Vatican Radio Feature
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English Feature Programme
30 minutes of in-depth reporting and analysis on the Vatican and on thereligious, social, political and cultural issues of our times.
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English Feature Programme
30 minutes of in-depth reporting and analysis on the Vatican and on thereligious, social, political and cultural issues of our times.
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English Feature Programme
30 minutes of in-depth reporting and analysis on the Vatican and on thereligious, social, political and cultural issues of our times.
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English Feature Programme
30 minutes of in-depth reporting and analysis on the Vatican and on thereligious, social, political and cultural issues of our times.
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English Feature Programme
30 minutes of in-depth reporting and analysis on the Vatican and on thereligious, social, political and cultural issues of our times.
-
English Feature Programme
30 minutes of in-depth reporting and analysis on the Vatican and on thereligious, social, political and cultural issues of our times.
-
English Feature Programme
30 minutes of in-depth reporting and analysis on the Vatican and on thereligious, social, political and cultural issues of our times.
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Daily Rosary for Pope Benedict in St Peter’s Square
(Vatican Radio) Visitors to Saint Peter’s Square are invited to come pray the Rosary each day at 4pm for Pope Benedict XVI in the days leading up to his resignation. Since the start of the Year of Faith, people young and old have been gathering in front of Saint Peter’s Basilica to pray the Rosary as part of an initiative called A Moment with Mary. Participants pray the Rosary as they stand around the original World Youth Day Cross, which is carried into the Square for the occasion. The...
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Mass for English language pilgrims in Rome ahead of...
(Vatican Radio) This Sunday marks the final Angelus address in Pope Benedict XVI’s pontificate. Rome City Council has strengthened bus and train lines to meet the demand of the tens of thousands expected to pour into St Peter’s Square for the noon prayer and benediction. But ahead of this last great Sunday gathering, English language pilgrims are also being invited to celebrate Mass together a bare 150 meters from St Peter’s Square, in one of the oldest pilgrim churches in Rome, Santo...
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Cardinal DiNardo: Church's work is always Christ's...
(Vatican Radio) Like many other leading Churchmen, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston praised Pope Benedict's “generosity and humbleness” in deciding that “ it was best to resign.” He said the Pope’s decision will make “clearer” to future generations that “there’s a heavy burden to that office (the papacy) … with a human toll.” He spoke to Vatican Radio's Susy Hodges. Listen to the extended interview with Cardinal DiNardo: 00:05:03:72 Cardinal DiNardo said that for him, his fondest...
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Pope and Regensburg: "every cloud has a silver lining"...
(Vatican Radio) Monsignor Peter Fleetwood, an expert on inter-faith dialogue, tackles some of the most awkward moments of Pope Benedict's pontificate placing incidents such as the so-called 'Regensburg' incident into context: "... the Pope used, I have to say, a very unusual example to prove a very valid point and that point was lost by most people when they got stuck on the example that the Pope used. He spoke of an emperor who had seen only violence wherever Islam went. The whole point of...
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Pope Benedict: Truth and beauty go together
(Vatican Radio) Pope Benedict on Saturday concluded the “spiritual exercises” which mark the beginning of Lent at the Vatican. This year’s reflections were offered by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture. At the end of the retreat, Pope Benedict addressed those who had participated with him in the Lenten retreat. Taking his cue from Cardinal Ravasi’s theme “the art of believing, the art of praying,” Pope Benedict reflected on the relationship of beauty...
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Rumours of drug lord's death unconfirmed
Red faced Guatemalan officials are gingerly backing away from initial claims that the leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel has been killed in a gun battle. Rumours about the death of Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman spread like wildfire, after an unconfirmed report that a body from a gun battle in the Peten zone of Northern Guatemala, bordering Mexico, resembledhim. Troops and helicopter gunships have swept the area and haven't even found any traces of a fire fight. A senior Mexican Presidential...
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Czech Republic to compensate churches
(Vatican Radio) The Czech government has signed an historic agreement with the Catholic Church and 15 other religious groups. It has agreed to pay them billions of dollars incompensation for properties that were seized from them by the former communist regime. Friday's agreement was signed, more than 20 years after the collapseof communism, despiteleft-wing opposition in the European Union's most atheistic nation. Under the agreement some 16 religious groups – including Catholics,...
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'Gravisssimum Educationis' with our popular 'Latin...
(Vatican Radio) On October 28th 1965 Pope Paul VI issued a declaration of Catholic Education by the title of 'Gravisssimum Educationis'. . Our popular 'Latin Lover', Carmelite Father Reginald Foster believes it is a shame this document has so far largely been ignored. In a special way as the Council Fathers considered with care the role of education and how its influence ever grows in the social progress of this age. Veronica Scarisbrick brings you the first part of this interview in which...
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"Now is the healing time decreed"...
(Vatican Radio ) "Now is the healing time decreed, for sins of heart, of word or deed". That's exacly what Lent is, a time of healing, when we prepare to celebrate the Paschal Mystery with minds and hearts renewed"... That's what our music historian Monsignor Philip Whitmore tells us in this musical meditation focusing on the Second Sunday in Lent. A programme produced by Veronica Scarisbrick. Listen : 00:06:09:07
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Joan knows...
(Vatican Radio) Our Vatican watcher and EWTN's Rome bureau chief here in Rome Joan Lewis looks back at the past week's events in the Vatican... Listen: 00:12:03:46
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February 24, 2013
Sunday Gospel – Jill Bevilacqua presents”There’s More in the Sunday Gospel than Meets the Eye”, for the Second Sunday in Lent . Joan Knows – Joan Lewis, EWTN's bureau chief here in Rome brings us the Vatican week in review. Listen: 00:28:58:08
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February 23, 2013
Second Sunday in Lent - A musical meditation presented by Monsignor Philip Whitmore. Pope Benedict’s resignation - Monsignor Peter Fleetwood shares with us his reaction. The first conclave in history – Historian Stella Fletcher takes us back in time. In a tribute to Benedict XVI – The Pope’s words in English to journalists on the 23rd April 2005. Listen: 00:28:58:97
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Fr Lombardi SJ: sede vacante and conclave explained
(Vatican Radio) The Director of the Press Office of the Holy See, Fr. Federico Lombardi, SJ, held a briefing for Journalists on Friday, during which an explanation was given of the law governing the period sede vacante and the process of election of the new Bishop of Rome. The Secretary of the Pontifical Commission for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts, Bishop Juan Arrieta, presented the law, contained in the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici gregis and the June, 2007 motu...
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Cardinal Ravasi: Pastors share lives of faithful
(Vatican Radio) Pope Benedict XVI continued his Lenten spiritual exercises on Friday in the Redemptoris mater chapel of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican. The retreat leader, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, focused his first morning meditation on Psalms 16 and 73, with particular attention to the Psalms’ insights into the priestly character and vocation. “The priest,” he said, “is a fragile person with his sins and miseries,” like others, he is,...
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Pope Benedict: From the viewpoint of a "Vaticanista"
(Vatican Radio) A seasoned "Vaticanista" (journalist covering the Vatican), John Thavis spent three decades covering the Vatican and the Popes for the Catholic News Service. He’s just written a book called “The Vatican Diaries, A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Power, Personalities and Politics at the Heart of the Roman Catholic Church." He spoke to Vatican Radio's Susy Hodges. Listen to the extended interview with John Thavis: 00:09:34:73 Asked what for him are some of the highlights of Pope...
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Faith and science in the defence of human life
(Vatican Radio) “The Pontifical Academy for Life is a scientific research institution for the Holy See and for Catholic institutions”, says Fr. Scott Borgman, the coordinating secretary for the Academy. On the eve of its 19th General Assembly on “Faith and Human Life”, he dropped by Vatican Radio to tell Emer McCarthy about the issues on the agenda for participants over the next three days and the challenges that lie ahead. Listen: 00:06:31:92 The first myth he debunked is that the Academy...
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Cardinal Ravasi: sin an aberration
(Vatican Radio) Pope Benedict XVI continued his Lenten spiritual exercises on Thursday in the Redemptoris mater chapel of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican. The retreat leader, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, focused his first morning meditation on the phenomenon of human sinfulness, with a view to God’s work of reconciliation, in which human beings are called to cooperate through repentance and acts of penance. Taking the penitential Psalms 51...
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Lombardi: An invitation to accurate reporting on great...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Benedict XVI is studying a Motu Proprio regarding norms governing the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis, but “no date has been set yet for its promulgation” and if there are changes to the Constitution governing papal transitions and the Sede Vacante “they will probably be small ones”, announced the Director of the Holy See press office Thursday in his latest briefing. Emer McCarthy reports 00:05:19:66 Fr. Lombardi was flanked by Basilian priest and...
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Cardinal Ravasi: sin an aberration
(Vatican Radio) Pope Benedict XVI continued his Lenten spiritual exercises on Wednesday in the Redemptoris mater chapel of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican. The retreat leader, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, focused his first morning meditation on the phenomenon of human sinfulness, with a view to God’s work of reconciliation, in which human beings are called to cooperate through repentance and acts of penance. Taking the penitential Psalms 51...
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JRS: The complexities of the Sahel
(Vatican Radio) It has been a year since the world’s attention was drawn to the food and nutritional crisis affecting the Sahel region of Africa. $1.2 billion was provided in assistance to around 10 million people across eight countries to help avert a humanitarian catastrophe. But according to the World Food Programme, millions of people in the region are still affected by drought, with close to 1.5 million children under the age of five at risk of severe acute malnutrition. Meanwhile, the...
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Questions of Faith: The difference between saying and...
(Vatican Radio) What has Pope Benedict XVI taught us about Lent? What is the link between faith and charity? And why are we called to say less and do more during Lent? What is our ultimate goal? According to Monsignor John Kennedy our very own official from the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, it’s all about love. Answering our listeners’ questions on Lent and the lead up to Easter he brings us on a journey through the eyes and words of Pope Benedict XVI. Listen:...
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The Sahel one year on
(Vatican Radio) Last year the international community launched a massive humanitarian response to the food and nutritional crisis affecting millions of people across the Sahel region of Africa. Yesterday leaders of humanitarian agencies, government representatives from countries affected and major donors met in Rome to review the effectiveness of their assistance. Hosting the event was the UN World Food Programme’s Executive Director Ertharin Cousin. She spoke to Vatican Radio's Fausta...
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Japan executes 3 death row prisoners
(Vatican Radio) Japan has executed three death-row prisoners. It and the United States are some of the few nations in the industrialized world that retain the death penalty. The three men were convicted murderers who had been on death row here in Japan for several years, hanged in the early hours local time. Japan’s justice minister said he ordered the executions “after carefully considering” each case. He said the three murders had been performed for “very selfish reasons.” One victim was a...
