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CLENDENIN, W.Va. (AP) -- Surrounded by muddy devastation, Cathy Light and her husband Chris thought it was "heaven sent" they had free burgers to munch on in a Clendenin parking lot Saturday....
(Vatican Radio) Vatican Weekend for June 25, 2016 features full coverage of the first two days of the Apostolic visit of Pope Francis to Armenia where he arrived on Friday to begin his 14th apostolic journey abroad. Armenia is a landlocked mountainous nation which borders with to the west Turkey, to the East Azerbaijan, to the north Georgia and to the South Iran. He was welcomed there by the President of the nation’s Republic Serzh Sargsyn and the Catholicos of All Armenia Karekin II.Listen to a programme presented and produced by Veronica Scarisbrick: This visit of Pope Francis to the first country ever to adopt Christianity as a state religion sports a logo which highlights this historic factor along with the dates of the journey which are the 24th to the 26th of June. It’s a circular logo divided in half by two colours, yellow for the Vatican and purple for the Armenian city of Etchmiadzin,seat of the Armenian Apostolic Church where Po...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Saturday urged young people in Armenia to be active peacemakers in a world suffering from persecutions and conflict. Speaking at an open air prayer service in Yerevan to leaders of all the Churches in Armenia, the Pope called on people of faith to abandon “rigid opinions and personal interests”, showing instead humility and generosity on the path towards full Christian unity.Philippa Hitchen reports: During the prayer service for peace in Yerevan’s central Republic Square, the leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church, to which most believers in the country belong, Catholicos Karekin II spoke bluntly about the suffering and conflicts that plague the Caucasus region today. He recalled the fighting that flared again last April in the contested Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh where, he said, “Armenian villages were bombarded”, killing both soldiers and civilians.The Patriarch also talked again about the Armenian genocide ...
(Vatican Radio) In Sharjah, the St Michael’s Catholic Church on Wednesday hosted iftar, the meal eaten by Muslims after sunset during Ramadan, for some 500 labourers and other guests for the first time in its decades-long history.Parish Priest Father Varghese Chempoly said: “We wanted to show the spirit of unity and brotherhood practised in the UAE. Our prayer is to protect this country and guide its leaders. We also took the iftar initiative in line with the declaration of Pope Francis of 2016 as the Year of Mercy.”He added that another inspiration behind the iftar was the parish youth who reach out to the poor every Ramadan. Fr. Wissam Al Massadeh, assistant priest at St. Michael’s Church, took an initiative to send youth to traffic signals every day at 6 pm to distribute dates and water to the motorists. Many of them were very pleased to know that it was an initiative of the Catholic Church.“We’re so happy to welcome our Muslim brethren...
Yerevan, Jun 25, 2016 / 10:56 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Working toward full communion is a project of love, humility and peace, Pope Francis told Armenian Orthodox leaders gathered at an ecumenical meeting on Saturday.“With great joy, we are walking together on a journey that has already taken us far, and we look confidently towards the day when by God’s help we shall be united around the altar of Christ’s sacrifice in the fullness of Eucharistic communion,” he said.About 95 percent of Armenia’s 3 million people practice Christianity. Of those Christians, about 92 percent belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church, which is in communion with the other Oriental Orthodox Churches.Pope Francis, together with the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos Karekin II, the leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church, offered prayers and remarks on peace and unity in the Armenian city of Yerevan during the Holy Father’s visit to the country.“On this journey, we have bee...
LAKE ISABELLA, Calif. (AP) -- A voracious and deadly wildfire in central California has burned 150 homes and the toll may rise, fire officials said Saturday....
YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) -- The world should never forget or minimize the Ottoman-era slaughter of Armenians, Pope Francis declared Saturday even as he urged Armenians to infuse their collective memory with love so they can find peace and reconcile with Turkey....
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- Gunmen stormed a hotel in Somalia's seaside capital Saturday, taking guests hostage and "shooting at everyone they could see," before security forces pursued the grenade-throwing assailants to the top floor and ended the hours-long assault, police and witnesses said. At least 14 people were killed....
(Vatican Radio) During the afternoon of his second day in Armenia, Pope Francis’s schedule included a visit to the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral and to the Armenian Catholic Cathedral in the city of Gyumri, the second most populous city of the Nation.Listen to the report by Linda Bordoni: After morning an open-air Mass in Gyumri’s central Square and lunch at a convent, the Pope travelled to the airport to board the plane taking him back to Yerevan for an event featuring an Ecumenical Encounter and a Prayer for Peace in the capital city’s Republic Square.On the way, a first stop took him to the Apostolic Armenian Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God.Here Pope Francis and Catholicos Karekin II were to be greeted by Armenian Apostolic Bishops and by a small group of disabled people and Syrian refugees. After praying in silence before the Marian Icon of the Seven Wounds and venerating the Crucifix together with the Catholicos, the Pope was to impart his Apostolic ...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Saturday appointed a new bishop to the Diocese of Guntur in southern India’s Andhra Pradesh state. Fr. Bhagyaiah Chinnabathini, a parish priest from the Diocese of Nalgonda, in the neighboring state of Telangana, is the new bishop of Guntur. The 60-yeaer old priest takes over from Bishop Gali Bali, who has retired.Fr. Chinnabathini priest was born on Sept, 19, 1956, at Motakondur-Yadagirigutta Mandal. After attending the minor seminary of Warangal he pursued philosophical and theological studies at St. John’s Regional Seminary di Hyderabad. He has a Master’s degree in Literature from Osmania University, Hyderabad, and another Master’s in Education from Annamalai University, Chennai. Following his priestly ordination on May 3, 1983, he served Nalgonda Diocese and abroad in various capacities, such as assistant parish priest at St. Mary’s Church, Lingampally (19...
