Asia

• 5 April 2005
  ASIA/CHINA - More than 60 priests concelebrate Mass for the Pope attended by about 100 seminarians and thousands of people. The parish priest recalls the Pope’s love and concern for China and Chinese Catholics’ sense of communion with the Pope Beijing (Fides Service) - According to the official Catholic bulletin published in Beijing which bore a large coloured photograph of Pope John Paul II, at least 2000 people including about 50 foreigners, mainly Poles, to ...
• 5 April 2005
  ASIA/CHINA - Security Council chairman, Chinese Ambassador to the UN, leads minute of silence in honour of the Pope describing the late Pontiff as a “tireless promoter of peace and a pioneer of inter-religious dialogue” Beijing (Fides Service) - “Pope John Paul II was a tireless promoter of peace and a pioneer of inter-religious dialogue” the Chinese ambassador to the United Nations Wang Guang Ya, presently chairman of the UN Secur ...
• 5 April 2005
  ASIA/INDIA - Bangalore diocese will dedicate Eucharistic Congress to the Pope, a man of the Eucharist Bangalore (Fides Service) -Bangalore diocese in the south eastern state of Karnataka has decided to dedicate its diocesan Eucharistic Congress 29 April 1 May to the memory of Pope John Paul II. About 5,000 people mainly ...
• 5 April 2005
  ASIA/IRAQ - Syrian Catholic Bishop of Baghdad: “In our heart we are with Rome”. Iraqi Premier: “A man who sided with the poor” Baghdad (Fides Service) - Syrian Catholic Bishop Matti Shaba Matoka of Baghdad gave the following statement to Fides: “Geographically we are at some distance from Rome but in our heart and in our prayers we are close. ...
• 5 April 2005
  ASIA/HONG KONG - Catholic Bishops’ publish obituary tributes for John Paul II, a Shepherd with a deep love for China Hong Kong (Fides Service) - The Kong Ko Bao bulletin of the Catholic diocese of Hong Kong published obituary tributes for John Paul II written by the Bishop Joseph Zen and Auxiliary Bishop John Tong Hon. Bishop Zen wrote ...
• 5 April 2005
  ASIA/HONG KONG - Catholics of Hong Kong offer prayers and acts of solidarity in memory of the Pope: special collections for tsunami victims Hong Kong (Fides Service) - The Catholic diocese of Hong Kong has urged Catholics to make the passing of Pope John Paul II an occasion for showing generous solidarity with those in need, according to Kong Ko Bao, the dio ...
• 5 April 2005
  ASIA/IRAQ - The “Mandeian” believers, a very ancient community of so-called “Christians of Saint John the Baptist”, expected at the Pope’s funeral Stockholm (Fides Agency) - At the Pope’s funeral there will also be the “Mandeian” believers, belonging to an ancient cult connected to Saint John Baptist, which is present in Iraq and in diaspora communities in se ...
• 5 April 2005
  ASIA/INDIA - He was also a Pope for the Sikh: the acknowledgment of the Indian believers with a turban New Delhi (Fides Agency) - The Sikh believers in India pay homage, respect and honour to John Paul II, as they say in a message sent to Fides by a few Sikh leaders. Also Manmohan Singh, the present Prime Minister of the ...
• 5 April 2005
  ASIA/IRAQ - “I felt loved like a son” says Syrian Catholic Bishop of Mosul released by kidnappers after John Paul II intervened Baghdad (Fides Service)- Syrian Catholic Bishop Basile Georges Casmoussa of Mosul released by his captors thanks also to an immediate intervention by Pope John Paul II says Iraqi Catholics are grieving and mourning the p ...
• 4 April 2005
  ASIA/PHILIPPINES - “John Paul II was the conscience of humanity” says Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales of Manila Manila (Fides Service) - “He was a father and a shepherd who guided us on the journey of life. We will always remember him here amongst us, the times he came to visit us, and bless us. At this time of grief we find co ...
• 4 April 2005
  ASIA/PHILIPPINES - Karol Wojtyla, a personal reflection by Cardinal Jaime Sin of Manila Manila (Fides Service) - Cardinal Jaime Sin, Archbishop emeritus of Manila, sent this message to Fides on the occasion of the death of Pope John Paul II: “The Church has lost a Father and a Shepherd and I have also lo ...
• 4 April 2005
  ASIA/JORDAN - Catholics gather to pray on Mount Nebo says Father Raymond Moussalli, Secretary of the Chaldean Bishops’ Residence in Jordan Amman (Fides Service) - Many Jordanian Catholics went to pray on Mount Nebo, one of the places visited by Pope John Paul II during his landmark Jubilee Pilgrimage to the Holy Places in 2000, Father Raymond Moussalli Secr ...
• 4 April 2005
  ASIA/IRAQ - Iraqi Catholics brave danger to pray for the Pope says Rev. Pyoss Qasha, parish priest at St Joseph’s church in Baghdad - Pope’s funeral will be broadcast live on television Baghdad (Fides Service) - Iraqi Catholics braved danger to go to church to pray for the Pope, Reverend Father Pyoss Qasha parish priest at St Joseph’s church in Baghdad told Fides. “Despite the difficulty and much da ...
• 4 April 2005
  ASIA/LEBANON - Exchange of condolences on the street, Muslims and Christians comfort one another Beirut (Fides Service) - “People on the streets in Beirut stop to exchange condolences for the death of Pope John Paul II, Christians and Muslims alike, even strangers. We all feel like one family which has lost a very ...
• 3 April 2005
  ASIA/LEBANON - “A great Pope who kept a special place in his heart for Lebanon” Cardinal Pierre Nasrallah Sfeir, Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites Beirut (Fides Service)- “A great Pope who always kept a special place in his heart for Lebanon” was how Pope John Paul II was described by Cardinal Pierre Nasrallah Sfeir, Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites speaki ...