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US legislators in Cuba talks
(Vatican Radio) US Legislators who visited Cuba for talks with President Raul Castro, are back home without jailed compatriot Alan Gross. The seven strong delegation led by Senator Patrick Leahy, met with senior Cuban officials and President Raul Castro, discussing how relations, fractured more than half a century ago, can be healed. Like other high profile visitors including former President Jimmy Carter and New Mexico Governor Bill Ricardson, they came and left without Alan Gross. Sixty...
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Russia, Arab League offer to broker Syria talks
(Vatican Radio) Russia and the Arab League yesterday proposed to broker talks between the Syrian opposition and President Bashar Assad's regime to try to resolve the country's civil war. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the Kremlin and the Arab League are attempting to establish direct contact between the Syrian regime and the opposition. He also added that sitting down at the negotiating table is the only way to end the conflict without irreparably damaging Syria. ``Neither side...
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Bulgaria's cabinet quits after protests against energy...
(Vatican Radio) Bulgaria's government resigned Wednesday after violent protests fueled by outrage over rising energy prices by foreign-controlled companies in the European Union's poorest country. The cabinet fell amid a wider debate in Europe about EU-demanded privatization of public utilities in member states. The decision by the rightist government of Prime Minister Boiko Borisov followed days of protests from tens of thousands of furious Bulgarians in cities across this Balkan nation of...
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Abp Smith: admiration for Pope's courageous,...
(Vatican Radio) “My initial reaction, emotionally, was one of sadness,” said Archbishop Richard Smith of Edmonton, “because, like so, so many I’ve grown to love and admire this man for his extraordinary gifts of leadership. And it’s certainly sad to see that drawn to an end.” The President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Smith spoke with Vatican Radio in the days following Pope Benedict’s shocking announcement that he would be resigning the papacy. “At the same...
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Questions of Faith: The difference between saying and...
(Vatican Radio) What has Pope Benedict XVI taught us about Lent? What is the link between faith and charity? And why are we called to say less and do more during Lent? What is our ultimate goal? According to Monsignor John Kennedy our very own official from the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, it’s all about love. Answering our listeners’ questions on Lent and the lead up to Easter he brings us on a journey through the eyes and words of Pope Benedict XVI. Listen:...
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Cardinal Ravasi: The believer "as a baby weaned"
(Vatican Radio) Faith as a conscious, free and passionate adhesion and man's encounter with limitation. These were the themes of Wednesday morning’s meditations led by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, in the presence of Pope Benedict and the Roman Curia. Emer McCarthy reports: 00:01:37:56 The Cardinal began with Psalm 131, a short Pslam, and "sort of symbol of a childhood spirituality" where we find the characteristics of the believer, he who...
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"Les Miserables"
(Vatican Radio) As film critic Father Peter Malone writes in his film review, for over 25 years theatre audiences around the world have been profoundly moved by Victor Hugo's classic story, and by the musical theatre production with music by Claude-Michel Schonberg. Wisely - he says - writers have decided to honour the theatre experience rather than "opening up" the musical to a "realistic" presentation. This means that the audience that has seen the stage version of "Les Miserables", will...
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Cardinal Ravasi: The River of Time, the God of History
(Vatican Radio) History as a place of encounter with God, and the figure of the Messiah, as read through the Psalms. This was the central theme of the two meditations preached Tuesday morning, the third day of the Roman Curia’s Spiritual Exercises, led by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture. Emer McCarthy reports: 00:01:34:32 Moving on from his reflections on the face of God revealed to man in the cosmos, on Tuesday time became the golden thread in...
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Violence continues in Syria; Typhoid reported along...
(Vatican Radio) Typhoid has broken out in an opposition-held region of Syria due to people drinking contaminated water from the Euphrates River, the World Health Organization (WHO) has announced. An estimated 2,500 people in north-eastern Deir al-Zor province are infected with the contagious disease, which causes diarrhoea and can be fatal, the United Nations agency said. Meanwhile, both pro- and anti-government forces in Syria have become increasingly violent and reckless with human life,...
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French President visits Greece
(Vatican Radio) France’s president, Francois Hollande, arrived in Athens today on a brief visit designed to support Greek prime minister Antonis Samaras in his effort to find a way out of the Greek crisis. For the past few months Samaras has been canvassing high-level European support for what, here in Athens, seems like endless severe austerity. Not finding much sympathy in Germany, Samaras is now turning to the socialist Hollande for some advice on how to ease the burden on the average...
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Pope as "authoritative moral leader" during global...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Benedict’s pontificate has coincided with a global economic crisis that has seen poverty rates soaring in many countries around the world. The Catholic-inspired development agency Progressio says the Pope has been "an authoritative moral leader" during this time of crisis and singles out the clear message contained in his social encyclical Caritas in Veritate. Daniel Hale is Progressio’s Head of Campaigns and he spoke to Vatican Radio’s Susy Hodges. Listen to the...
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Christian clergy call for probe into Sri Lanka's civil...
(Vatican Radio) Christian clergy from Sri Lanka's ethnic Tamil-majority north are asking the United Nations Human Rights Council to push for an independent international inquiry into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka's civil war. The strongly worded statement signed by 133 members of the Catholic, Anglican and Methodist clergy is calling for a “strong and action oriented resolution on Sri Lanka at the 22nd session of the UN Human Rights Council.” The letter notes the government lacks the will...
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Abp Lori: Pope Benedict "a teacher of the Faith par...
Pope Benedict XIV “was a splendid teacher of the Faith, I think a teacher of the Faith par excellence.” Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore – the oldest diocese in the United States – was speaking to Laura Ieraci about his memories of Pope Benedict’s Pontificate. “He had a way of bringing to bear the richness of the Church’s tradition on all of our contemporary questions. He had a way of weaving together Scripture understood as a totality, together with patristic and liturgical sources. And...
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British PM Cameron in India to build ties
(Vatican Radio) (Vatican Radio) British Prime Minister David Cameron began a three-day visit to India on Monday, with a call for strengthening and expanding ties across the spectrum of business, trade and culture, as well as in foreign and security policy. During a question and answer session at Unilever headquarters in Mumbai, Cameron said that he expects India to be one of the great success stories of the 21st century. “India's rise is going to be one of the great phenomena of this century...
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Pope Benedict: please keep writing!
(Vatican Radio) Amongst the voices of those who have expressed their thoughts and feelings following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI on February 11, is the voice of the Archbishop of Cape Town, Stephen Brislin, President of the Southern African Bishops' Conference. Speaking to Vatican Radio's Linda Bordoni, Archbishop Brislin said the news was a complete surprise for him. However, he says. upon reflection he remembers that in the past the Holy Father had in fact hinted at this...
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Correa wins re-election in Ecuador
(Vatican Radio)-- Rafael Correa has easily won Ecuador’s Presidency for a third successive time. The incumbent needed more than 40 percent of the vote and a ten percent lead on his nearest rival, who's already politely conceded defeat. Correa is now calling for four more years of revolution. An economist graduate of the University of Illinois, who's been eye wateringly tough on Washington, Correa has directed, and implemented, key social policies for his people. In a victory speech, he...
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Kosovo Observes 5th Anniversary Of Independence Amid...
(Vatican Radio)-- Ethnic Albanians in Kosovo have celebrated the fifth anniversary of their declaration of independence from Serbia, despite international concerns about ethnic tensions in the impoverished territory. A man enthusiastically announced a parade of police and armed forces. They marched through the main square of Kosovo's capital Pristina for the first time since the end of the 1998-99 war for independence with neighboring Serbia. The lightly armed Kosovo Security Force paraded...
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Pope at Sunday Angelus: Lent a time of spiritual combat
(Vatican Radio) Pope Benedict XVI prayed the Angelus with the faithful in St Peter’s Square this Sunday, the first Sunday of Lent. Tens of thousands of pilgrims were on hand, beneath a bright and unseasonably warm Roman sky. Speaking from his window in the Apostolic Palace above the Square ahead of the traditional prayer of Marian devotion, the Holy Father placed the Lenten season on which the Church is embarked in the context of the Year of Faith. “In this Year of Faith,” he said, “Lent is...
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Ireland: Benedict XVI a teacher to the very end
(Vatican Radio) “We recall with immense gratitude his great affection towards Ireland”, noted Cardinal Sean Brady, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of all Ireland, as he reflected with Emer McCarthy on how Benedict XVI’s pontificate impacted the Irish Church. Listen: 00:04:17:18 Pope Benedict may have never made it to Ireland, but there can be little doubt that Ireland, the faith of the nation and its people, intensely engaged this pontificate. There was his unprecedented convoking of the...
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Coptic Church attacked in Egypt
(Vatican Radio) More than one year after the Arab Spring, Christians in Egypt continue to suffer persecution. The latest attack happened Friday, when a mob of a few hundred people threw stones and set fire to St. Georgas Coptic Church in Sarsena. The village is located about 100 km southwest of Cairo. A few parishioners and the pastor were slightly injured, before a local Muslim family helped them to escape the scene. The attack was led by a local Muslim fringe group. The Salafist group...
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Thousands flocking to Rome to bid Benedict XVI farewell...
(Vatican Radio) To date, 35 thousand people have registered with the Pontifical Household to attend Pope Benedict XVI’s “last great appointment with the People of God”, announced Holy See Press Office director Fr. Federico Lombardi in his daily briefing with journalists Saturday. Emer McCarthy reports: 00:02:31:18 Fr. Lombardi told press that the gathering on Wednesday February 27th will not follow the normal praxis of a general audience; there will be no catechesis but rather a Liturgy of...
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Massive meteor hits Russia: hundreds injured
(Vatican Radio) Ameteor with the power of an atomic bomb hit central Russia Friday,injuring more than 750 people and causing damage to buildings across the Ural Mountains. At least three of those injured in Friday'sblast are in critical condition, though no deaths have been reported.Russians filmed how theUral Mountain city of Chelyabinsk,was first treated to a spectacular, fast-growing light andfire ball, before it was rocked by a massive blast from space.The Russian Academy of Sciences...
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February 17, 2013
Sunday Gospel - "There's More in the Sunday Gospel than Meets the Eye ", for the first Sunday in Lent. A programme presented and produced by Jill Bevilacqua. Joan Knows - EWTN's Bureau Chief here in Rome brings us the Vatican week in review . Listen: 00:28:58:99
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Colombian abductees still held, media blamed
(Vatican Radio) Colombia's largest guerrilla army is blaming the media for not being able to release two Police Officers and a soldier they had kidnapped. FormerColombian Senator Piedad Cordoba, who has helped in many hostage rescues, was on her way to the release site300 kms to the Southeast of the Capitol Bogota when the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia- theFARC announced that it is all off. There will notyet bea freedom ceremony for two PoliceOfficers and a Soldier, who its...
