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WASHINGTON (AP) -- The politically ascendant anti-abortion movement gathered Friday for a triumphant rally on the National Mall, rejoicing at the end of an eight-year presidency that participants said was dismissive of their views....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump on Friday pledged America's "lasting support" to the U.S.' historic "special relationship" with Britain after he emerged from his first meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May, leader of an ally who seeks to nudge the populist president toward the political mainstream....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump said Friday that his defense secretary's opposition to torture would override his own belief that enhanced interrogation "does work," quietly giving ground after growing public concern about a return to Bush-era use of waterboarding and other especially harsh procedures....
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has extended his condolences to victims a tragic bus crash that occurred in Italy earlier this week.The bus was carrying Hungarian students who were returning to Hungary from a skiing trip in France.The Holy Father’s prayers for the victims and their families, and his expressions of closeness and support, were conveyed in a telegramme addressed to the Hungarian Bishops’ Conference, which was sent on the Pope’s behalf, and signed by the Cardinal Secretary of State.The full text of the telegramme follows: His Eminence Cardinal Péter ErdoArchbishop of Esztergom-BudapestHis Holiness Pope Francis was deeply saddened to learn of the bus accident in Verona, Italy, involving students of Szinyei Gimnázium, and he assures all those affected by this tragedy of his prayerful solidarity. Entrusting the deceased to the merciful love of Almighty God, he prays that their families and friends may be consoled in their grief and strengthen...
(Vatican Radio) Archbishop Ivan Jurkovic called on the World Health Organization (WHO) to “guard against the exploitation of vulnerable individuals” in relation to blood donation and medical products of human origin.Archbishop Jurkovic, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva, addressed the 140th meeting of the WHO’s Executive Board, which met on the theme “Principles for global consensus on the donation and management of blood, blood components, and medical products of human origin”.Archbishop Jurkovic said the principles proposed by the WHO regarding blood donation and medical products of human origin “rightfully place concern for the dignity of the donors at the centre of consideration in all matters related to such procedures”.Citing Pope Francis’ words to the UN General Assembly in 2015, he invited the WHO to take “practical and constant, concrete steps and immediate measures for ‘put...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met with a delegation from the European Jewish Congress Friday on the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which occurs annually on 27 January.The Secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, Fr. Norbert Hofmann, was present at the meeting.In an interview with Vatican Radio (in Italian), he said the Pope “began the dialogue by mentioning the importance of this Day for the Jews, but also for us, because remembering the victims of the Holocaust is important so that this human tragedy never happens again”.The delegation, he said, represents more than 2 million Jews in Europe.Fr. Hofmann said the President of the Congress, Moshe Kantor, spoke about “the importance of ethics, that is, of the values which Christians and Jews have in common. He said that in our world we see much progress but also a decline in moral and ethical values. Therefore, we need to strengthen these values which we share. And...
The Catholic Church of Pakistan has firmly slammed the latest form of discrimination against the country’s religious minorities which relegates them to the lowly sanitation jobs. The Faisalabad Waste Management Company (FWMC) has set strict conditions for those who "will improve the cleanliness of the city", namely candidates "must be from Faisalabad, healthy and non-Muslims." The National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) of Pakistan’s Catholic bishops spoke out, stating that "the advertisement is based on discrimination and brassiness against religious minorities and non-Muslims. It is an attempt to divide society into segments and promote the view that minorities and non-Muslims are second-class citizens." "This kind of attitude,” the statement said, “is a gross violation of Article 27 of the Constitution, which says: ‘No citizen otherwise qualified for appointment in the service of Pakista...
The Catholic bishops of the Philippines on Wednesday voiced their grief over the execution of a Filipina domestic helper in Kuwait and called on Filipinos to reconsider their stance on the revival of the death penalty in the south-east Asian country. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) mourned the execution of Jakatia Pawa in Kuwait on Jan. 25, 2017, saying it should serve as a clear message for Filipinos to reject the capital punishment. “The fact that Jakatia protested her innocence to the end of her life only underscores the abhorrence at the death penalty and the sadness that we feel at Jakatia’s death should make us all advocates against the death penalty,” said CBCP president, Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan. Pawa was accused of killing her employer’s 22-year old daughter in 2007, which she denied. While condoling the death of the maid, Bishop Ruperto Santos, who chairs the CBCP&rsqu...
(Vatican Radio) The way a country responds to the needs of migrants and refugees is a “thermometer” of the wellbeing of that society. That’s the view of Canadian Jesuit Father Michael Czerny, recently appointed as undersecretary of the Vatican’s new department for Integral Human Development.Alongside Italian Scalabrini Father Fabio Baggio, Fr Michael took up his new post on January 1st, In charge of the section dealing with refugees, migrants and survivors of human trafficking. Answering directly to Pope Francis, he sees his “modest but ambitious mission” as helping the Church to accompany forced migrants at all stages of their challenging and often perilous journey.As the child of a refugee family himself, Fr Michael believes that “with a little bit of sharing of the enormous resources available throughout the world”, countries can “very comfortably and very securely and very profitably” provide for the needs of all peop...
IMAGE: By Dave HrbacekST.PAUL, Minn. (CNS) -- It didn't take long for Nicky Peters to feel the drama ofbeing a sidewalk counselor outside Planned Parenthood in St. Paul.The19-year-old sophomore at St. Catherine University in St. Paul and member of St.Ambrose Parish in Woodbury had decided last spring to take her pro-life passionto the streets. She signed up to volunteer with Pro-Life Action Ministries inSt. Paul and paired with Ann Redding, the organization's sidewalk counselingcoordinator.Thispast June, the two showed up hoping to encounter women with unwantedpregnancies. It was Peters' first time."Thatday was amazing," she told The Catholic Spirit, newspaper of the Archdiocese ofSt. Paul and Minneapolis. "I met Ann there, and within the first hour, a womancame up to us and told her (Ann) that she had changed her mind about having anabortion, but she had already had part of the procedure done."Thewoman told them that clinic workers had inserted laminaria sticks to helpdilate her ce...
