Asia

• 22 March 2006
  ASIA/SRI LANKA - State of emergency extended as administrative elections approach. Civil society and local Church hope for peace Colombo (Fides Service) - The state of emergency continues, but hopes for peace resist while government and Tamil minority leaders negotiate to improve the situation. Civil society and religious organisations hope that ...
• 21 March 2006
  ASIA/HONG KONG - New Cardinal Zen tells delegates of Catholic parishes and associations: “parishes must give more attention to the formation of the laity” Hong Kong (Fides Service) - “Difficulties and scarcity of funds must not prevent us from restructuring the diocese’s system of formation which must be simplified and made more effective” said Bishop Joseph Zen of H ...
• 21 March 2006
  OCEANIA/AUSTRALIA - Mission and Spirituality newsletter offers Lenten reflections, update on the fight against AIDS, and new edition of the Bible Sydney (Fides Service) - A Lenten Reflection based on Pope Benedict XVI Message for Lent; anti-AIDS awareness campaign in Australia and Catholic involvement; in memory of Archbishop Oscar Romero, martyred in Salvador in ...
• 21 March 2006
  ASIA/INDONESIA - Moluccas and Sulawesi leaders say the only way to stop violence and prevent conflict is to promote a change of heart and for every member of the community to be committed to building peace and harmony Ambon (Fides Service) - Following a visit by the Indonesian president Susilo Bambanag Yudhoyono to the troubled provinces of Moluccas and Sulawesi the country’s religious, civil and political leaders have said the only ...
• 21 March 2006
  ASIA/CHINA - Three year refresher course for women religious in Han Dan diocese Han Dan (Fides Service) - Women religious in the diocese of Han Dan will be offered a three year updating course to foster spiritual and intellectual growth in view of ever better service in the work of evangelisation a ...
• 21 March 2006
  ASIA/CAMBODIA - Local Church opens John Paul II Pro-Life Centre for families with HIV/AIDS Kep City (Fides Service) - In 2003 in Cambodia 20 new cases of HIV-AIDS were registered every day. In 2005 in nine months 10,000 new cases of HIV and 19,811 cases of AIDS were registered, according to the Department of S ...
• 20 March 2006
  ASIA/CHINA - Catholic young people and immigrant foreign workers celebrate St Joseph national patron anxious to learn from him the virtue of humility Beijing (Agenzia Fides) - “In a world where so much importance is given in success and getting rich, and fundamental values of the family, faith and humility are undervalued St Joseph can be of great help” a priest i ...
• 20 March 2006
  ASIA/INDIA - Parish priest killed in archdiocese of Goa Goa (Fides Service) - A Catholic Fr. Eusebio Ferrao, aged 61, parish priest of St Francis church at Macasana in the southern part of the state of Goa, south west India, was found dead on 18 March. The body was found by ...
• 18 March 2006
  ASIA/INDIA - Only 10% of the population has access to healthcare. Catholic nun at successful Jivadara therapy centre treats poor villagers with chronic diseases Kerala (Fides Service) - In southern Kerala a Catholic nun Sr Mary Eassy runs a centre for holistic Jivadara therapy for poor villagers suffering from chronic diseases. Assisi Holistic Research Centre at Panavalli, nea ...
• 18 March 2006
  ASIA/CHINA - Celebrating Catholics brave snow and ice to witness profession of 6 local Franciscan Missionaries of Mary San Yuan (Fides) - Ice and snow in the north western Shaan Xi province of China did not keep local Catholics from taking part in a Mass for the final profession of six local Franciscan Missionaries of Mary. During Mass ...
• 18 March 2006
  ASIA/PAKISTAN - Catholics in Pakistan welcome new UN Human Rights Council Lahore (Fides Service) - Several Catholic organisations in Pakistan have welcomed the institution by the new United Nations general assembly of a standing Human Rights Council hoping it will promote greater respect for ...
• 17 March 2006
  ASIA/INDIA - Christian school strike and hunger strike in West Bengal to protest against new School Service Commission Bill 2006 Calcutta (Fides Service) - Christians in West Bengal are planning to join other minority groups in a strike on 7 April to protest against a new recently approved state School Service Commission Bill 2006 which they claim ...
• 17 March 2006
  ASIA/SOUTH KOREA - Catholics in Cheongju prepare to celebrate diocese’s 50th anniversary with Diocesan Synod Cheongju (Fides Service) - Preparations in Cheongju for a diocesan Synod in 2008 to mark the 50th anniversary of the diocese continue. Recently the local Church published the results of a preparatory survey involving 40, ...
• 17 March 2006
  ASIA/TAIWAN - Duns Scotus Centre organises initiatives to promote Bible study Taipei (Fides Service) - To encourage the study of the Bible the John Duns Scotus Bible Reading Promotion Centre in Taiwan has started several new initiatives including a daily Mass at lunch time for office worker Cathol ...
• 16 March 2006
  ASIA/TAIWAN - Profound educational significance of Lenten charity: joint open letter from Caritas and Bishops’ Commission for Social Development Taipei (Fides Service) - The Taiwan Bishops’ Commission for Social Development and Caritas issued a joint open letter for Lent calling Catholics to exercise charity. “During Lent the faithful should be encouraged to ...