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Sunday Gospel : 17th February
(Vatican Radio) - "There's More in the Sunday Gospel than Meets the Eye ", for the first Sunday in Lent. A programme presented and produced by Jill Bevilacqua. Listen: 00:17:50:98
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Joan knows...
(Vatican Radio) Our Vatican watcher and EWTN's Rome bureau chief Joan Lewis looks back at the past week's events in the Vatican... Listen: 00:10:20:90
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February 16, 2013
Resignation special - We report on Pope Benedict XVI's resigning as Roman Pontiff. Among the guests on this programme are American Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington DC, Indian Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Bombay, Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster who heads the Catholic Church in England and Wales and Archbishop Denis Hart of Melbourne, President of the Australian Bishops Conference. Listen: 00:28:58:85
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Indian Church: Special day of thanksgiving for Pope...
(Vatican Radio) In India the Catholic Church is organising a special Day of Thanksgiving for Pope Benedict and his Pontificate on February 22nd, feast of the Chair of St. Peter. On that day, every Catholic institution, convent and monastery in the nation will dedicate an hour of adoration to the Pope. Listen to this report by Susy Hodges telling us more about this initiative: 00:01:12:58 "The initiative is being launched by Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay, in order to express...
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WCC leader on Pope's commitment to ecumenical vision
(Vatican Radio) Pope Benedict’s decision to resign has brought words of respect and appreciation from Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, secretary general of the Geneva based World Council of Churches. In a statement issued earlier this week, the head of the WCC, which represents almost 350 churches and Christian communities in countries around the globe, asks for prayers to bless Pope Benedict and to guide the Catholic Church in this very important time of transition. Philippa Hitchen caught up with...
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"Love and affection" for Pope in meeting with Roman...
(Vatican Radio) “It is for me a particular gift of Providence that, before leaving the Petrine ministry, I am able once more to see my clergy, the clergy of Rome.” With these words, Pope Benedict greeted the clergy of the diocese of Rome. In a very emotional meeting, the Holy Father met with “his own” priests for the last time. “Every year he meets the parish priests on the day after the beginning of Lent, the Thursday after Ash Wednesday,” said Father Joseph Kramer, FSSP, one of the Roman...
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Pope Benedict's last great master class: Vatican II, as...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Benedict XVI has met parish priests and clergy of the Diocese of Rome in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. Led by Cardinal Vicar Agostino Vallini and auxiliary bishops, they greeted Benedict XVI with great affection and prolonged applause. Emer McCarthy reports: 00:02:42:12 The reform of the liturgy, the question of ecclesiology left wide open since Vatican I, Revelation and how we communicate it to the modern word, ecumenism and our relations with other religions but...
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Colombia peace talks teetering
(Vatican Radio) Colombia's main guerrilla army has killed seven soldiers, wounding five, as it simultaneously holds peace talks with the Governmment. The so called big stick being wielded by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia...better known as the FARC,could yet prove a sticking point in its Havana peace talks with a Government delegation, led by former Vice President Humberto de la Calle. Add these casulties to the 600,000 lives which have already been lost in this conflict that has...
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Papal resignation: Fr Lombardi SJ briefs journalists
(Vatican Radio) The Director of the Press Office of the Holy See, Fr. Federico Lombardi, SJ, held another briefing for journalists on Thursday. One of the highlights was the announcement that the Pope’s personal secretary, Archbishop Georg Ganswein, will accompany the Holy Father to Castel Gandolfo and be with him as he enters his retirement. Fr. Lombardi, SJ, also said that Archbishop Ganswein is expected to continue in his recent appointment as Prefect of the Papal Household when Pope...
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Pope on Ash Wednesday: It is never too late to return to...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Benedict XVI has given the last public homily of his pontificate in a moving Ash Wednesday ceremony, in St Peter’s basilica. His message to those gathered for the liturgy and following through global media, was that it is never to late to return to God and that faith is necessarily ecclesial. The Ash Wednesday ceremony was moved from its traditional location in the basilica of St Sabina on the Aventine hill to accommodate the large numbers of priests, religious and lay...
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Cardinal Wuerl: Pope's decision understandable
(Vatican Radio) Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington DC, says Pope Benedict’s decision to step down is “understandable” given the far greater demands of a modern papacy. He spoke to Vatican Radio's Susy Hodges. Listen to the extended interview with Cardinal Donald Wuerl: 00:05:34:80 Cardinal Wuerl says the present-day papacy is far more onorous than in the past with many additional demands. These new demands, he added, are “the requirement to travel” and the instant character of...
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Archbishop Tartaglia on the listening and humble Pope
(Vatican Radio) The President of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland, has paid tribute to Pope Benedict XVI as a "gentle and humble" as well as a listening Pope. Archbishop of Glasgow, Philip Tartaglia, made the comments following the Holy Father’s decision to step down from the Papacy on February 28th. Speaking to Lydia O’Kane, Archbishop Tartaglia described his immediate reaction on hearing the news. “We were all very surprised because it was completely unexpected and in many respects...
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Questions of Faith: Do we really have to fast during...
(Vatican Radio) Do we really have to fast during Lent? Why is Lent not mentioned in the Bible? Why is it 40 days long? And what do Vatican Officials give up as part of their Lenten sacrifice? These are the questions, big and small, that our very own official from the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Monsignor John Kennedy, answers in this special episode of our series for the Year of Faith focusing on Lent. Listen: 00:20:47:35 Once again a reminder to all of our readers...
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Fr Lombardi SJ: Pope to greet Cardinals on Feb 28th
(Vatican Radio) The Director of the Press Office of the Holy See, Fr. Federico Lombardi, SJ, briefed journalists on Wednesday following the General Audience. Fr. Lombardi opened the briefing by discussing minor variations to the Pope’s schedule, among which was the announcement of a special farewell gathering with the members of the College of Cardinals at 11 AM Rome time on the 28th of February. Among the other matters discussed were some of the first preparations for the sede vacante...
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Ash Wednesday:"Forty Days and Forty Nights"...
(Vatican Radio ) In the season of Lent we join Our Lord Jesus in his fast of 40 days. We devote ourselves to prayer, fasting and almsgiving, so as to prepare ourselves spiritually for the great events of Holy Week and Easter. "The text of 'Forty Days and Forty Nights'," says Monsignor Philip Whitmore," was written in the 19th century, but some of our Lenten hymns are much older ..." Listen : 00:06:11:62
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Voices from St Peter's Square: A courageous Pope
(Vatican Radio) Ever since Pope Benedict XVI announced his decision to step down from the Papacy at the end of this month, Cardinals, Archbishops, Presidents and Prime Ministers have been reacting to the news and paying tribute to the Holy Father. But what are the thoughts of people in general, especially those who are in Rome at this time. Lydia O’Kane went down to St Peter’s Square to find out what tourists and faithful think. Listen 00:01:23:64
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Pope: Pray for me and the future Pope, the Lord will...
(Vatican Radio) Even though only 3500 tickets had been distributed for this Wednesday’s general audience, thousands more flocked to the Paul VI hall hoping to gain access for Pope Benedict XVI’s penultimate audience with pilgrims. Emer McCarthy reports Listen: 00:04:24:67 As soon as the Holy Father emerged onto the stage from the side door the crowds erupted in greeting. “Dear brothers and sisters, as you know I decided", he began only to be interrupted with prolonged applause. “Thank you...
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Rabbi Rosen: Pope Benedict committed to Catholic-Jewish...
(Vatican Radio) Following Pope Benedict XVI’s surprise announcement of his resignation, effective February 28th at 8PM Rome Time, civil and religious leaders from around the world have been writing and voicing their esteem for the Holy Father and their appreciation of his many contributions to pressing cultural and social concerns, from Christian unity to the duty to care for creation and the need to create robust public spaces for dialogue in which the rights of all religious believers to...
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Former Anglican leader not surprised by papal resignation
(Vatican Radio) Pope Benedict’s retirement was not such a surprise to the former Archbishop of Canterbury, who had discussed “the pressures of office” with the pontiff during their last meeting a year ago. Bishop Rowan Williams, now the Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge, told Vatican Radio that in a private meeting in the Vatican last March, the two Church leaders discussed “the promise of being able to do a bit more thinking and praying”. The former leader of the worldwide Anglican...
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Lombardi: Focus on final days of Benedict XVI’s...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to resign is not due to ill health but the inevitable frailty that comes with aging, Fr. Federico Lombardi reiterated Tuesday to a packed Vatican Press Office. It was a decision that the Holy Father matured over time, particularly following his trip last year to Mexico and Cuba, when he realised the physical toll of such trans-Atlantic journeys, which are part and parcel of the Pope’s ministry. What’s important now, he said, is that we enjoy the...
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Archbishop Nichols on Pope's "courage, humility,...
(Vatican Radio) The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales has paid tribute to Pope Benedict’s courage, humility and integrity in deciding to step down from the papacy at the end of this month. Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster says he’s asked Catholics and all people of faith in Britain to pray for the Pope and for the guidance of the Holy Spirit within the Holy See over the coming weeks. Speaking to Philippa Hitchen, the president of the bishops conference of England and...
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Church law surrounding papal resignation "uncharted...
The surprise announcement by Pope Benedict XVI that he will resign his office on February 28th has raised many questions about the laws surrounding the resignation of a Pope. There is no doubt he can do so: Canon 332 2 of the Code of Canon Law states: “If it happens that the Roman Pontiff resigns his office, it is required for validity that the resignation is made freely and properly manifested but not that it is accepted by anyone.” But the Code does not elaborate. Before now, there was no...
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North Korea carries out nuclear test
(Vatican Radio) The United Nations Security Council is expected to hold an emergency meeting today after North Korea said it carried out a new nuclear test, defying a ban on atomic weapons development. The blast took place mid-morning local time,when seismic monitoring systems across East Asia registered a tremor centering on a mountain range where North Korea carried out previous tests. American and Chinese seismologists said the epicentre was shallow, like that of a nuclear warhead buried...
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Papal resignation: surprise and gratitude for service
(Vatican Radio) Following Pope Benedict XVI announcement of his resignation from the See of Rome, effective February 28th, 2013 at 8 PM Rome Time, Church leaders from all around the world have been sending expressions of surprise and gratitude for the Holy Father's service, along with prayerful best wishes for his retirement. The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, His Holiness, Bartholomew I has issued a statement in which he says, “Pope Benedict leaves an indelible mark on the life and...
