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QAYARA, Iraq (AP) -- Islamic State militants have been going door to door in villages south of Mosul, ordering people at gunpoint on a mileslong trek into the city and using them as human shields as the extremists prepare to defend it from Iraqi forces, according to residents swept up in the forced evacuations....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- With his White House dreams increasingly in question, Donald Trump is spending precious campaign time promoting his private business in the final weeks of the long race. Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, is using his appearances to undermine his business credentials out on the campaign trail, accusing him of having "stiffed American workers."...
(Vatican Radio) Iraqi special forces have moved more than 1,000 people from villages near the front lines of the battle to retake the Islamic State-held city of Mosul and surrounding areas, where the U.N. says militants have committed a number of atrocities in recent days.During his Angelus address on Sunday, Pope Francis expressed his closeness and solidarity with those affected by the fighting and called for prayers.Meanwhile, humanitarian aid agencies in Iraq, including CAFOD and Catholic Relief Services have been working to assist those affected by the fighting. Hani El-Mahdi, CRS Director for Iraq, spoke with Vatican Radio’s Christopher Wells about relief efforts in the country:Listen: Catholic Relief Services started their work in Northern Iraq in the summer of 2014, as a response to ISIS invading Mosul. Since then, they have worked with sister agencies such as CAFOD and Caritas Iraq and have been able to serve more than 150,000 internationally displac...
(Vatican Radio) The 6th Meeting of the Viet Nam – Holy See Joint Working Group took place in Vatican City from 24 to 26 October 2016. After the meeting the following press statement was released. Joint Press Releaseon the 6th Meeting of the Viet Nam – Holy See Joint Working Group(24-26/10/2016)Implementing the agreement reached at the 5th Meeting of the Viet Nam – Holy See Joint Working Group in Ha Noi (September 2014), the 6th Meeting of the Viet Nam – Holy See Joint Working Group took place in Vatican City from 24 to 26 October 2016. The Meeting was co-chaired by H.E Mr. Bui Thanh Son, Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Head of the Vietnamese delegation, and Monsignor Antoine Camilleri, Under-Secretary for Relations with States, Head of the Holy See Delegation.The two sides had a broad and deep exchange of views on Viet Nam – Holy See relations, including issues related to the Catholic Church in Viet Nam.The Vietnamese side reit...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday reminded the faithful that the month of October is dedicated to the Rosary and invited all believers to recite the Marian prayer.In a tweet, just a few days ago, on the day when the Church celebrates the feast of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary, the Pope said “the Rosary is the prayer that always accompanies my life: it is also the prayer of simple people and saints...it is the prayer of my heart”. At the conclusion of the weekly General Audience, he explained that the Rosary is “a synthesis of Divine Mercy”: “With Mary, in the mysteries of the Rosary we contemplate the life of Jesus which irradiates the mercy of the Father. Let us rejoice in His love and forgiveness, let us recognize it in foreigners and in those who are needy, let us live His Gospel every day”. And greeting the young, the sick and the newly wedded, Pope Francis said:“May this simple Marian prayer show ...
Catholic colleges from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka plan to work together to educate poor disadvantaged youths in the region.The venture is part of a three-year project initiated by the International Federation of Catholic Universities called "Continuing Education of Disadvantaged Adolescents”.The research partners are Salesian College, Siliguri; Stella Maris College, Chennai; Christ University, Bengaluru — all in India; Notre Dame University in Dhaka, Bangladesh; and Aquinas University in Colombo, Sri Lanka."We need to study how to bridge the gap of continuing education for the dropouts,” George Thadathil, the principal of Salesian College was quoted as saying in the report.The joint project was launched officially by the IFCU Deputy Secretary General Dr. Barnabe D’Souza on 21st October 2016.“This international research could build bridge between what happens with government policy and ground reality,” says Dr D’S...
(Vatican Radio) As Pope Francis makes a new appeal for more openness and solidarity towards migrants, the International Director of Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), Father Tom Smolich, says the Pope's remarks are not just calling for a different approach towards refugees and migrants but are also stressing the importance of a face-to-face encounter with migrants to quell the fears felt by many people towards them. Father Smolich was interviewed by Susy Hodges.Listen to the interview with Father Tom Smolich of Jesuit Refugee Service: Pope Francis' appeal during his Wednesday general audience for more solidarity towards migrants came the day after residents of a town on Italy’s Adriatic coast formed a blockade to prevent the arrival of 12 female migrants, one of them pregnant, who were to have been housed in a local hostel.The Pope's remarks on migration also came on the heels of a new UN report saying that the Mediterranean Sea crossings by migrants trying to r...
Armed groups in South Sudan released 145 children on Tuesday, the U.N. children's agency (UNICEF) said, calling on warring parties to stop recruiting child soldiers as the world's youngest nation teeters on the brink of renewed civil war.The children were released by the rebel SPLA-In-Opposition, led by former Vice-President Riek Machar, and the Cobra Faction, which signed a peace deal with the government in 2014."Our priority is to get them into school and to provide services to communities so the children are able to see a more promising future," UNICEF's South Sudan representative, Mahimbo Mdoe, said in a statement."With the ongoing fighting across the country, UNICEF continues to receive reports about the recruitment of children in Unity, Jonglei and other states."The children were released in Jonglei State's Pibor area, to the northeast of the capital, Juba.Oil-rich South Sudan descended into civil war in December 2013 when a row between Pr...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis’ visit to Sweden for a joint ecumenical commemoration of the Reformation is a big step forward because Catholics and Lutherans are "no longer defining themselves in opposition to each other", but in communion with one another,Those were the words of the head of the Holy See press office, Greg Burke, to journalists at a briefing on Wednesday ahead of the Pope’s departure for southern Sweden on Monday October 31st. Pope Francis and the heads of the Lutheran World Federation will be jointly presiding at an ecumenical prayer service in Lund cathedral, followed by a public witness event in the nearby city of Malmö. On the following morning, All Saints Day, the Pope will also celebrate Mass in Malmö for Sweden’s tiny Catholic community.Also addressing journalists in the Vatican press office about the significance of this unprecedented ecumenical event was the General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, Rev Martin...
Catania, Italy, Oct 26, 2016 / 06:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The tragic death of a mother in Italy after late-term pregnancy complications and miscarriage is being pinned on the doctor’s refusal to perform a late-term abortion, despite appearances that the mother died of complications of the miscarriage.The case is complex, John F. Brehany, PhD, an ethicist for the National Catholic Bioethics Center, told CNA in a statement. “At a minimum, there seems to be a profound disagreement about what was said between the physician and the hospital, and the patient and her family.“Hopefully, this tragedy will not be exploited to promote abortion on demand or to undermine respect for the rights of conscience of physicians and other healthcare providers.”The family of Valentina Milluzzo, who died at Cannizzaro hospital in the Sicilian city of Catania, allege that she passed away because her doctor was a "conscientious objector" to abortion and thus did...
