(Vatican Radio) Nearly 9,000 Rotary members attended the Jubilee Audience in St. Peter’s Square on Saturday at the invitation of Pope Francis. A delegation greeted 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 ...
(Vatican Radio) Nearly 9,000 Rotary members attended the Jubilee Audience in St. Peter’s Square on Saturday at the invitation of Pope Francis. A delegation greeted 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 improving 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."
The Augustine Institute's new facilities in Florissant, Missouri. / Credit: Boeing Company and Augustine InstituteCNA Staff, Apr 23, 2024 / 13:30 pm (CNA).The Augustine Institute, a Catholic educational and evangelization apostolate based in Denver for nearly two decades, announced on Tuesday that it will be moving its operations to a new campus in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. The institute, founded in 2005 as a Catholic graduate theology school, currently has an enrollment of 550 students. It says on its website that it exists to serve "the formation of Catholics for the new evangelization" by "equip[ping] Catholics intellectually, spiritually, and pastorally to renew the Church and transform the world for Christ."The organization announced on Tuesday that it had purchased the former Boeing Leadership Center in Florissant, Missouri, just outside of downtown St. Louis. The school will "begin transitioning its operations over the next few years," it said in ...
Over a year after the earthquake that hit Syria and Turkey in February 2023, restoration of Aleppo's Church of St. George has been completed. / Credit: Abdul Kareem DanielAleppo, Syria, Apr 23, 2024 / 14:15 pm (CNA).This year's feast of St. George was a particularly joyful one in the Syrian city of Aleppo, especially for the Melkite Greek Catholic community. The church is reopening its doors after undergoing restoration due to damage from a February 2023 earthquake. Additionally, Archbishop George Masri of the Melkite Archdiocese of Aleppo and its environs will celebrate his golden jubilee.The celebrations took place during the visit of Patriarch Joseph Absi, the current patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, who presided over the Divine Liturgy in the restored church on the evening of April 23. The evening before, there was a procession along Holy Bible Street followed by vespers.Restoration of the Church of St. George in Aleppo after the February 2023 earthquake...
Archbishop Luis Argüello and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. / Credit: Archdiocese of Valladolid; La MoncloaACI Prensa Staff, Apr 23, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).The Spanish government approved today in the Council of Ministers a plan to implement recommendations made in a report on sexual abuse within the Catholic Church. While recognizing some good points in the plan, the Spanish Bishops' Conference (known by its Spanish acronym CEE) issued a statement strongly objecting to what it called unfair treatment and discrimination against the Church by the government.Before giving details of the government's plan, the minister of the Presidency, Justice, and Relations with the Legislature, Félix Bolaños, extrapolating data from a survey commissioned by the People's Ombudsman, estimated that in Spain there are about 440,000 adults who were victims of sexual abuse as minors, representing 1.13% of the adult population in Spain."Around half of these abuses would have been committed...