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Death toll in India pilgrim crush climbs
(Vatican Radio) The toll in the stampede of pilgrims at a train station in Allahabad on Sunday has reached 36 and is still climbing. And much of the blame is being attributed to poor crowd management at the Kumbh Mela, as the event is known. When it ends sometime in early March, it will have attracted a predicted 100 million bathers in the River Ganges, all eager to be cleansed of their sins. The Kumbh Mela comes once every 12 years to Allahabad and is an enormously important event in the UP...
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Father Lombardi: The Pope surprised us
(Vatican Radio) The world’s press has been reacting to the surprise resignation by Pope Benedict XVI.Lydia O’Kane followed events at the Holy See press office. As news began to filter out that Pope Benedict had decided to resign, news networks began taking up spaces just opposite St Peter’s Square to relay the latest developments. In a hastily arranged press briefing at the Holy See Press Office there was a feeling that the world’s journalists had unusually been left without words and that...
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Virtually unprecedented: papal resignation throughout...
No pope has resigned in almost 600 years. But Pope Benedict’s surprise announcement is not entirely unprecedented. More than 260 men have reigned as Pope since Saint Peter was martyred in Rome in the third decade after the death of Christ, and at least four of them have resigned. We spoke to medieval historian Doctor Donald Prudlo, Associate Professor of History at Jacksonville State University in Alabama, about the history of papal resignations. Listen: 00:06:10:37 Vatican Radio: It’s been...
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The Pontificate of Benedict XVI: portrait of a papacy
(Vatican Radio ) In a surprise announcement Benedict XVI on Monday said he plans to resign from the papal office on February 28th at 8 pm. From then on one can speak about there being a so called " sede vacante". After this date the Pope himself will reside at his residence at Castelgandolfo until the conclave . Five years into this pontificate historian Norman Tanner granted Veronica Scarisbrick an interview focusing on this lapse of time. In the interview Professor Tanner describes the...
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World Day of the Sick: "Go and do likewise"
The Church marks the World Day of the Sick on February 11th, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. The Twenty-first World Day of the Sick will be solemnly celebrated at the Marian Shrine of Alttting, with the theme “Go and do likewise”, the final verse of the parable of the Good Samaritan. “It is part of our fallen human nature to ignore those who are vulnerable and to be kind of be very selfish about our own comfort,” said Joseph Meaney, director of international coordination at Human Life...
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Lateran Pacts revisited ...
(Vatican Radio ) There's never been a Concordat in an English speaking country because of the use of common law" says Jesuit historian Professor Gerald Fogarty who's currently teaching at the University of Virginia in the United States. "... in Roman law tradition which runs throughout most of Europe", Professor Fogarty tells Veronica Scarisbrick, "you have the rights the State gives you. So therefore the Concordat was an agreement between the Holy See and the government to guarantee the...
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Why the shrine at Lourdes is so loved
(Vatican Radio) The Church's World Day of Sick on February 11th is celebrated on the anniversary of the date of the first apparition of our Lady to St. Bernadette in a cave just outside Lourdes in 1858. The French town has since become one of the major pilgrimage destinations in the world with millions of people suffering from sickness or disabilities travelling there every year. But why is Lourdes such a special shrine and what makes people return there year after year? To find out more,...
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Lourdes: a personal reflection
(Vatican Radio) The Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes which falls on the 11th of February coincides with the day we mark the World Day of the Sick . Join Monsignor Peter Fleetwood as he shares with us a visit to Lourdes with his sick mother many years ago : "..I can honestly say that the miracles of the 1850's become distant memories when one sees the recurring miracles at Lourdes today..many times in the course of my work I am tempted to say , 'why bother staying here?'...My own frustrations...
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Woman killed for sorcery in Papua New Guinea
A 20-year-old woman accused of sorcery in Papua New Guinea was reportedly tortured and killed last week, the latest in a series of killings over accusations of sorcery in the country. According to reports, Kepari Leniata was burnt alive in front of a crowd by relatives of a six-year-old boy whom she was accused of using sorcery to kill, while attempts by law enforcement officials to intervene failed. In rural Papua New Guinea, witchcraft is often blamed for unexplained misfortunes. ''This...
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Far East rings in lunar new year
Many people in Asia have been marking the Lunar New Year, when millions of people travel to be with their families. The occasion may give people in Japan and China some respite from the current tension between the two nations. The Lunar New Year is marked across Asia, particularly by the ethnic Chinese, with traditional dances and lots of food. There are even some festivities in Japan, where it happens to be a public holiday weekend this year. But there's no rest for the crews Japan Coast...
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Pope to Order of Malta: works a sign of Christian hope
(Vatican Radio) Pope Benedict XVI received a group of Knights and Dames of Malta today, as part of celebrations marking the 900th anniversary of the creation of their organization as a Sovereign Military Order under Papal protection. It was on the 15th of February, in the year 1113, that Pope Paschal II issued the Bull Pie Postulatio Voluntatis, by which he placed the newly created “hospitaller fraternity” of Jerusalem under the protection of the Church and gave it sovereign status,...
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Pope prays lectio divina at Rome's Major Seminary
(Vatican Radio) Pope Benedict XVI kept a traditional yearly appointment on Friday evening, when he visited Rome’s Major Seminary to offer a lectio divina with the students, faculty and staff. The biblical text proclaimed during the reading was a brief passage from the 1st Letter of Peter – verses 3-5 of the Letter’s first chapter: Listen: 00:01:39:58 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of...
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Northeast US struck by winter storm
(Vatican Radio) Regions of the United States east coast affected by last year’s hurricane Sandy is being struck by a winter storm. The blizzard struck the north east of the United States on Friday leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power, and grounding thousands of flights. The storm is expected to continue through Saturday with forecasters predicting heavy snow fall throughout the New England area. Owner of a Brooklyn hardware store, Tony Gonzalez, sold supplies to prepare for...
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Trafficking of Africans: across the Sinai desert...
(Vatican Radio) Veronica Scarisbrick recenly met up with Sister Azezet Kidane while accompanying Bishops from Euope and North America on an annual fact finding visit to the Holy Land. A visit which this year focused in a special way on suffering and vulnerbale people. Sister Azezet is a Comboni sister who has made it her mission in life to minister to African migrants crossing the Sinai desert into Israel. Migrants who are forced into what she calls "modern slavery" and the object of a...
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Feburay 10, 2013
Sunday Gospel - "There's More in the Sunday Gospel than Meets the Eye ", for the fifth Sunday in Ordinary time. A programme presented and produced by Jill Bevilacqua. Joan Knows - EWTN's Bureau Chief here in Rome brings us the Vatican week in review. Listen: 00:28:58:97
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Joan knows...
(Vatican Radio) Our Vatican watcher and EWTN's Rome bureau chief Joan Lewis looks back at the past week's events in the Vatican... Listen: 00:11:20:76
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Sunday Gospel: February 10th
(Vatican Radio ) "There's More in the Sunday Gospel than Meets the Eye ", for the fifth Sunday in Ordinary time. A programme presented and produced by Jill Bevilacqua. Listen: 00:16:44:30
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February 9, 2013
Emerging Youth Cultures - This week marked the annual Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Culture. Richard Rouse an official at the Council explains.... Our Lady of Lourdes - A timely reflection by Monsignor Peter Fleetwood... Lateran Pacts - Historian Professor Gerald Fogarty SJ helps us better understand the pacts that put an end to the so called Roman Question. Ash Wednesday - A musical meditation to mark the forthcoming season of Lent. Monsignor Philip Whitmore. Listen:...
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Vatican: Malta’s Knights celebrate 900 years of faith on...
(Vatican Radio) On Saturday visitors to the Vatican will have the rare treat of seeing the Churches’ oldest Sovereign Military Order of Knights in full regalia, march in a solemn procession to the tomb of St Peter. Four thousand deep, the 900 year old Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta, will fill the Vatican basilica to celebrate the jubilee anniversary of the papal bull that set them apart from other monastic military orders of the time. It was February 15,...
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Funeral for murdered Tunisian opposition politican takes...
(Vatican Radio) A general strike got underway in Tunis on Friday as mourners gathered for the funeral of opposition politician Chokri Belaid who was shot dead on Wednesday.His assassination has plunged Tunisia into a deep political crisis. Unions are blaming the government led by the Islamist Ennahda party for the murder. It denies the an accusation. In a bid to calm the situation the Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali has called for a non-partisan technocratic government but this has been...
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Stopping human trafficking in the Mediterranean
(Vatican Radio) The OSCE’s Special Representative for Combating Human Trafficking has been meeting with Italian and African authorities in Rome to discuss the extent of this modern day scourge and find effective ways to combat it. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Maria Grazia Giammarinaro is in Rome for a high level seminar Friday at Italy’s Parliament focusing on irregular migration in the Mediterranean region. The seminar was called to shed light on the...
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Tunisia buries Belaid amid fears of violence
(Vatican Radio) Tensions and violence could escalate in Tunisia on Friday as thousands are expected to turn out for the funeral of assassinated opposition leader, Chokri Belaid. The main labour union also called for a general strike throughout the country in protest of the killing. Belaid died on Wednesday after being gunned down as he left home for work, sparking nationwide protests. Violence continued on Thursday, when hundreds of protesters attacked and ransacked a police station in...
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Iran snubs nuclear talks offer from Washington
Iran's supreme leader has rejected a proposal for direct talks about its nuclear program with the United States, saying negotiations will not solve anything. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement posted on his website that the U.S. wants to talk while threatening to punish Iran, and that his country will not be intimidated. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said during a security conference on Saturday in Munich that the United States is open to directly engaging Iran if it is serious about...
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Catholics called to pray for victims of human trafficking
(Vatican Radio) Catholics in England and Wales are being invited to pray for all victims of human trafficking on February 8th, the Feast Day of Sudanese slave girl, Saint Josephine Bakhita.. In announcing the initiative, the bishops of England and Wales note that human trafficking now ranks as the second most profitable worldwide criminal enterprise after the illegal arms trade. They add that the practical response of the Church and its charities, led mainly by women religious, is to raise...
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Aid needed for Malian refugees fleeing violence
(Vatican Radio) Hundreds of thousands of Malians have fled to neighboring countries over the past year to escape the rebel violence in the north of the country. The fighting escalated in January of this year with the arrival of French troops to the region. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is one of the relief agencies working with displaced persons fleeing the crisis. Ann Schneible spoke to Helen Blakesly, CRS’s Regional Information Officer for West and Central Africa, about the situation on...
