Asia

• 20 January 2004
  ASIA/TAIWAN – “LUNAR NEW YEAR IN CHINA WILL BE DEDICATED TO EVANGELISATION” SAYS CARDINAL PAUL SHAN. CHURCH IN CHINA THANKS THE POPE FOR HIS SUNDAY HAPPY NEW YEAR MESSAGE Kaohsiung (Fides Service) – “The Church in Taiwan will be dedicating the new year to new evangelisation ”, Cardinal Paul Shan Kuo-hsi, Bishop of Kaohsiung told Fides Service. “Parishes have been asked to draft a ...
• 20 January 2004
  ASIA/INDIA APPARENT CALM RETURNS TO JHABUA, BUT THE BISHOP IS CONCERNED; HINDU FUNDAMENTALISTS CONTINUE DEFAMATION CAMPAIGN AGAINST CATHOLICS: BEATEN PRIEST SERIOUSLY INJURED Jhabua (Fides Service) – After days of tension and violence the situation appears to have returned to normal in Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh state on the border with Gujarat. In the past few days Jhabua has been the scene of ...
• 20 January 2004
  ASIA/CHINA - GLOBAL FESTIVITIES FOR LUNAR NEW YEAR IN CHINA AND OVERSEAS Beijing (Fides Service) – January 22 marks the beginning of festivities for Lunar New Year this year, which for Chinese speaking people the world over has become a globalised event. Chun Jie or the Spring Festival, is ...
• 20 January 2004
  ASIA/CHINA - TRADITIONS AND SYMBOLS IN CHINA FOR LUNAR NEW YEAR: SPRING CLEANED HOMES, PAID BILLS, RED DECORATIONS AT THE WINDOW WELCOME GOOD FORTUNE AND PROSPERITY Beijing (Fides Service) – For the Chinese, Lunar New Year of Spring festival is the most important holiday of the year. The new year is calculated according to the moon, hence its name Lunar. It is a sign that Winter ...
• 19 January 2004
  EUROPE/ITALY - PARISH, COMMUNICATION AND MISSION THE FOCUS OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE STANDING COUNCIL OF THE ITALIAN BISHOPS CONFERENCE WHICH OPENS TODAY Rome (Fides Service) – Today, 19 January, the Standing Council of the Italian Bishops’ Conference CEI will open its annual assembly in Rome. The opening address will be given by the chairman Cardinal Camillo Ruini, ...
• 19 January 2004
  ASIA/IRAQ – IN ADDITION TO BOMB BLASTS: THE GHOST OF ORGANISED CRIME IS BACK IN IRAQ Baghdad (Fides Service) - “Not only suicide bombings like yesterday’s attack are the cause of instability in Iraq ” a local Church source in Baghdad told Fides with regard to the latest bomb blast yesterday Sunday ...
• 16 January 2004
  ASIA/HOLY LAND - “NOT WALLS BUT BRIDGES”: BISHOPS OF EUROPE AND AMERICA SHOW SOLIDARITY WITH CHRISTIANS IN THE HOLY LAND Jerusalem (Agenzia Fides) – “Not walls but bridges”, a quote from the Holy Father (Pope John Paul II 16 November 2003), was the title chosen for the declaration issued in Jerusalem by Catholic Bishops of Europe an ...
• 16 January 2004
  ASIA/INDIA - ANTI-CHRISTIAN VIOLENCE IN INDIA HAS ABATED ON THE WHOLE BUT CONCERN REMAINS OVER TENDENCY TO CONFUSE POLITICAL LIFE WITH RELIGIOUS QUESTIONS Trichur (Fides Service) – On the one hand satisfaction because episodes of violence against Christians or Christian institutions have decreased in the last two years; on the other concern for the climate of tension and ...
• 16 January 2004
  ASIA/INDIA - A CATHOLIC VOICE AT THE “WORLD SOCIAL FORUM”: MORE THAN 1000 JESUITS STAND FOR PEACE, SOCIAL JUSTICE, RESPECT FOR RIGHTS AND DIGNITY OF EVERY HUMAN PERSON Bombay (Fides Service) – There is a large Catholic presence at the 4th World Social Forum (WSF) which opens today in Bombay and closes on 21 January: 1,350 Jesuits from all over the world have arrived in India to rea ...
• 16 January 2004
  ASIA/PAKISTAN – LOCAL CHURCH’S CONCERN FOR POVERTY AND UNEMPLOYMENT IN PAKISTAN CONFIRMED IN RECENT REPORT ON HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTHERN ASIA Islamabad (Fides Service) – The economic and social situation of the people of Pakistan has always been a major concern for the local Catholic Church which more than once, also recently, has stressed the need to decrea ...
• 15 January 2004
  ASIA/TAIWAN - MORE THAN 7.000 CHINESE SPEAKING CHRISTIANS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD WILL MEET IN TAIPEI 23 - 25 JANUARY Taipei (Fides Service) – Chinese speaking missionaries, intellectuals and scholars and friends of the Chinese world will meet in Taipei, from 23 to 25 January Taipei for the International Chinese Speaking Christians’ ...
• 15 January 2004
  ASIA/INDIA - COMMUNICATING THROUGH THE MEDIA IS A DUTY AND A CALLING FOR THE CHURCH: FINAL STATEMENT OF 26TH GENERAL BODY MEETING OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE Trichur (Agenzia Fides) – The Church is called to communicate because God is a God of communication. Church personnel must be motivated to take an active part in the new opportunities created for spreading the good new ...
• 15 January 2004
  ASIA/HONG KONG - STEPS TO STOP ANIMAL/HUMAN INFECTION: INTENSIFY VETERINARY INSPECTIONS AND BAN SALE OF LIVE ANIMALS FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION IN FOOD MARKETS Hong Kong (Fides Service) – The people of Hong Kong are ready for any emergency but there is no panic, local sources told Fides Service. “There is some concern after two new cases of SARS Severe Acute Respiratory Syn ...
• 14 January 2004
  ASIA/INDIA - CARDINAL TELESPHORE TOPPO NEW PRESIDENT OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS' CONFERENCE OF INDIA Trichur (Fides Service) – Cardinal Telesphore Toppo Archbishop of Ranchi has been elected President of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, CBCI, whose members belong to the three different Catholic rites in India ...
• 14 January 2004
  ASIA/IRAN - OVER 162 CARITAS INTERNATIONALIS VOLUNTEERS PROVIDE MATERIAL ASSISTANCE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT FOR EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS IN BAM Bam (Fides Service) – While Iran lives a difficult political moment with a battle between reformers and conservatives with regard to drafting of lists of candidates for the next parliamentary elections, in and around t ...