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About 100,000 Muslim clerics and preachers rallied in the Bangladeshi capital on Thursday denouncing the growing threat of Islamic terrorism in the country. The rally at Dhaka’s national memorial was marking the 42nd anniversary of the Islamic Foundation, an organization associated with the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Organizers said the April 6 rally was staged to protest a violent "power grab" in the name of Islam in Muslim majority Bangladesh, where a rise in Islamist extremism has sparked international concern. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and senior clerics from Saudi Arabia addressed the gathering urging Muslims to fight extremism. The rally followed recent attacks by terrorists in the northeastern city of Sylhet and near Dhaka. Many, including last year’s attack on an upmarket cafe in Dhaka in which 22 people including 18 foreign hostages were killed, have been claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group.&lr...
Vatican City, Apr 7, 2017 / 05:56 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis said Friday that when it comes to solving the immigration crisis, the media need to stop perpetuating negative stereotypes and start explaining the big picture, shedding light on the causes behind migration.“The mass media should be driven by the need to explain the different aspects of migration, also making the public aware of the causes of this phenomenon,” he said in an interview published April 7.“The violation of human rights, the violent conflict in the social unrest, lack of basic necessities, natural disasters and those caused by man: all this must be told clearly to allow the right knowledge of the migration phenomenon and, therefore, the right approach.”The Pope’s comments were made in a new interview with the Italian magazine, LibertàCivili, published every two months by the Italian Ministry for Internal Affairs.In the interview, Francis slammed those in media who per...
Des Moines, Iowa, Apr 7, 2017 / 10:27 am (CNA/EWTN News).- With stronger abortion restrictions advancing in the state legislature, Iowa is close to becoming the 20th state to bar abortion after 20 weeks.The Iowa House of Representatives has passed a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks into pregnancy, require a three-day waiting period for abortion, and require an ultrasound for women considering an abortion.Last month, the Iowa Senate approved the 20-week abortion ban, but it must now review and approve provisions the House added such as the three-day waiting period and other changes.Gov. Terry Branstad is expected to sign the bill. At a pro-life rally, he pledged to be “a strong advocate for the unborn.”The Iowa Catholic Conference, in an action alert on the Iowa Senate’s version of the bill, said the legislation would update state law to “reflect the advances made in saving the lives of infants over the past 40 years.”“Unborn children a...
Washington D.C., Apr 7, 2017 / 11:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pro-life and religious freedom advocates cheered the Senate’s confirmation of Judge Neil Gorsuch on Friday to the U.S. Supreme Court, filling an almost 14 month-long vacancy.“As Catholics, we welcome the confirmation of a judge whose record adheres to the Constitutional right to free exercise of religion without government bullying and whose scholarship affirms the inherent dignity in all people,” Ashley McGuire, senior fellow with The Catholic Association, said on Friday. Judge Gorsuch of the Tenth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was tapped by President Donald Trump on February 1 to fill a vacancy left on the bench by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February 2016.While President Barack Obama had nominated Merrick Garland, chief judge of the D.C. circuit court, to fill Scalia’s seat, the Republican-led Senate refused to vote on his confirmation, saying they would wait until after the preside...
Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Apr 7, 2017 / 01:27 pm (Aid to the Church in Need).- The killer of an American woman who had been walking the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route has been found guilty and could face up to 25 years in prison.Miguel Angel Munoz, 41, ambushed and killed tourist Denise Pikka Thiem, from Phoenix, Arizona, around Easter Sunday 2015.Prosecutors maintained that Thiem lost her way because Munoz had planted a fake marker along the route to confuse pilgrims and tourists and lure them to his property, the New York Times reports.The 40-year-old woman had quit her job to travel the world. She made her last social media posts on April 4, 2015 near Astorga in northwest Spain, Reuters says. She was last seen on April 5, Easter Sunday, one month after her arrival in Spain.That September, police found her body partly buried on Munoz’s property and arrested him. He initially confessed, then recanted and claimed he had only found her body. Thiem was found to have be...
IMAGE: CNS photo/L'Osservatore RomanoBy Carol GlatzVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Before he was elected Pope BenedictXVI, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger once wrote that he was grateful for being born on aday that fell during the church's most intense liturgical season.Born and baptized on April 16, 1927, which was HolySaturday that year, "my life from the beginning was immersed in thepaschal mystery, which could not be anything other than a blessing," hewrote in his book, "Milestones."This year, the retired German pope turns 90 on EasterSunday -- and like many past birthdays, it will be very low-key with a fewvisitors and a decidedly "Bavarian" touch, according to ArchbishopGeorg Ganswein, prefect of the papal household and personal secretary to the retiredpope."This is the only thing he accepted," thelongtime aide told the Italian weekly television talk show, Matrix,"because he doesn't want a big party."Cards and letters have been pouring in, the Germanarchbishop added, and certainly there will...
By Rhina GuidosWASHINGTON (CNS) -- Throughout the U.S., cities, states,places of worship, university campuses and religious communities have beenpublicly declaring themselves as places of "sanctuary" for migrants,particularly for those who have voiced fears and worries about stepped-updeportation efforts from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE.Their fears were stoked when Donald Trump became presidentand said he would deport the estimated 11 million unauthorized immigrants inthe U.S., issuing new guidelines that expanded the pool targeted for deportation.Among members of the Catholic Church, some officials as well as parishionersand others have said they will protect their brothers and sisters from the anti-immigrantsentiments brewing as well as from deportation threats. Some declaredthemselves "sanctuary" spaces as a way to express to immigrants that regardless of their status, they'resafe, welcome and protected among them.While the intention to protect members ...
BALTIMORE (AP) -- A federal judge on Friday approved an agreement negotiated under the Obama administration to overhaul the troubled Baltimore police force, sweeping aside objections from the Trump Justice Department....
TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) -- The smells and sounds of Tijuana smack us as soon as we open the doors of our bug-splattered rental, a Jeep Renegade: food stalls selling roasted corn, churros and hot dogs; a near-empty bar blaring the oompa-oompas of norteno, Mexico's answer to polka....
PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- President Donald Trump said Friday he has developed an "outstanding" relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping after meeting with the leader of a nation Trump has criticized as a menace to the United States....