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EU leaders set for budget summit
(Vatican Radio) European Union leaders have gathered in Brussels for a two day summit that will focus on securing a deal on the next 7 years of spending. Many leaders of the 27 nation block are likely to push for a harshly pared-down budget at the summit. But the EU parliament insists it is ready to reject a deal that curtails spending on growth and employment. Speaking on the eve of the two-day summit, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said that ``for the first time ever - there...
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UN peacekeeping force could be sent to Mali
The United Nations Security Council has begun discussions on sending a UN peacekeeping force to the West African country of Mali. This comes as French intervention against Islamists in the north of Mali six weeks ago seems, so far, to have been a success. The UN force will only be sent in when the security situation improves and will consist largely of African forces already serving or pledged to intervene in Mali. Meanwhile, The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says it...
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Solomon Islands hit by tsunami
(Vatican Radio) A powerful earthquake off the Solomon Islands on Wednesday generated a tsunami of up to 1.5 meters that damaged homes and left several people missing and presumed dead in the South Pacific island chain. Local rescue teams are searching for victims and survivors of the tsunami. The nearly five foot waves hit the western side of Santa Cruz island, sweeping over dozens of homes and properties in four villages along the coast. Two villages suffered severe damage. Disaster...
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UN calls for investigation in Belaid murder
(Vatican Radio) Thousands of people poured into the streets of several Tunisian cities in violent protest on Wednesday, after Tunisia’s prominent opposition leader, Chokri Belaid, was assassinated earlier that morning. The 47-year-old lawyer was a fierce critic of Ennahda, the moderate Islamist party that dominates the government. Belaid was shot four times at close range in front of his home in Tunis, and died later in hospital. Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali condemned the killing. He...
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New CDF Promoter of Justice pledges commitment to child...
(Vatican Radio) While there is a continuing commitment to making the Church a safer place for children, there has been very little theological reflection on the effects of the sex abuse crisis. That was the message to emerge from a press conference at the Pontifical Gregorian University on Tuesday, one year on from the first major Symposium for Church leaders dealing with prevention and healing for victims of abuse. Bishops and religious superiors from countries right across the globe...
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Audience: God, Creation and free will
(Vatican Radio) “Everything is a gift from God: it is only by recognizing this crucial dependence on the Creator that we will find freedom and peace”, tweeted Pope Benedict XVI Wednesday at the end of his general audience with 8 thousand pilgrims in the Paul XVI hall. Emer McCarthy reports Listen: 00:03:21:94 The Holy Father continued his series of lessons on the Profession of Faith, or Creed, moving on from why we call God ‘Father Almighty’ to why we affirm God as ‘Creator of heaven and...
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Bishop Egan: Re-defining marriage in the UK "Orwellian"
(Vatican Radio) The British House of Commons yesterday passed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage with the support of Prime Minister David Cameron. The bill enables same-sex couples to get married in both civil and religious ceremonies, provided that the religious institution consents. The proposed law was strongly opposed by the Catholic Church. Emer McCarthy spoke to the Bishop of Portsmouth, Philip Egan about the issue. “Naturally, I am very disappointed that Parliament wishes, in an...
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Working towards healing, protection and prevention
(Vatican Radio) How is the Catholic Church across the world responding to the problems of sex abuse and child protection? That was the subject of a conference at Rome’s Gregorian University on Tuesday evening – exactly a year after the first ever Vatican sponsored symposium for church leaders dealing with the clerical abuse crisis. Participants presented the full proceedings of the 2012 three day symposium which was attended by bishops from a hundred countries around the globe. They also...
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Vatican: Faith in the youth, letting them speak their...
(Vatican Radio) “The idea behind it is to examine youth cultures, to make a critical examination of these strange things that we are seeing, try and understand it and also try to be near the youth”, says Richard Rouse, an official at the Pontifical Council for Culture which begins its Plenary Assembly Wednesday. Listen to his full interview with Emer McCarthy: 00:02:18:96 The three day gathering at the LUMSA University campus a stone’s throw from the Apostolic Palace focuses on Emerging...
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North Korea threatens "stronger" measures
(Vatican Radio) North Korea's state news agency said the nation has decided it needs to take a "stronger measure than a nuclear test" to deal with "hostile forces" bent on nuclear war. It gave no details, but in 2010 North Korea shelled a South Korean island and was blamed for sinking a South Korean warship. This week, the United States and South Korea began a naval exercise which the North has called as a pretext for war. Meanwhile, South Korea's president-elect has urged nations worldwide...
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Obama pushes immigration reform
(Vatican Radio) United States President Barack Obama was scheduled to hold a series of White House meetings on Tuesday with corporate chief executives and labour leaders to garner support for immigration reform. The President and a bipartisan Senate working "group of eight" presented their proposals last week, which would be the greatest change to immigration laws in decades. The plan would give the country’s 11 million illegal immigrants a clear path to citizenship, including the payment of...
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Questions of Faith: 10 special days
(Vatican Radio) With less than a week to Ash Wednesday, when the Universal Church enters the most important liturgical period of the year, we take a closer look at 10 special days that mark the calendar for Catholic faithful with our very own official from the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Mons. John Kennedy. In this week’s episode of Questions of Faith, Mons. Kennedy helps us to understand the joy of observing holy days of obligation and how these special days...
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Syrian opposition call for talks
Syrian opposition leader Moaz al-Khatib had urged President Bashar al-Assad to respond to his offer of peace talks. Mr Khatib called on Mr Assad to give his vice-president the task of opening negotiations. He said the aim would be to help the Syrian regime stand down peacefully, to spare further bloodshed. The US has backed Mr Khatib's initiative but there has been no response so far from Damascus. Meanwhile, a former US ambassador to Syria and Israel has said that President Bashar al-Assad...
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Gas leak cited as cause of Pemex explosion, officials say
Mexico's Attorney General says a gas leak caused a massive explosion at the headquarters of State Petroleum Company Pemex, in Mexico City, which has so far killed 37 people, injuring more than 100. Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam explained there had been a build up of methane gas from a sewer and this could have been ignited by an electrical fault. He stressed that no explosives had been found and that a rucksack at the scene contained cosmetics and clothes. Pemex's safety record is...
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Vatican concert benefits disadvantaged children
A special concert was held Monday evening for Pope Benedict XVI and Italian President Giorgio Napolitano in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall. The Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, conducted by Maestro Zubin Mehta, performed Beethoven's Third Symphony and "La forza del Destino" by Giuseppe Verdi. The concert was organised by the Italian Embassy to the Holy See in honour of President Napolitano as he concludes his seven-year term of office, and the Holy Father, to celebrate the 84th...
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US, South Korea begin naval exercises
The United States and South Korea have embarked on joint military exercises condemned as "warmongering" by North Korea. As Alastair Wanklyn reports from Tokyo, nations in the region remain braced for a nulcear test by North Korea. The exercises include anti-aircraft and missile countermeasures involving United States naval vessels including a nuclear submarine armed with long-range missiles. The naval exercises are a reminder that the U.S. is obliged to defend its South Korean ally from...
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Mystery of King Richard III solved
(Vatican Radio) Scientists have confirmed that the 500-year-old remains of an individual found under a parking lot in the city of Leicester, formerly the site of a Franciscan church, are those of England's King Richard III. The search for Britain’s lost King, Richard III is over and this is how it was announced to the world. “Ladies and Gentlemen, it is the academic conclusion of the University of Leicester that beyond reasonable doubt the individual exhumed at Grey Friars in September 2012...
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Paraguay Presidential candidate killed in crash
(Vatican Radio) A Paraguyan Presidential Candidate for the forthcoming April Election has been killed in a helicopter crash. Former Head of the Army in Paraguay Lino Cesar Oviedo was returning from a political rally when the helicopter he was travelling in crashed, near Puerto Antequera in central Paraguay. Weather was bad at the time, and visibility poor. It's being investigated by the Prevention of Accidents Department. Oviedo had been a member of the Colorado ruling party, but split off...
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Hostages released in the Philippines
(Vatican Radio) Islamist militants in the Philippines have released two hostages held for seven months. The two men were journalists, Filipino members of a TV crew seized in June while trying to interview fighters from the Abu Sayyaf militant group. Upon release, they went to hospital for treatment. A police chief said the two had lost weight, as a result being "under stress every day." Another member of their team, a Jordanian man, remains in captivity along with other foreigners such as...
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Pope Benedict: Jesus, prophet of Truth
(Vatican Radio) Speaking to the faithful in St Peter’s Square from the Papal apartments, Pope Benedict reflected on Sunday’s Gospel taken from the fourth chapter of St. Luke. The Holy Father explained that Jesus is reminding us that being a prophet is not easy, even among those close to us. “Jesus reminds us that being a prophet is no easy task, even among those nearest to us. Let us ask the Lord to give each of us a spirit of courage and wisdom, so that in our words and actions, we may...
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Japan intercepts Chinese fishing boat, detains crew
(Vatican Radio) Tensions remained high on Saturday between Japan and China, after the former detained the crew of a Chinese fishing boat. Japan's coast guard intercepted a Chinese fishing boat it believed was illegally fishing coral near a Japanese island, arresting its captain. This happened in the South China Sea, near but outside the area where China claims a group of islands held by Japan. Meanwhile, Japan's prime minister on Saturday said he would defend those Senkaku Islands after...
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Death toll rises following blast in Mexico
(Vatican Radio) The cause of the blast that claimed the lives of at least 32 people at the headquarters of Mexico's state petroleum company PEMEX in the capitol Mexico City is being investigated. The Mexican Army, Navy and emergency services, with the help of search and rescue dogs and heavy lifting equipment including a crane, have worked through the night. One person has been rescued while four bodies have been pulled from the rubble. The blast in an adjoining building to the main PEMEX...
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Images suggest North Korea to begin nuclear test
(Vatican Radio) Experts believe satellite images over North Korea suggest that the country is preparing to carry out a nuclear test. Satellite pictures show North Korea's nuclear test site covered in snow, but it has been cleared away from the entrance to a tunnel where experts believe a new blast could take place. There is also a kind of awning covering the entrance, which may be intended to foil photography satellites -- this according to South Korean officials, who believe a blast could...
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Anti-smoking campaign in focus at Brussels gathering
(Vatican Radio) Brussels, Belgium, was the scene this week of an encounter with health and science journalists, in which reports were presented on the state of national health systems and new public health initiatives in member states. One initiative presented at the two-day showcase was an anti-smoking programme sponsored by the Barcelona soccer club, FC Barcelona. “Quit smoking with Bara” is a cooperative effort between FC Barcelona and the European Commission’s “Ex-smokers are...
