03/05/2015VATICAN Pope: "the abandonment is the most serious 'illness' of the elderly", who must be helped at the end of their life When life becomes very fragile and is approaching its earthly end, "we feel the responsibility to assist and accompany the person in the best way" to relieve the suffering. This is what families and palliative care provide. For the pontiff, "all medical knowledge is truly science, in its most noble sense, only if it finds its place as a help in view of the good of man, a good that is never achieved by going 'against' his life and dignity." Vatican City (AsiaNews) - "Abandonment is the most
serious 'illness' of the elderly, and also the greatest injustice they can
suffer," said Pope Francis. However, "when life becomes very fragile and the
end of earthly existence approaches, we feel the responsibility to assist and
accompany the person in the best way" and relieve their suffering. This is what
families and palliative care...
03/04/2015VATICAN Pope: A society that "discards" the elderly, "depository of a people’s wisdom", carries a virus of death "A culture of profit insists on painting the elderly as a burden, a 'dead weight'. It thinks that the elderly don’t produce anything and therefore are a burden". "There is something vile in this addiction we have to this throw away culture. We have become used to discarding people." "The Church cannot and does not want to comply with a mentality of impatience, and even less that of indifference and contempt towards old age".
03/03/2015VATICAN Pope: "a thousand times Jesus preferred sinners" to hypocrites "In the second week of Lent we have these three words to think about, to ponder: the invitation to conversion; the gift that the Lord will give us, which is great forgiveness, a great forgiveness; and the trap, that is, pretending to convert, while choosing the path of hypocrisy. "
03/02/2015BANGLADESH Bangladesh holds man over blogger Avijit Roy's murder by Sumon Corraya The suspect had been arrested previously for inciting attacks against writers and intellectuals. The murder victim, a US citizen of Bangladeshi origin, was hacked to death with a machete. Islamist extremists threatened publicly to kill him last year after the publication of his book 'Biswasher Virus,' Bengali for 'Virus of faith'.
03/02/2015VATICAN Pope: Judging ourselves to obtain and offer mercy At Mass in Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis emphasizes that judging ourselves is the first step of Christian wisdom. Recognizing the envy that leads us to "speak ill of others", that we are capable of doing worse things than which we judge others for. "Who am I to judge?" obeys the exhortation of Jesus: Judge not lest you be judged.
03/01/2015VATICAN Pope: Let us not forget those who are suffering in Syria, Iraq and Venezuela; let us pray for them Francis comments the Gospel of the Transfiguration of Christ. "Jesus reveals himself as the perfect icon of the Father, the irradiation of his glory. It is the fulfilment of revelation. [. . .] Jesus' journey always leads us to happiness [. . .]. Love transfigures everything." The task he leaves for the disciples and the faithful is simple: "Listen to and follow the Saviour." After the Marian prayer, the Holy Father issued an appeal to the peoples of the Middle East, noting that "We are praying insistently for an end to the intolerable brutality of which they are victims."
02/28/2015VATICAN Pope encourages the growth of cooperatives as an economic model that serves the common good Cooperatives are "enterprises based on the principle of solidarity and social relations," that act as "the lever that raises and develops the weakest part of local communities and civil society," and provide "new welfare solutions" that support, facilitate and even encourage family life, because even though money is "the dung of the devil," if it is well managed, "it can be used to promote the common good."
02/26/2015BANGLADESH Prostitution and forced labour: trafficking in human beings in Bangladesh by Sumon Corraya The Asian country is a source and a transit point for victims. The cases involving women and children are the most documented, but men are victims are well. Boys under ten are more likely to be entangled in this traffic; girls tend to be aged 11 to 16. Some of victims go to the Gulf countries. In Bangladesh, the local Caritas helps the victims.
02/25/2015BANGLADESH Bangladesh, arrest warrant for opposition leader Khaleda Zia The president of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) did not show up at a hearing for the two cases of corruption. She is charged with having taken more than 600 thousand euro for two charities created on behalf of her husband when she was Prime Minister. Zia: "Political move to eliminate me."
02/24/2015EGYPT - ISLAM What Tayeb and Sisi said is big step towards a revolution in Islam by Samir Khalil Samir The grand imam of Al-Azhar slammed literalist interpretations of the Qur'an and the Sunnah, as fundamentalists and Islamic terrorists do. He supports the urgent need for Islam's reform, especially in terms of teaching lay people and clerics. He also calls for an end to mutual excommunication (takfir) between Sunnis and Shias. Egyptian President al-Sisi chose to fight the Islamic state group after it beheaded 21 Coptic Christians, whom he called "Egyptian citizens" with full rights.
02/23/2015SAUDI ARABIA - ISLAM For head of Al-Azhar, religious education reform is needed to stop Islamic extremism For Ahmed al-Tayeb, it is urgent to come up with new educational programmes to avoid "corrupt interpretations" of the Qur'an and Sunnah. Islamic terrorism undermines the unity of the Muslim world. He blames Mideast tensions on a "new global colonialism allied to world Zionism". a speech by the Saudi king is read at the conference.
02/23/2015BANGLADESH Ferry and cargo ship collide in Bangladesh's Padma River, killing at least 69 by Sumon Corraya About 150 people were on board, but there is no official passenger list. The cargo ship's captain has been arrested. Rescuers continue searching for survivors, but hope to find people alive is fading. Relatives are desperate. Government and district leaders announce compensation for the victims' families.
02/22/2015VATICAN Pope gifts "Guard your heart" booklet as an aid to conversion in Lent At today's Angelus Pope Francis gave away booklets containing "the wealth of our doctrine," the essentials of the faith: "the seven sacraments, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the Ten Commandments, the virtues, works of mercy. .. ". The booklet was distributed by volunteers and homeless people. "Those who are in need are also the ones who give us this great wealth." Lent is a time "for spiritual battle against the spirit of evil", already won by Jesus in the desert. "We go into the desert without fear, because we are not alone, we are with Jesus." This afternoon, the Pope goes to Ariccia on retreat with the Curia: "Pray so that in this desert we can hear the voice of Jesus and correct our many defects".
02/21/2015BANGLADESH Benetton backtracks and agrees to compensate Rana Plaza collapse victims The Italian company had always denied any responsibility in the worst textile industry accident ever in Bangladesh. An online petition with more than one million signatures topples the clothing giant, which threatened to cause disruption during the Milan Fashion Week. 1,138 people died in the crash; more than 2 thousand were wounded.
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