(Vatican Radio) Nearly 9.000 Rotary members are attending the Jubilee Audience in St. Peter’s Square on Saturday at the invitation of Pope Francis. A delegation is to greet the Pope at the end of the Audience.Rotary, which brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian issues, kicked off the Rotarian Jubilee on Friday afternoon, with a conference on the challenges refugees are facing worldwide.The conference organized by the Jesuit Refugee Service - in partnership with Rotary, UNHCR and WFP - and entitled “Helping Refugees to Start Over”, focused on the work that can be done to give millions of refugees dignity and quality education – the best possible tool for them to be able to shape their lives, not lose hope, dream of a future. Linda Bordoni spoke to Ravi Ravindran, President of Rotary International about the Jubilee Audience with the Pope and about Rotary’s commi...
(Vatican Radio) Nearly 9.000 Rotary members are attending the Jubilee Audience in St. Peter’s Square on Saturday at the invitation of Pope Francis. A delegation is to greet the Pope at the end of the Audience.
Rotary, which brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian issues, kicked off the Rotarian Jubilee on Friday afternoon, with a conference on the challenges refugees are facing worldwide.
The conference organized by the Jesuit Refugee Service - in partnership with Rotary, UNHCR and WFP - and entitled “Helping Refugees to Start Over”, focused on the work that can be done to give millions of refugees dignity and quality education – the best possible tool for them to be able to shape their lives, not lose hope, dream of a future.
Linda Bordoni spoke to Ravi Ravindran, President of Rotary International about the Jubilee Audience with the Pope and about Rotary’s commitment to improve the lives of refugees.
Listen to the full interview:
Mr. Ravindran called Pope Francis a model for Rotarians, saying "he is doing exactly what every Rotarian should be doing. So we see a great synergy of thought with this Pope, and being here, receiving his blessing, I think is something quite wonderful for us."
"We are all very excited; we are passionate about this. We have Rotarians who have come from 80 countries to be present, so you can imagine the excitement."
Mr. Ravindran compared the conference on giving refugees a new start to lighting a candle in the darkness. "I realize that trying to take on this whole problem is beyond us. I have to be honest and say that Rotary cannot solve this problem, but rather than cursing the darkness, we can light a candle. I definitely know of many, many Rotary Clubs who in their own small way are doing what they can to give refuge, to educate, to take care, to nurse refugees. So if many of us do what we are doing, then to a large extent the problem gets alleviated."
Attendees lay flowers at the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan to mark the 109th anniversary of World War I-era mass killings on April 24, 2024. / Credit: KAREN MINASYAN/AFP via Getty ImagesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 26, 2024 / 18:00 pm (CNA).As historians and human-rights activists mark the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide this week, some are warning that Armenia is once again facing another existential threat.Speaking on "EWTN News Nightly" on Wednesday, Simone Rizkallah, an Armenian activist with the Philos Project, said that "this feels less like a remembrance and more like a truly historical event that we are in the midst of."The Armenian Genocide was carried out by Ottoman Turks in 1915 and resulted in the deaths of some 1.5 million Armenian Christians, according to historians. Though recognized as a genocide by the U.S. and more than 30 other countries, Turkey denies that characterization.The massacre took place over a hundred ...
null / Orhan Cam/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 26, 2024 / 12:30 pm (CNA).The addition of "gender identity" in the Biden administration's interpretation of anti-discrimination rules could jeopardize state laws that restrict women's sports and women's locker rooms to only women, according to legal scholars.Late last week, President Joe Biden's Department of Education redefined the prohibition on sex discrimination in education, enshrined in the 1972 Title IX provisions, to include discrimination based on a person's "gender identity." The new guidelines prohibit any policy and practice that "prevents a person from participating in an education program or activity consistent with their gender identity."Although the new guidelines do not clearly explain how the mandate would be enforced, experts at the legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and the conservative Heritage Foundation told CNA that it could force educational institutions to allow men who...
Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne attends a German Synodal Way assembly on March 9, 2023. / Credit: Synodaler Weg/Maximilian von LachnerCNA Newsroom, Apr 26, 2024 / 13:57 pm (CNA).Four German bishops on Wednesday distanced themselves from the controversial Synodal Way's plans for a permanent body to oversee the Church in Germany, instead appealing for unity with the universal Church. The four bishops are the same who have previously blocked funding for this body: Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne and three prelates from Bavaria: Gregor Maria Hanke, OSB, of Eichstätt; Stefan Oster, SDB, of Passau; and Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg.In a joint statement, the prelates confirmed on April 24 that they would not be parties to a committee charged with setting up a German "Synodal Council, as this would conflict with the sacramental constitution of the Church."The four bishops also rejected the view that the German Bishops' Conference could legally establish a "synod...