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Joan knows...
(Vatican Radio) Our favorite Vatican watcher and EWTN's Rome bureau chief, Joan Lewis looks back at the past week's events in the Vatican... Listen: 00:09:52:54
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February 3, 2013
Sunday Gospel - "There's More in the Sunday Gospel than Meets the Eye ", for the fourth Sunday in Ordinary time. A programme presented and produced by Jill Bevilaqua. Joan Knows - EWTN's Bureau Chief here in Rome brings us the Vatican week in review. Listen: 00:28:58:42
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February 2, 2013
The Presentation of the Lord in the Temple - A musical meditation on the fourth Joyful Mystery of the Rosary in a programme presented by Monsignor Philip Whitmore. World Day of Prayer for men and women in consecrated life - To mark this day we bring you an interview with Monsignor Leo Maasburg focusing on Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta and a reflection by Jesuit Father Gerald O'Collins focusing on the figure of the Cur d'Ars. Blessed Ludovica Albertoni - A visit to the Roman Church of...
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Blessed Mother Teresa: stories of consecrated life...
(Vatican Radio) Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta who died fifteen years ago, is perhaps one of the most outstanding examples of people in consecrated life. One of those to work with her on a daily basis was Monsignor Leo Maasburg. He recently wrote a book drawn from the years spent with her as spiritual advisor. The title of this book is 'Mother Teresa of Calcutta, a Personal Portrait: 50 inspiring stories never told before".. . As Monsignor Maasburg, currently National Director of the...
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Presentation in the Temple: "Nunc dimittis"
(Vatican Radio) Listen to the third of the great Gospel canticles that form part of the daily Liturgy of the Hours. Saint Luke places it on the lips of Simeon during the scene of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple... "It's a marvellous prayer", comments Monsignor Philip Whitmore,"Simeon acknowledges the privilege he has been given, and he speaks prophetically of the light that Jesus will bring to the nations of the world." A programme focusing on the fourth Joyful Mystery of the...
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Blessed Ludovica Albertoni: a Bernini masterpiece...
(Vatican Radio) Hidden away in the Roman Church of 'San Francesco a Ripa' is a Bernini masterpiece depicting the ecstasy of Blessed Ludovica Albertoni. A saintly woman whom the Church remembers on February 1st. Join our Professor of Fine Arts Breda Ennis there as she comments on how Bernini is: "... using the marble like it was wax in his hands so he was able to have a spiritual moment flow into his fingers ..." Listen: 00:05:38:45
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Holy Land : a wall reminiscent of apartheid...
(Vatican Radio ) Father John Peter Pearson Director of the Parliamentary Office of the South African Bishop's Conference took part in the 13th annual Holy Land Co'ordination which brought to the region a delegation of bishops from Europe and North America in an effort to express solidarity with Christians there. An annual visit which, Father John Peter Pearson deems necessary: " in a sense we wouldn't have to come back, we wouldn't have to express solidarity if the situation were improving...
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EU health challenges focus of Brussels briefing
(Vatican Radio) Brussels, Belgium, was the scene this week of an encounter with health and science journalists, in which reports were presented on the state of national health systems and new public health initiatives in member states. The Acting Director of the European Commission’s Public Health Directorate, John F. Ryan, told Vatican Radio that coordinating communication among member states is one of the central challenges facing the EU in the ongoing efforts to prevent the spread of...
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Brahimi calls for united voice on Syria
Russia said on Thursday it was very concerned about reports of an Israeli air attack deep inside Syria near Damascus and that any such action, if confirmed, would amount to unacceptable military interference in the war-ravaged country. The situation in Syria is unclear, however, as Syrian rebels said their forces had attacked the site. Russia has been trying to shield Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from international pressure to end the ongoing civil war. Earlier this week, the Joint...
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Investigators seek causes of Brazil nightclub fire
The fair share of the blame for the Brazilian night club blaze which has so far killed 235 people, is being passed from one to another, while the nation continues to mourns. Only one emergency exit, fire extinguishers which didn't work, and insufficient emergency lighting are being assessed for their effects in the Kiss nightclub blaze in Santa Maria, Southern Brazil. The fire started after a band member threw an outdoor flare in an enclosed indoor space. Sound proofing foam in the ceiling...
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South Korea rocket launch
South Korea's has achieved its first successful space flight with a rocket of partly Russian design putting a satellite in orbit. The launch mirrored one in December by North Korea, which was widely seen as contravening a U.N. ban on weapons development. Pyongyang then declared it would carry out a nuclear test, creating further distance between it and the incoming administration of South Korean president-elect Park Geun-hye. She will be inaugurated as president in February and has pledged...
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Kenyan bishops call for spirit of integrity ahead of...
The bishops of Kenya have issued a harsh statement condemning political parties for their “utter disregard for the rule of law and the tenets of democracy” in the run-up to general elections March 4th. The bishops appeal to candidates and the Kenyan electoral commission (IEBC) to conduct the upcoming vote in a free, fair and ethical manner to keep the country from descending into violence similar to the 2008 post-election clashes that killed more than one thousand people. Listen to Tracey...
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Audience: What it means to call God "Father"
(Vatican Radio) In his Wednesday audience Pope Benedict XVI continued his catechesis on the Creed, reflecting on what it means when we call God the Father Almighty. Emer McCarthy reports: 00:04:06:29 Speaking to a packed Paul VI audience hall, Pope Benedict reflected that it is not always easy today to talk about fatherhood. Especially in the West, where broken families, increasing work commitments, the concerns of trying to balance the family budget as well as the distracting invasion of...
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Syria: new massacre revealed, Turkey increases defences
(Vatican Radio/agencies) In the latest violence in Syria, activists say the bodies of between 65 and 80 men, some of them with their hands tied behind their back, have been found on a river bank in the northern city of Aleppo. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says it's not clear who was behind the execution-style killings, when they occurred or who the dead are. Turkey increases air defence Security officials say a second pair of Patriot missile batteries being sent by NATO countries...
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Questions of Faith: Moveable Feasts
(Vatican Radio) What is a moveable feast? How many of them are there in a year? How many of them are Holy Days of Obligation? And where do they come from? These are just some of the questions sent in by listeners that our very own official from the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Msgr. John Kennedy, answers in this week’s episode of Questions of Faith, as he helps us to navigate the modern world and rediscover what we believe and why we believe. Listen 00:22:06:48 So if...
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Bethlehem University: a charged conversation
(Vatican Radio) The only Catholic University in the West Bank is in Bethlehem. Veronica Scarisbrick recently visited the students there together with a delegation of Bishops from Europe and North America, known as 'Holy Land Co'ordination' . The bishops were on their 13th annual pilgrimage to the region. For the record this university was founded in the aftermath of Pope Paul VI’s visit to the Holy Land in 1964, is supported by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem ,is run by the De la Salle...
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Jordanian Prince Mired Bin Ra'ad: chairman of Catholic...
(Vatican Radio) Prince Mired Bin Ra'ad of Jordan is chairman of the board of trustees of a Catholic University in the heart of the Hashemite Kingdom. Veronica Scarisbrick met up with the Jordanian Prince on the the third day of an annual pilgrimage to the Holy Land on the part of a delegation of bishops from Europe and North America know as "Holy Land Co'ordination". The University where the Prince was guest of honour is the "American University of Madaba" , an educational venture launched...
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Jordan’s appeal for help to care for Syrian refugees
(Vatican Radio) The Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA) in Jordan is calling on the international community to help Amman meet the growing needs of Syrian refugees flooding over the border into Jordan. CNEWA’s regional Director, Ra’ed Bahou told Vatican Radio that some 300,000 Syrian refugees are in Jordan now but, given the current economic crisis, the government is unable to cover the costs alone. “The situation of refugees coming from Syria is..they are in a very desperate...
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World Day of the Sick: a privileged moment of prayer
(Vatican Radio) The themes and focus of the upcoming World Day of the Sick were presented on Tuesday at a press conference here at the Vatican. The World Day of the Sick is marked each year on February 11th: the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. This year sees the 21st recurrence of the Day, which was established by Blessed John Paul II. Speaking during a press conference at the Press Office of the Holy See on Tuesday, the current President of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care,...
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Bishop Kicanas in Gaza: "the terror of people during...
(Vatican Radio) Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson Arizona recently took part in this year's Holy Land Co-ordination visit. An annual visit on the part of a delegation of Bishops from across Europe and North America in solidarity with the Christian Churches in the region. This year the bishop's pilgrimage included meetings with Christian communities in Bethlehem, Beit Jala, Madaba and Zarqa. But also for Bishop Kicanas, chair of the Board of 'Catholic Relief Services', meetings with the people...
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Bishop Michel Dubost: 'the separation wall' in the Holy...
(Vatican Radio) Frenchman Bishop Michel Dubost of Evry took part in the annual 13th Holy Land Coordination in support and solidarity with the Christian Churches in the region. Veronica Scarisbrick, who was travelling with this delegation of bishops, asked him to share with her his perception of the 'separation wall' that snakes through the West Bank. In his reply Bishop Dubost highlighted how a physical wall cannot offer security to anyone when there is lack of trust in your neighbour....
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Funeral of Cardinal Jozef Glemp takes place in Warsaw
(Vatican Radio) Thousands of mourners gathered in Warsaw's main cathedral on Monday as the nationlaid to rest Cardinal Jozef Glemp, who headed the Polish Catholic Church through the last years of Communism andthe difficuilt transition towards democracy. The funeral Mass at the Archcathedral of St. John the Baptist came after the 83-year-old Church leader losthis battle against cancer last week. Ahead of the funeral, Pope Benedict XVI said in his condolence message that Cardinal Glemp had...
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Spotlight on Catholic and Orthodox churches in Russia
(Vatican Radio) The Russian government has asked parliament to amend a bill that would set jail terms for "offending religious feeling". The measure was proposed by lawmakers after last year's Pussy Riot protest at a Moscow cathedral. Critics have said it may harm Jews, Muslims and others outside the Russian Orthodox Church. But one of the lawmakers who sponsored the bill, said a phrase seen to favour the Russian Orthodox Church would be removed and the legislation would protect all...
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Mary McAleese: Good Friday and the future of peace in...
(Vatican Radio) “The Good Friday agreement never was a promise that the fighting was over; it was a promise that the two sides involved would come together and work together to try to end the fighting," says Mary McAleese, President of the Republic of Ireland from 1997 to 2011. McAleese was guest speaker Friday evening in the last in a series of public lectures organised by the Pontifical Gregorian University, titled: "A spirituality for dialogue and reconciliation". The former President is...
