Missionaries working in rural Basilan province challenged the government and the Catholic Church Friday to do something about the spate of violence in the province, after another bloody incident this week. “We question those in authority, what have you done to protect and grant justice to the lives of the people?” the Claretian Missionaries said in a statement
Before the Spanish economic crisis hit, Mercedes Gonzalez and her family lived comfortably, she working in a shoe shop and her husband and second son in construction. But one by one, over five years each of them lost their jobs.
“Angela Gomes is a living example in the field of women’s rights and empowerment. She has continued changing lives of tens of thousands of poor and neglected women. With this film we want to spread her life and ideals across the country and also in the world,” said Noor-E-Alam, the director.
The Queen makes a groundbreaking church visit as she tours one of the towns hit hardest by Northern Ireland's Troubles. For the first time, the Queen has stepped inside a Roman Catholic church on the island of Ireland in what is being seen as a hugely symbolic moment.
Every fourth household in Pakistan employs a child, according to the International Labor Organization. More than five million children under the age of 10 are working in Pakistan, and the problem is worsening in both sheer numbers and prevalence, said an international NGO on World Day Against Child Labor.
There's another snip of news from the NE, says Angela. "I'll have to be up early on Saturday but I only have to look out of the window to see the torch!" Nicholas Ridgeon, from Westoe Village in South Shields, has the honour of carrying the Olympic Torch through Whitburn on Saturday.
“It is very likely that the faithful have to quietly pass Pentecost this Sunday, one of the four major church feasts widely celebrated in China, as they did so at Easter,” a source told UCA News. To avoid arrest, underground priests remain in hiding and cannot carry out normal pastoral work because they have refused to support the patriotic association, the source said.
At least 150 people, most of them children, were forced to flee a remote village in Agusan del Sur province in Mindanao Tuesday as a battle between government troops and communist guerrillas intensified.
Pope Benedict XVI has given his seal of approval via the Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone to new Statutes and Rules governing Caritas Internationalis, the umbrella organisation for 164 national Catholic aid and development agencies.
Faith in the defence of creation. The Episcopal Conference of South Korea has created a handbook for the Catholic environmentalist. Published by the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace, “Catholic Teachings on the Environment” is a compendium of Catholic thought on the ecosystem and its development.
"They should change their policy and implement the Robin Hood tax immediately so that the banks and financial institutions start paying their fair share to help those hit hardest by this crisis." The cardinal was speaking in support of a campaign by the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF). The aid agency estimates a tax of 0.05% on major financial transactions, such as the trading of stocks, bonds and derivatives, would raise £20bn each year in the UK alone.
Farmers of the sugar estate owned by President Benigno Aquino’s family claimed victory in their decades-old struggle as the Supreme Court ruled in their favor yesterday. The court affirmed its November 2011 ruling ordering distribution of the 4,916 hectares of Hacienda Luisita and rejecting offers of shares of stock.
Father Pervez Khalid, one other senior priest and six Church workers were assaulted by a group 70 people on April 16 after entering the playground of Cardinal Cordeiro High School which has been seized by land grabbers. One parishioner in his forties was taken to hospital after receiving several heavy blows
There was some surprise in Justice and Peace circles recently at the sight of a job advertisement for the post of director of Caritas (Westminster) with a salary of £45,000 to £50,000 per annum. The post holder will "lead the Caritas work within the diocese with the aim of enabling the Catholic community of Westminster to respond appropriately to those experiencing poverty and social exclusion."
Hugo of St. Victor once famously said: Love is the eye. When we see with love we not only see straight and clearly we also see depth and meaning. Those searching for life through the eyes of love, like Mary of Magdala searching for Jesus in the Garden on Easter Sunday morning, see spring and the resurrection. Any other kind of eye, and we're blind in springtime.
Almost the entire Christian population of the Syrian city of Homs has fled violence and persecution, according to Fides, the news agency of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples. The mass exodus of 50,000 or more people to villages and towns around the city comes amid reports that the homes of Christians in Homs have been attacked and seized by militants.
The Apostolic Visitation should now be considered completed. The Holy See entrusts its conclusions to the responsibility of the Bishops, clergy, Religious and lay faithful of Ireland, in the hope that they will bear fruit worthy of that process of healing, reparation and renewal which Pope Benedict XVI so eagerly desires for the beloved Church in Ireland.
Ann Mullaney, Fairtrade representative in Hayes, West London, shares some encouraging information echoing the statement from Harriet Lamb, Fairtrade Executive Director: ‘We believe that responsible businesses are those who don’t just tackle the company bonuses at the top – but take steps to ensure a fairer deal for the workers and farmers at the bottom of the supply chain too. Forward-thinking companies are showing leadership in committing to Fairtrade, realising that they need to invest in smallholders, developing better, longer-term relationships.
Fr Rif'at Bader, director of the Catholic Media Study Centre in the Jordanian capital, wrote a letter in response to an article by French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé praising France for coming to the defence of Christians, urging Syrian Christians to fight more decisively against Bashar Assad.
International Women's Day (8 March) is an occasion marked by women's groups around the world. This date is also commemorated at the United Nations and is designated in many countries as a national holiday. When women on all continents, often divided by national boundaries and by ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic and political differences, come together to celebrate their Day.
