06/19/2013VATICAN Pope: the Church is the "body of Christ", let's not harm it with divisions, personal interests and "gossip" At the general audience Francis appeals for migrants and their families and to "bear witness to the Gospel of life." "All together, all together with our differences, but united, united forever, that is the path of Jesus! Unity is beyond all conflict, unity is a grace that we must ask the Lord." Seek unity even among evangelicals, Catholics and Orthodox. Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Seek unity which "is always above and beyond
conflict, in order "not to hurt the
Church with the spirit of division, of selfishness, of "gossip",
"how much damage gossip does, how greatly divisions hurt the...
06/19/2013HONG KONG Economic development wiping out Hong Kong's pink dolphins Only 78 animals were found in 2011, a 70 per cent drop since 2003. Construction and noise pollution are driving pink dolphins away from their normal habitat. "I've been working on dolphin conservation for over a decade, and this is the worst situation I've seen," activist said.
06/19/2013G8 - SYRIA G8 leaders hold back weapons from rebels in favour of dialogue After opening with the announcement of a possible No-Fly Zone in Syria, the G8 in Lough Erne ends with a bland declaration calling on rebels and regime to talk. No reference is made to the fate of Bashar al-Assad in a possible transitional government. The shadow of al-Qaeda and Moscow's subtle threats stop United States and Europe.
06/19/2013IRAQ - VATICAN For Chaldean patriarch, Sunni-Shia divisions and foreign influences are obstacles to peace by Dario Salvi Mar Sako is in Rome for ROACO's 86th Plenary Assembly to talk about the violence in Syria and the Middle East. Calling on Christians to show the positive side of the separation of Church and state that "respects religion", he says it is different from Western secularism. Politics "seeks oil," the Church "seeks people." He renews the invitation to Pope Francis to visit the Christians in the region.
06/19/2013VATICAN Pope: "Think of the hypocrisy in the Church: how much it hurts us all" During Mass this morning, Francis again stigmatizes the behavior of those who do not follow the path shown by Jesus, like the scribes and Pharisees of the Gospel, they are "hypocrites of cases", "intellectuals without talent" who "do not have the intelligence to find God, to explain God with intelligence” who “lead God’s people down a dead end”.
06/19/2013SRI LANKA Sri Lanka's first Catholic radio station to bring God to kids Web-based station will broadcast in Sinhala first, but eventually branch out to Tamil and English. For National Catholic Social Communications Centre director Fr Benedict Joseph, "new media play an increasingly important role in society" to "reach young people and children and put them in contact with each other."
06/19/2013NORTH KOREA Kim Jong-un gives his staff a winning recipe: Mein Kampf According to the young North Korean dictator, the Third Reich's "holy" book shows "how Hitler reconstructed Germany after its defeat in World War I". Both regimes share the same reliance on propaganda and delusional theories about the "chosen race."
06/19/2013KOREA Korea, a new cathedral on the border to reconcile Seoul and Pyongyang by Joseph Yun Li-sun The Church will be inaugurated by Card. Cheong and dedicated to "forgiveness and atonement." Inside mosaics portraying the Christian martyrs, by artists from the north. The Archbishop Emeritus of Seoul: "The building represents the desire for peace, unity and reconciliation that animates the Korean people."
06/19/2013PALESTINE Gaza: Hamas imposes Islamisation on schools, endangering Catholic institutions As of September, mixed classes will be banned for students over the age of ten. Even teachers will be strictly divided according to gender in order not to violate Sharia. The Church currently runs three schools with almost a thousand students, mostly Muslims. For the bishop of Jerusalem, "We have two alternatives: put pressure on the government or close."
06/19/2013PHILIPPINES St. Pedro Calungsod, the young martyr that Filipinos will bring to Rio Missionary and catechist, he was assassinated at 18 years of age on the island of Guam in 1672 and canonized by Benedict XVI in 2012. At the World Youth Day, a group of pilgrims from his hometown will present the saint to young people around the world.
06/19/2013NEPAL - INDIA Floods, Nepal and India send army to rescue victims by Kalpit Parajuli At least 130 victims and 100 thousand pilgrims blocked. Houses, roads and bridges swept away by the mud. The most serious damage to the Indian state of Uttarkhand. Kathmandu unlocks 10 million rupees (about 79,500 Euros) for relief operations.
06/18/2013THAILAND Bangkok: Catholic physician calls for organ donations to help medicine by Weena Kowitwanij A neurosurgeon at Mahidol University also pleads with people to leave their bodies for medical research after death. The aim is to improve students' practical skills in surgery and ensure the growth of the medical industry. In Asia, practical and cultural factors prevent significant blood and organ donations.
06/18/2013LEBANON - SYRIA Beirut: appeal for Catholic-Orthodox unity and an end to the war in Syria The synods of the Melkite Catholic and Greek Orthodox Churches got underway today in Lebanon. As the bishops pray for Mgrs Bouls Yazigi and Youhanna Ibrahim, abducted on 22 April, Gregory III Laham, patriarch of Antioch, criticises the Western decision to send weapons to the rebels. For the bishops, Christians in Syria and Lebanon have a duty to bear witness to the Gospel with their lives. This is the true "political action" and duty that every believer must undertake. The Melkite Church plans to set up a solidarity committee in Syria to help the needy and rebuild destroyed or damaged churches.
06/18/2013PAKISTAN Punjab: young Christian dies under torture in police custody with 22 broken bones by Jibran Khan Irfan Masih was arrested on 8 June suspected of a murder he did not commit. For days, he was subjected to abuse in order to extort a confession. He died on Sunday from the serious injuries he suffered. "So what if he died? So many die anyway every day," a police officer said. Human rights activists call for justice, whilst the victim's family is in hiding for fear of reprisals.
06/18/2013VATICAN Pope: in loving our enemy we become "poorer", like Jesus, who made himself poor for us To be able to love our enemies we must pray. Pray for them, and say to God: "Change their heart. They have a heart of stone, but change it, give them a heart of flesh, that feels good and love." And for us too, "so that the Lord teaches us this wisdom which is so hard, but so beautiful, because it makes us look like the Father and like the Son."
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