Irish Missionary Union

Bangalore (Agenzia Fides) - "In the face of poverty, unemployment, corruption, lack of education, violence, religious fundamentalism, the Catholic Church intends to be a significant voice and make their own contribution to the construction of a nation that guarantees welfare, education , harmony and justice for all ": with these words His Exc. Mgr.Bernard Moras, Archbishop of Bangalore, illustrates to Fides the theme of the next General Assembly of the Indian Bishops' Conference, entitled" The role of the Church for a better India" to be held in his diocese, in Bangalore (Karnataka state), from 1 to 8 February. The...

Wen Zhou (Agenzia Fides) - "In the footsteps of St. Paul and his missionary spirit, so that we are the salt of the earth and light of the world, becoming authentic Christians": is the wish of His Exc. Mgr. Zhu Wei Fang, Bishop of the Diocese of Wen Zhou in Zhe Jiang province of mainland China, to the faithful of the parish of Ma Bu Gao Sha during the celebration of its 120 years of consecration and 15 years after the reopening. According to what was reported to Fides by Faith of He Bei, despite the celebration of the Chinese...

Bangalore (Agenzia Fides) – Hindu extremists beat him, stripped him naked, humiliated and ridiculed him in public for hours, tying him to a pole: the Protestant Pastor Chandrakanth Kalappa Chavan (27 years old), who belongs to the evangelical community, "New Life Fellowship", was the victim of unspeakable violence by a mob of Hindu extremists in Haliyal, a town in Uttara Kannada district in the Indian state of Karnataka (South India). In addition, the Pastor was arrested by police and is in jail on charges which are unknown. The incident, which occurred last January 24 and reported by local sources to...

Seoul (Agenzia Fides) - The Christian faith is a point of reference for young Koreans, and is for them a firm anchorage in difficult times of economic crisis, unemployment, social unrest. This is what emerges from a recent study on the theme "The life of faith of the young", conducted by the Commission for Youth Pastoral of the Episcopal Conference of Korea. As reported to Fides by the President of the Commission, Mgr. Peter Lee Ki-heon, the research conducted a survey on young people’s life of faith, interviewing 91 thousand students who attend Catholic schools in 15 dioceses in Korea. The...

Addis Ababa (Agenzia Fides) - Because of the famine caused by the severe drought that has hit the area in the past 50 years, between 100 and 200 children under 5 years of age continue to die every day in the Horn of Africa. Despite the aid and assistance on behalf of various humanitarian organizations, the situation is getting worse, and last year between 35 000 and 65 000 children died. In the refugee camp in Dadaab, the largest in the world, in Kenya, the continuous influx of thousands of hungry children in poor sanitary conditions and fleeing from their...

Rome (Agenzia Fides) - The residents of about 2500 cities around the world will pray for peace in the Land of Jesus on Sunday, January 29. On the Fourth International Day of intercession for peace in Holy Land, a prayer initiative born from the desire of some Catholic youth associations, in communion with the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Holy Land will be held on this date. The Day will be preceded by the "Seventh Extraordinary prayer of all the Churches for Reconciliation, Unity and Peace", which will be held at the Coptic Orthodox Church of Jerusalem in the...

I remember reading about a television interview with Mother Teresa of Calcutta in the United States.  The interview bowled along, and then the interviewer paused the live broadcast for a commercial break:  ‘We will continue with this interview in a minute or two, but first, listen to this message from our sponsors.’  As the commercials were shown, the studio suddenly fell silent

The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit reaffirmed churches’ commitment to justice and peace in the Middle East, while stressing the importance of a common vision for living together by Christians and Muslims in the Arab world. Tveit was speaking at the

An Italian television programme has claimed that a former top Vatican City official was moved to another post, against his will, after he complained about the way  contracts were being awarded. The programme: 'The Untouchables' broadcast by the La 7 channel on Wednesday night, showed several letters sent last year by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano,

The Church of England has welcomed the UK government's decision to outlaw the sale of scrap metal for cash. Home Secretary Theresa May announced the ruling today in a written statement to MPs.  She also told them that fines would be 'significantly increased' to tackle the growing problem of metal theft.  Anne Sloman, Chair of the Church of England's

This Saturday, 28 January, from 2pm-4pm, the Stop the War Coalition is launching a campaign against a war on Iran at the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square. The protest will be joined by politicians, academics, students, trade unionists, aid workers, justice and peace groups and church representatives. In a statement, the Coalition said: "The momentum for an attack

