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(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...
Rome, Italy, Jun 25, 2016 / 06:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- What is Benedict XVI's own view of his historical resignation? What has the fall-out been from his secretary Archbishop Georg Gänswein's controversial remark on an “expanded petrine office”? What about the “Prophesy of Malachy,” which allegedly sees Francis as the last pontiff?In a recent and candid conversation, veteran journalist and EWTN Rome correspondent Paul Badde sat down with Archbishop Gänswein, who gave his take on these and a number of other questions.The German archbishop currently serves Pope Francis as Prefect of the Papal Household, and has also maintained his duties as secretary for retired pontiff Benedict XVI.'Nature had spoken'When a massive lightning strike lit up the top of Saint Peter's dome on the evening of Feb. 11, 2013, many observers chose to interpret this as a divine reaction to the historical announcement of Pope Benedict's resignation, made ...
IMAGE: CNS/Paul HaringBy Cindy WoodenYEREVAN, Armenia (CNS) -- In silence and in prayer while amournful hymn was sung, Pope Francis formally paid tribute to the estimated 1.5million Armenians killed by Ottoman Turks in 1915-18.Visiting the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial, a monument to themartyrs, Pope Francis wrote in the guestbook, "May God preserve the memoryof the Armenian people. Memories should not be watered down or forgotten;memory is a source of peace and of the future."The words were in addition to those the pope had planned towrite June 25, praying that humanity would never again know the large-scalemassacre of a people and that by remembering such tragedies of the past, peoplewould learn to vanquish evil with good.Accompanied by the Armenian Orthodox patriarch, CatholicosKarekin II, and by bishops and clergy from both the Catholic and ArmenianApostolic churches, Pope Francis blessed a wreath of yellow and white flowersplaced before the towering stone shards that protect the et...
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Donald Trump has finally acknowledged that to best compete against Hillary Clinton he needs more than the bare-bones campaign team that led him to primary success. But many of the most experienced Republican political advisers aren't willing to work for him....