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Brazil mourns nightclub fire victims
(Vatican Radio) The causes, the inadequacies and the pauses which brought about and then exasapated the Brazil nightclub blaze, that killed 232 people, injuring 48, are appearing in sharper focus.Police say a music group's pyrotechnics started the blaze at the Kiss nightclub, in the southern city of Santa Maria. It's also reported that the premises only had but one exit. That's why fire services had to punch a hole through the wall, in an attempt to divert a logjam bottleneck stampede....
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Holocaust Memorial Day Overshadowed By anti-Semitism
(Vatican Radio)-- Europe has remembered Sunday the killing of 6 million Jews and others the Nazi'sdidn't like during World War Two. Holocaust survivors, politicians, religious leaders and others marked the annualInternational Holocaust Remembrance Day with solemn prayers, amid warnings of rising anti-Semitism in Europe, including in Hungary.Stefan Bos reports: 00:02:56:81 Pope Benedict XVI warned that "the memory of this immense tragedy, which above all struckso harshly the Jewish people,...
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Pope marks World Leprosy Day
(Vatican Radio) Pope Benedict XVI marked the 60th World Leprosy Day this Sunday, calling on people to entrust their prayers for those suffering from Hansen’s disease to the intercession of St. Damien de Veuster and the recently canonised St. Marianna Cope. Following the Angelus prayer he said: “Today we are celebrating the 60th World Leprosy Day. I express my closeness to those who suffer from this disease and encourage researchers, health professionals and volunteers, particularly those who...
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Former PM wins Czech elections
(Vatican Radio)-- Former Prime Minister Milos Zeman has won the Czech Republic's first direct presidential election, which is expected to impact the country's future relations with the European Union. Zeman's victory, withabout 55 percent of the vote, came as a blow to his aristocratic rival Karel Schwarzenberg, who at 75 had hoped to be thefirst prince to become president within the European Union. A visibledisappointedSchwarzenberg said he wanted to thank “all who came to vote” for him “in...
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Pope: "May the names of the victims of the Holocaust...
(Vatican Radio) On January 27th each year, the United Nations sets aside a day in special remembrance of Holocaust victims. The International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust also commemorates when the Soviet troops liberated the Nazi concentration and death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland on January 27, 1945. It is hoped that through remembering these events, people will remember the Holocaust and prevent genocide. Across the globe Holocaust survivors and...
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Same-sex marriage bill undermines the common good
(Vatican Radio) The Catholic bishops of England and Wales have reacted strongly to a bill published by the British government on Friday regarding legalisation of marriage for same-sex couples. Describing the proposed move as “deeply regrettable”, the Church leaders say there is no electoral mandate for the Bill and they describe last year’s consultation process on the issue as “shambolic”. Members of Parliament are expected to have a first vote on the legislation next month, but the bishops...
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Arab Spring is ‘a myth’, says former Egyptian politician
(Vatican Radio) As Egyptian troops were deployed in the streets of Suez Saturday morning, a former member of Hosni Mubarak’s political party said the Arab Spring is “a myth” and the situation in Egypt is worse now than it was before the uprising two years ago. “Hundreds of thousands of people are demonstrating against oppression and asking for freedom and democracy again,” said Hossam Badrawi in an interview Vatican Radio. The former secretary-general of Mubarak's National Democratic Party...
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Pope celebrates ecumenical Vespers
(Vatican Radio) Pope Benedict XVI presided over an ecumenical Vespers service on Friday evening in the Basilica of St Paul outside the Walls. The liturgy marked the close of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity – an annual effort of prayer, dialogue and action begun by the Catholic convert, priest and founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, Fr. Paul Wattson, in 1908. In his homily, the Holy Father spoke of the threats that contemporary societies are facing, and the challenges...
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January 26, 2013
Holy Land Coordination Special - Part 3 : From the 5th to the 10th January a delegation of Bishops from Europe and North America travelled to the Holy Land on their 13th annual pilgrimage. Vatican Radio's Veronica Scarisbrick accompanied them on this year's pilgrimage. This week she shares with you reports on visits to Catholic universities at Madaba and Bethlehem. Among the highlights in the programme are interviews with His Royal Highness Jordanian Prince Mired Bin Ra'ad, Father John Peter...
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January 27, 2012
Sunday Gospel - "There's More in the Sunday Gospel than Meets the Eye ", for the Third Sunday in Ordinary time. A programme presented and produced by Jill Bevilaqua. Joan Knows - EWTN's Bureau Chief here in Rome brings us the Vatican week in review. Listen: 00:28:58:32
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Joan knows...
(Vatican Radio) Our favorite Vatican watcher and EWTN's Rome bureau chief, Joan Lewis looks back at the past week's events in the Vatican... Listen: 00:09:43:80
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Dialogue with Oriental Orthodox Churches
(Vatican Radio) They are representatives of some of the most ancient Christian churches in the world, founded according to tradition by the apostles in Egypt, Armenia, Syria, India and Ethiopia in the decades following Christ’s death and Resurrection. They are Churches that have not been in communion with either the Roman Catholic world or the Eastern Orthodox world since they officially severed ties in the 5th century – hence very little is known about their rich heritage and traditions...
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Benedict XVI: New motu proprios affect seminaries,...
(Vatican Radio) In separate Apostolic Letters issued on Friday, Pope Benedict XVI placed the direction of seminaries under the competence of the Congregation for the Clergy, and the mission of overseeing catechesis in the purview of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation. The Letters were issued “motu proprio,” that is, at the Pope’s own initiative. The move re-organises the areas of responsibility within the Roman Curia, “the complex of dicasteries and institutes...
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Church mourns death of Cardinal Glemp
(Vatican Radio) The Church is mourning Cardinal Jozef Glemp who has died at the age of 83.The leader of the Church in Poland, who played a key in the country's peaceful struggle against communism,had been in poor health. The Archbishop of Warsaw said Cardinal Glemp passed away after losing his battle against lung cancer. In a statement, Archbishop Kazimierz Nycz called for prayers for the man who played he said was "a leader in a difficult time" through which he led the country's influential...
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Thousands to attend March for Life in US capital
(Vatican Radio) Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to gather in Washington, DC on Friday, January 25th for the March for Life, an annual event where pro-life advocates from all over the United States come together on behalf of unborn children who are in danger of abortion. This year’s March for Life coincides with the 40th anniversary of Roe vs Wade, the Supreme Court decision that led to the legalization of abortion in the country. Janet Morana is co-founder of the Silent No More...
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North Korea threatens to carry out a new nuclear test
(Vatican Radio) North Korea's militarycommand has said it is on the verge of a new nuclear test, saying it would be part of a "new phase" of confrontation with the United States. The threat came in response to a UN Security Council resolution this week which imposed new sanctions and demanded that Pyongyang abandon its nuclear weapons programme. North Korean state television declared: "We won't disguise the fact that ... rocket launches and a high-level nuclear test we will carry out are...
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Bishop Declan Lang in the Holy Land:"they do feel a...
(Vatican Radio) Bishop Declan Lang of the Clifton Diocese in England took part this year in the 13th Holy Land Co-ordination pilgrimage in support of the Christian Churches in the region which takes place each January . On the final day of the pilgrimage Veronica Scarisbrick asked him to share with her his impressions: "I wondered whether it was that important that we were here and for the first few days I wasn't sure. I thought to myself what difference is this group making to the people of...
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Starving people eating roots and tree bark in Sudan's...
(Vatican Radio) Thousands of starving civilians are reduced to eating roots and the bark of trees in Sudan’s forgotten war zones in the Blue Nile and the Nuba Mountains. International humanitarian relief access has been blocked since armed conflict erupted there between the Sudanese government and opposition groups in 2011. Human rights activists say the Khartoum government is terrorizing the civilian population in the two areas with systematic bombing in an ethnic cleansing policy that...
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Social Networks: new spaces for evangelisation
(Vatican Radio) Pope Benedict’s message for World Communications Day 2013 was released at a press conference in the Vatican on Thursday, the feast day of St Francis de Sales, patron saint of journalists and writers. The message focuses on the importance of social networking sites as “portals of truth and faith”, and “new spaces for evangelisation”. Pope Benedict, who opened his own Twitter account at the end of last year, invites people to appreciate the potential of social media sites and...
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Mexico: French citizen freed after seven years in prison
(Vatican Radio) French national Florence Cassez is on her way home to Dunkirk, after being freed, seven years into a 60 year jail term for kidnappings, which she denied. James Blears reports on a lingering case which divided two nations. The Judges voted 3-2 to throw out the case, which was littered with legal and human rights violations, the worst of which involved Mexican Police re-staging the arrest of Florence Cassez, and it being filmed by televison company Televisa. Her Mexican Lawyer...
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British PM pledges referendum on EU membership
(Vatican Radio) Britain's prime minister said today he will offer citizens a vote on whether to leave the European Union if his party wins the next election. Claiming that public disillusionment with the 27-nation EU is “at an all-time high,” David Cameron used a long-awaited speech in central London to say that the terms of Britain's membership in the bloc should be revised and the country's citizens should have a say. The auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham, William Kenney, spoke with Vatican...
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Holy Land bishop hopeful after Israeli elections
(Vatican Radio) The Auxiliary Bishop of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem says he is hopeful that Tuesday’s elections in Israel will bring about a more centrist coalition government capable of jump-starting the peace process with Palestinians. Bishop William Shomali told Tracey McClure he also hopes that U.S. President Barak Obama will press Israel to adopt a two state solution to the deadlock. Listen to the extended interview with Bishop Shomali : 00:09:44:23 The following is a transcript...
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Occupied territories : when videos serve as evidence...
(Vatican Radio) Daniel Sherman is Director of International Relations at B'Tselem , 'The Israeli International Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories'. Veronica Scarisbrick recently met up with him during the 13th annual Holy Land Co-ordination visit in support and solidarity with the Christian Churches in the region. On this occasion Daniel Sherman focused on some of the key issues relating to the defence of human rights in the occupied territories. Among those he...
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Davos: an opportunity for exchange and collaboration
World leaders and businessmen gather in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos this week for the annual World Economic Forum. From Wednesday 23rd to Sunday 27th , some 50 heads of State and over 1500 businessmen come together to discuss and to find better ways to tackle the global financial crisis and other threats to today’s world such as climate change and gender inequality. Linda Bordoni spoke to Michele Petochi, Director for Academic Networks at the World Economic Forum who explains that the...
