03/10/2014ASIA - PIME Eighty-five years of grace and joy by Piero Gheddo With, as his passion, the Christian message to proclaim as a missionary and journalist, Fr Gheddo is grateful to his parents and teachers. After 61 years as a priest, it is still great to be a priest. As he marks his birthday, he offers it as an invitation to young people. Milan (AsiaNews)
- At midday on 10 March 10, 1929, some 85 years ago, in Tronzano Vercelli where
rice is grown, Rosetta Franzi Gheddo, gave birth to her firstborn child as the
bells of the nearby parish church rang the Angelus. This child became a...
03/10/2014PHILIPPINES Davao del Sur, Philippine army and communist rebels clash, 11 dead and 10 injured New People's Army rebels step un dawn attacks on police and military barracks in the southern province of Mindanao. Rebels seize firearms and two radios. The army counter-offensive results in two deaths and nine arrests among the guerrillas.
03/09/2014VATICAN Pope: Do not argue with Satan, defend yourself with the Word of God Pope Francis dedicates his Sunday Angelus to the Gospel of the first Sunday of Lent on Christ’s temptation in the desert, "Jesus does not dialogue with Satan, as Eve did in the Garden of Eden . Jesus knows that there is no dialogue with Satan, because he is too cunning. This is why Jesus, instead of entering into a dialogue like Eve, chooses to take refuge in God's Word and responds with the power of this Word. We should remember this when we are tempted".
03/08/2014PHILIPPINES Filipino bishops: laity, courageous witnesses of the faith to non-believers, the poor and marginalized The Bishops' Conference calls on the community to live their faith with "courage”, renewing the call to mission. The campaign "Choose to Be Brave " unites organizations of lay people, to help people in distress. A website becomes a point of formation, encounter and to exchange experiences.
03/06/2014VATICAN Pope: Time of mercy, closeness to wounded for entire Church Encountering priests of the diocese of Rome, Francis says that “we must think of the Church today like a ‘field hospital'". "I always carry a small cloth pouch" containing a cross, in memory of a "great confessor", and when I have bad thoughts about someone my hand reaches for it". Confessors must be neither too "lax" nor too "rigorous".
03/05/2014VATICAN Pope: Lent, a time of conversion to be able to "react to the reality of evil that always challenges us " Francis points out two "commitments" for the period leading up to Easter: live the redemptive work of Christ with greater awareness and live our baptism with greater commitment. The "risk of not no longer being shocked by the sad reality that surrounds us", such as violence, injustice, "a society that claims it can make do without God".
03/04/2014PHILIPPINES Lent: for Filipino bishops, the faithful must imitate Christ's poverty, which "sanctifies" The president of the Bishops' Conference calls on believers to look at Jesus' example, and lead a life of "simplicity" and "sanctification." There is a poverty that "dehumanises", and one, that proposed by Christ in the Beatitudes, that "sanctifies". He slams consumerism and corruption, a "social cancer" that is eating away at the country.
03/04/2014VATICAN Pope: Remember that among Christians "there are more martyrs today than in the early days of the Church" "The world does not tolerate the divinity of Christ. It doesn’t tolerate the announcement of the Gospel. It does not tolerate the Beatitudes". "They are condemned because they have a Bible. They can not make the sign of the Cross", "they can not go to Mass, because it is forbidden". How often "does a priest come in secret, among them, they pretend they are having a meal, taking tea and there they celebrate Mass", "so they will not see them".
03/03/2014VATICAN Pope: May God send us priests and nuns free from the idolatry of vanity, power and money "How many young people feel this ' call ' to get closer to Jesus in their hearts, and are enthusiastic " and "want to follow him, but when they have a heart full of something else and are not brave enough to empty it, the take a step back, and that joy becomes sadness".
03/02/2014VATICAN Pope launches "pressing appeal" for Ukraine, for "all initiatives in favor of dialogue and harmony" "This week we begin Lent, which is the journey of the People of God towards Easter, a journey of conversion, to combat evil with the weapons of prayer, fasting and mercy". "The shroud has no pockets! It is better to share, because we bring into Heaven only what we have shared with others".
03/01/2014MALAYSIA - PHILIPPINES Kuala Lumpur and Manila set up security hotline for South China Sea Malaysia and Philippines strengthen ties to counter militant assaults and Beijing’s hegemonic aims in the area. The Malaysian government key in peace talks between Manila and MILF. Goals of "timely exchange of information" and strengthening of trade relations.
02/28/2014PHILIPPINES Philippines, Card. Quevedo: "Peace in Mindanao, chief commitment for local Church" The newly appointed cardinal assures that he will continue its work for dialogue between Christians and Muslims and the cease- fire between the army and the MILF. "Not on the front line" he states, but "behind the scenes". He hopes for an end to the atmosphere of “distrust” that has generated "too many misconceptions, misunderstandings and misinterpretations". The role of base ecclesial communities in the life of the Church.