Today, on Australia Day, it was announced that Sister Mary Leahy has been awarded an Order of Australia Medal for services as an Apostleship of the Sea port chaplain. A member of the Sisters of St Joseph, Sr Mary has worked in the port of Sydney for many years. In 2010, the Sydney Seafarers' Centre where Sr Mary serves, won

If there is one name synonymous with philosophy and theology in the Church, it is that of Thomas of Aquino, the learned Dominican of the 13th century, whose Summa Theologica dominated Catholic thinking for centuries. He was born of aristocratic parentage, and even as a boy sent to the Benedictines for his education. By the time he was 18, he had decided to devote his life to God as a Dominican. This displeased his family, which tried by force to get him to change his mind. They did not succeed. Thomas continued as a Dominican, and enrolled as a student of...

West Sumatra Police are refusing to supply human rights investigators with the autopsy reports of two teenage brothers who were allegedly tortured to death in custody. Ali Ahmad, the head of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) in West Sumatra, said it was unlikely police would meet today’s deadline. “The police are refusing to provide them because there was no official letter from Komnas Ham,” Ali told the Jakarta Globe on Friday. Earlier this week, Komnas Ham told the media that they were waiting for documents from the police to complete their investigation on the death of 14-year old Faisal and...

A former military commander in Papua New Guinea Thursday claimed to have seized control of the country’s armed forces and demanded that ousted prime minister Michael Somare be reinstated. The dramatic move appeared to be connected with a power struggle between Somare and sitting premier Peter O’Neill over leadership of the resource-rich but impoverished country, which has been struggling to throw off its reputation as a politically dysfunctional and often lawless nation. Ex-colonel Yaura Sasa held a news conference at military headquarters in the capital Port Moresby to declare himself leader of the PNG Defence Force following media reports of a “mutiny”...

Attackers have fired several rocket-propelled grenades at the Pakistan Military Academy, about 50km (30 miles) north of the capital Islamabad. The building is located in Abbottabad, near the compound where Osama Bin Laden was killed by US special forces in May last year. Friday’s attack damaged a wall but no casualties have been reported. It was unclear who was responsible but security forces have mounted a search, officials said. The Pakistan Military Academy is the country’s top training centre, the equivalent of West Point in the US or Britain’s Sandhurst. Full story: Attack on Pakistan military academy in Abbottabad Source: BBC

“We can stand as a symbol of the world, know Christ on behalf of the world, and proclaim him for the sake of the world precisely because we are tainted with evil. It is when I recognize how far I am from the goodness of God that I can understand the awesomeness of God’s love.”

Survivors of the 1984 Bhopal gas leak disaster have hailed the decision by a watchdog commissioner assigned to monitor the sustainability of the London Olympic Games to quit over Dow Chemicals’ sponsorship of the sporting event. Survivors and their supporters meeting in Bhopal, capital of Madhya Pradesh, yesterday said Meredith Alexander’s resignation from the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012 was the right thing to do. They placed a bouquet of pink roses in front of a picture of Alexander, who is also a senior official of the international charity Action Aid. They were also taking part in a day-long fast to demand...

Over 200 search and rescue volunteers, including 48 divers, are due in West Cork this morning to take part in the on-going search for the two missing fishermen.

Greece and its private creditors head back to the negotiating table today to put together the final pieces of a long-awaited debt swap agreement.

Russia has said a European-Arab draft resolution on Syria circulated to the UN Security Council was unacceptable in parts, but it was ready to "engage" on it.

Salvage of the capsized cruise ship, the Costa Concordia, is scheduled to begin this weekend off the island of Giglio in Italy.

A law to be debated in Iran's parliament on Sunday could halt oil exports to the European Union as early as next week.

Eurozone finance officials have voiced optimism that a deal to avert a disorderly Greek default was imminent.

Speaking from Davos, financier George Soros has warned that Europe is likely to face a "lost decade" and is concerned that the EU may be destroyed by austerity measures.

Lahore's Dr Akram has said many Pakistani hospitals are forced to buy the cheapest drugs - as the death toll from a batch of faulty drugs in the city rises.

A state of emergency has been declared in Fiji after heavy floods kill at least six and leave thousands homeless.

New technology is being used in Ireland to try to prevent one of the oldest crimes of fish poaching.

A group of soldiers who staged a failed mutiny in Papua New Guinea on Thursday are demanding a full pardon, Australian media reports say.

Mary Kom will make her Olympics debut in London this summer, representing India in boxing.