less than 10 days before she is to be raised to the glory of the altar as a saint on Sept. 4. The day, Aug. 26 started with Mass by Archbishop Thomas D'Souza of Calcutta, attended by the over 300 co-workers, volunteers, laypeople and nuns of the Missionaries of Charity, the congregation Mother Teresa founded in Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, to serve the poorest of the poor. Archbishop D'Souza said Mother Teresa's life was one of sacrifice and love, empowered and strengthened by her faith. Kolkata city also kicked off the fourth Mother Teresa International Festival on Friday, showcasing 23 films from 15 countries exclusively on Mother Teresa. "The objective of this festival is to spread Mother Teresa's message to the world, raise awareness and sensitize people about her work and good deeds," Sunil Lucas, ...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis urged members of Secular Institutes to work for a renewed charism that unites the lay and consecrated aspects of their lives and mission. His remarks came in a message sent on his behalf by the Secretary, of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, to participants attending the World Conference of members of Secular Institutes held in Rome this week. The Pope wrote that they are both lay and consecrated people and both aspects are on the same level and equally important. He encouraged the members of the Secular Institutes to live an intense life of prayer, saying their greatest challenge is to be schools of sainthood here on earth, living normal lives but always at the service of others and bearing witness to the values of brotherhood and friendship.
Vatican City, Aug 26, 2016 / 06:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- It’s been said that saints often come in pairs.Sts. Peter and Paul, Mary and Joseph, Francis and Clare, and Louis and Zelie Martin are just a handful of such saints, coupled together through marriage or friendship.Perhaps the best-known modern saintly pair of friends would be Mother Teresa and John Paul II, whose lives intersected many times during her time as Mother Superior of the Missionaries of Charity, and his pontificate.When John Paul II came to visit Mother Teresa’s home in the heart of the slums in Kolkata in 1986, Mother Teresa called it “the happiest day of my life.”When he arrived, Mother Teresa climbed up into the white popemobile and kissed the ring of the Bishop of Rome, who then kissed the top of Mother’s head, a greeting they would exchange almost every time they met.After their warm hello, Mother took John Paul II to her Nirmal Hriday (Sacred Heart) home, a home for the sick and t...
By Junno Arocho EstevesVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When nonviolence is the basic approach ofpolitical decisions and public policy, it promotes the restoration andconsolidation of peace, the Vatican said. In his message for the Jan. 1 celebration of World Peace Day, PopeFrancis will offer reflections on the importance of nonviolence as a politicalchoice, the Vatican said in a statement Aug. 26."Nonviolence: A style of politics for peace" is thetheme the pope chose for World Peace Day 2017, the Vatican said. A papalmessage on the theme will be sent to heads of states around the world inDecember. Pope Francis' frequent references to a "third world war inpieces" highlight the "serious negative social consequences" ofviolence, the Vatican statement said. "Peace, by contrast, promotes socially positive consequencesand it allows the achievement of real progress. Therefore, we should act withinwhat is possible, and negotiate ways of peace even where they seem tortuous andimpractical," the Vatica...
LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) -- Kyle Cook can't decide whether he's really unlucky or incredibly fortunate....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Food and Drug Administration wants all U.S. blood centers to start screening for Zika, a major expansion intended to protect the nation's blood supply from the mosquito-borne virus....
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- It was in early morning darkness that officers scrambled to sort out the chaos at an Albuquerque apartment complex where a couple had reportedly been attacked, the woman bleeding from a head injury and the man sporting a black eye and wearing blood-stained shorts....
PARIS (AP) -- France's top administrative court overturned a ban on burkinis in a Mediterranean town, in a decision Friday that should set legal precedent regarding a swimsuit crackdown that has divided the country and provoked shock around the world....
