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Syrian official rules out Assad departure ahead of talks
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) -- A top Syrian official urged the opposition to let go of its dream of easing President Bashar Assad out of power in a transitional government, complicating peace talks that resumed Wednesday in Geneva on ending the five-year civil war....
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Chaldean Patriarch Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako presides over the dedication ceremony of the altar of the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Mosul, Iraq. April 5, 2024. / Credit: Fadi Dinkha/ACI MenaCNA Newsroom, Apr 18, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).When the altar of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Chaldean Catholic Church was consecrated earlier this month in Mosul, Iraq, a former parishioner now living in the United States said she was moved to tears."My eyes were filled with tears as I watched my church and my school return to the beautiful picture engraved in my memory," said Georgena Habbaba, who used to attend the parish and study at the parish school with her brothers. Her own children studied there, too, before the family had to flee Mosul amid worsening violence in 2007. (Note: Habbaba also writes for ACI Mena, CNA's Arabic-language news partner.)"I remembered the wonderful days I spent studying at this school and praying in this church. Very close to my family's house," she t...
A bishop and a priest exchange the sign of peace during Mass. / Credit: Father Lawrence Lew, OP; photo courtesy of Martin Beek via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 18, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).The director of the Chair of Theology of the Consecrated Life at San Dámaso Ecclesiastical University in Spain, Sister Carolina Blázquez Casado, OSA, explained that the rite of peace at Mass "is not a greeting or friendly gesture."The sister explained the meaning of the rite in a video posted by the university, which is under the Archdiocese of Madrid.The sign of peace, which takes place between the recitation of the Lord's Prayer and the Fraction (breaking) of the Host, "is a prior step to be able to approach Communion with the body of Christ in a dignified manner," the Augustinian sister explained.The sign of peace is exchanged in recollection of the words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 5:23-24, namely: "Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your ...
null / Credit: Jill Sauve/UnsplashWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 17, 2024 / 17:00 pm (CNA).Arizona House Republicans blocked two attempts on Wednesday to repeal an 1864 law protecting life at conception.In a near party-line 30-30 vote on Wednesday, House Democrats failed to gain a majority of votes to suspend the Legislature's rules to fast-track a so-called "abortion ban repeal" bill that would have overturned the 1864 pro-life law. Dormant since being invalidated by Roe v. Wade in 1973, the 1864 law protects all unborn life from conception and imposes prison time for those who "provide, supply, or administer" an abortion. This temporarily stalls ongoing efforts to repeal the law, which is set to go into effect in the next 37 days.Debate on the House floor was tense just before the vote as Democrats called the pro-life law "abhorrent" and "archaic." Democratic Rep. Alma Hernandez bashed Republicans, saying that "the fact that we will not even entertain a motion ...