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Audience: Going against the grain like Abraham
(Vatican Radio) Pope Benedict XVI picked up his audience catechesis on the Profession of Faith Wednesday morning with a reflection on how Abraham, as the father of believers, teaches Christians to “go against he grain” in societies where God has become the “great absentee” and “possession” the idol to be worshiped. Listen: 00:02:03:12 Speaking to a packed Paul VI hall, despitethe storm that swept Rome all morning, Pope Benedict said : “Faith makes us pilgrims on earth, inserted into the...
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ILO: downward trend in employment worldwide
(Vatican Radio) The International Labour Organization says that unemployment is on the rise again world-wide. The ILO report released this week states that 197 million workers unable to find jobs last year: an increase of more than 4 million people. In their new report on "Global Employment Trends 2013," The Organisation estimates that unemployment will rise by 5.1 million this year to more than 202 million, and by another 3 million in 2014, following a rise of 4.2 million in 2012. The...
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Roe vs Wade: 40 years later
(Vatican Radio) It was 40 years ago today that abortion was made legal in the United States. On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court ended the Roe vs. Wade case by legalizing abortion in all 50 States, through all 9 months of pregnancy, and for any reason. An estimated 55 million abortions have been legally performed in the United States since that time. That Supreme Court decision is remembered each year on or near January 22 with a massive demonstration in Washington DC known as the March...
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Pope receives Secretary General of Vietnamese Communist...
(Vatican Radio) On Tuesday morning Pope Benedict XVI received the Secretary General of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, His Excellency Nguyn Phu Trong. Listen: 00:02:02:09 The Secretary General was accompanied by a delegation of ten members of the Vietnamese Communist Party, including Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. The delegation arrived through St. Peter's Square and the Arch of bells, a privilege reserved for Heads of State and Government. After the meeting...
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Questions of Faith: Holy Days of Obligation
(Vatican Radio) Did you know that there are only 62 Holy Days of Obligation throughout the year? Taking away Sundays that means 10 special days when Catholics are asked to put time aside from their everyday tasks to celebrate their faith. But why are they called Holy Days of Obligation? What does this ‘obligation’ imply and, even more simply, when and what are the 10 days? These are just some of the questions sent in by listeners that our very own official from the Vatican’s Congregation for...
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UN Security Council condemns terrorist attacks in Algeria
A hostage crisis last week at a remote Algerian gas plant was carried out by 30 militants from across the northern swath of Africa and two from Canada, according to Algerian authorities. In all, 38 workers and 29 militants died, the Algerian prime minister said yesterday, offering the government's first detailed account of four days of chaos that ended with a bloody military raid he defended as the only way possible to end the standoff. Five foreigners are still missing. In New York, the UN...
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CRS supports victms of Mali conflict
(Vatican Radio) The UK government is considering further help to French forces fighting rebels in the West African nation of Mali. British Prime Minister David Cameron says the response of the international community to the growing threat of militant groups linked to Al-Qaeda in Africa is likely to top the agenda during the UK’s presidency of the G8 group. Meanwhile on the ground in Mali, Catholic Relief Services is among the aid agencies stepping up support for displaced people fleeing the...
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US Bishops call for prayer and penance on 40th...
Tuesday marks the 40th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, which legalised abortion throughout the country. Since that time, more than 55 million abortions have been performed in the United States alone. In a statement calling for prayer and penance, the chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, Cardinal Sean O’Malley, called on Catholics to participate in "Nine Days of Prayer, Penance and Pilgrimage." “The evil of abortion inflicts...
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ICRC launches guide to health care in conflict zones
(Vatican Radio) Medical ethics is an often controversial subject, and even more so when medical professionals are working in a warzone. Limited resources and extreme conditions mean doctors and nurses often must make decisions which would never come up under normal circumstances. To help suggest some solutions, the International Committee for the Red Cross has launched a guide on "The responsibilities of health-care personnel working in armed conflicts and other emergencies" The co-author of...
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Burma: government presses Kachin rebels
(Vatican Radio) The Burmese army has launched a fresh attack on rebel Kachin forces in the north of the country, breaking a short-lived government ceasefire. Burmese troops attacked a Kachin base just a few kilometres from Laiza, the capital of Kachin state, near the Chinese border. The latest fighting flared after the Kachin rebels refused to stop attacking Burmese army convoys delivering supplies to a base near Laiza. Writing for the Members and Observers of the European Burma Network, the...
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FARC ceasefire at end
(Vatican Radio) The ceasefire that Colombia's principal guerrilla army declared two months ago, has ended. The ceasefire, which was announced by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia- the FARC, at the beginning of the peace talks, has afforded a guaranteed period of calm into which negotiations sat. Round three is already well underway in Cuba. More attacks and outrages, could affect that process which is moving slowly. The Government's Chief Negotiatior Humberto de la Calle has warned...
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The Church and AIDS in South Africa 30 years after the...
(Vatican Radio) How has the Catholic Church responded to the AIDS pandemic in Southern Africa since the discovery of the HIV virus 30 years ago? How has the scenario changed in a nation where well over 5 million people are living with HIV and AIDS - the highest number of infected people in any country? What are the prospects and the challenges? What about the Church’s role in caring for the sick and the orphaned? These are just some of the issues that will be discussed and analysed at a...
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Pope: Angelus appeal for peace
(Vatican Radio) Pope Benedict XVI appealed for an end to conflicts around the world on Sunday. Speaking to pilgrims and faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square to pray the Angelus with him, Pope Benedict especially prayed that, in the various conflicts unfortunately under way around the world, “The slaughter of innocent civilians should cease.” He went on to say, “Let there be an end to all violence, and let there be found the courage to conduct dialogue and to negotiate.” The Pope’s appeal...
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Caritas Lebanon Director speaks on Syrian refugees
(Vatican Radio) Lebanon is appealing to the international community for aid as the country works to provide humanitarian care for displaced persons fleeing the violence in Syria. A recent report from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) says there are some 139,000 registered refugees from Syria, with more than 55,000 awaiting registration in Lebanon. Syria’s two-year civil war is responsible for the deaths of at least 60,000 people, according to a UN estimate released earlier this month. Meanwhile,...
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Catholic charity and new global ethics
(Vatican Radio) The Pontifical Council Cor Unum, the charitable arm of the Holy See, has been holding its plenary assembly this past week, culminating in an audience with Pope Benedict on Saturday. Among those attending the three day meeting was James Cavnar, president of the Florida based charity Cross Catholic Outreach which works on aid and development projects in 42 different countries . Philippa Hitchen spoke with him about the theme of meeting, centred on how Catholic charities are...
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Pope creates two Ukrainian eparchies
(Vatican Radio) Two papal appointments in the past two days have given Ukrainian Catholics in France and the United Kingdom a greater sense of pastoral presence and stability. Pope Benedict XVI elevated the Ukrainian Apostolic Exarchate in Great Britain to the rank of Eparchy on Friday. He followed up on Saturday with an announcement, elevating the exarchate in France to the same rank. The two bishops appointed to serve as eparchs are both American-born Ukrainian Catholics, who have served...
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Serbia, Kosovo reach agreement
(Vatican Radio)--The European Union says leaders of Serbia and Kosovo have agreed to collect custom duties and other taxes at talksaimed at improving ties between the two nations. Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief, said they came to "a provisional understanding" on the tax issues, fourteen yearsafter a war ended between Serb forces and Kosovo's independence seeking ethnic Albanians. The EU-brokered talks in Brussels brought together Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic...
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January 20, 2013
Sunday Gospel - "There's More in the Sunday Gospel than Meets the Eye ", for the Second Sunday in Ordinary time. A programme presented and produced by Jill Bevilaqua. Joan Knows - EWTN's Bureau Chief here in Rome brings us the Vatican week in review. Listen: 00:28:58:18
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January 19, 2013
Holy Land Coordination Special - Part 2: From the 5th to the 10th January a delegation of Bishops from Europe and North America travelled to the Holy Land on their 13th annual pilgrimage to the region in solidarity with Christians there. Vatican Radio's Veronica Scarisbrick accompanied them on this year's pilgrimage and brings you interviews with some of the prominent peopel she met during this visit .They include Sir Vincent Fean the British Consul General in Jerusalem, Archbishop Giuseppe...
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Syrian refugees in Turkey: Project 'Cash for...
(Vatican Radio) Bishop Gerald Kicanas who chairs the board of 'Catholic Relief Services 'recently went on a fact-finding visit to Turkey in an effort to find out more about the situation regarding the refugee camps for Syrians fleeing from the civil war at home. He shares impressions of this visit with Veronica Scarisbrick illustrating a new project launched by CRS to help the refugees survive the bleak winter months. A project which enables them to receive 150 dollars to buy immediate...
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Pontifex breviloquens : a tweeting pope!
Vatican Radio) As Pope Benedict XVI launches his first tweets in Latin on Sunday, January 20 thousands of people will have signed up to his Twitter account: “@Pontifex_ln” . Latin, the universal language of the Catholic Church, becomes the ninth language used for the Pope's tweets. This event provides Veronica Scarisbrick with the opportunity to put all kinds of queries relating to this venture to our popular ‘Latin Lover’, Carmelite Father Reginald Foster who describes Benedict XVI as...
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Christian Unity: Building bridges between Geneva and Rome
(Vatican Radio) “What does God require of us?” That challenging question from the Old Testament book of the prophet Micah is the central theme of this year’s week of prayer for Christian Unity which runs from today, Friday January 18th for eight days until January 25th. Daily reflections, prayers and practical questions for this annual event have been put together by members of the Student Christian Movement of India, with a strong focus on working together for justice for India’s most...
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Christian Unity: one of Gibbon's best tunes ..
(Vaticna Radio) "In this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, some of you may find yourselves singing one of Gibbons' best tunes to the words: 'O thou who at thy Eucharist didst pray that all thy Church might be for ever one'.".. Monsignor Philip Whitmore in a programme produced by Veronica Scarisbrick . Listen : 00:06:23:76
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Algeria crisis not over, says UK Foreign Office
(Vatican Radio) Despite the Algerian government’s claims that its military raid yesterday to end the hostage crisis at the gas plant was over, the UK's Foreign Office said this morning that “the terrorist incident remains ongoing.” Algerian helicopters and special forces intervened in the hostage taking at the gas plant to wipe out Islamist militants and to free hostages, who come from at least 10 countries. Furthermore, differing claims from the Algerian military and the militants have led...
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The Falklands publish referendum proposal for March vote
The Falkland Islands has revealed the referendum proposal which its people will be voting on in March, to decide if they retain their current status with Britain. The referendum, which will be held March 10 and 11, is a clarification response to ratcheted up political pressure from Argentina, directed by President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who insists that the Islands should be part of her country. The Government of the Falklands has undertaken a two-week public consultation and its...
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