International News

News from outside of Canada.

Pope says Indonesia can be example of interreligious harmony for world

October 7, 2011

VATICAN CITY - By promoting dialogue and defending the rights of minorities, Catholics in Indonesia will contribute to the harmony of their nation and will be an example to people in other parts of the world, Pope Benedict XVI told the country's bishops. "Continue to bear witness to the image and likeness of God in each man, woman and child, regardless of their faith, by encouraging everyone to be open to dialogue in the service of peace and harmony," the pope told the bishops Oct. 7. The 36 bishops of Indonesia were making their "ad limina" visits to brief the pope and Vatican officials on what is happening in their dioceses. Catholics make up about 3 percent of the population in Indonesia; Muslims account for more than 85 percent of the population, and there are significant communities of Protestants, Hindus and Buddhists.

Late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs knew the value of communication, Jesuit says

October 6, 2011

VATICAN CITY - Like Pope Pius XI, who founded Vatican Radio and built the Vatican train station, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs recognized the importance of expanding communication, a Jesuit told Vatican Radio. Jobs, 56, died Oct. 5 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Father Antonio Spadaro, the new editor of the influential Jesuit journal Civilta Cattolica, told Vatican Radio that Jobs made technology part of the lives of millions and millions of people, not just technicians.

Mexican priests face death, extortion from drug cartels

October 6, 2011

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico - Ministering in a city where crime is pervasive and murders occur at an alarming rate, Columban Father Kevin Mullins knows he's been very fortunate. While he has personally escaped the violence, the Australian-born priest has been touched by it through the lives of his parishioners at Corpus Christi Church in the poor neighbourhood of Puerto de Anapra. During Advent 2008, though, there was a time when parishioners and fellow priests were praying for his soul, thinking he had been killed during an attack by drug cartel gunmen.

Vatican newspaper criticizes BBC change to 'common era' dating

October 5, 2011

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican newspaper said it was "historically senseless hypocrisy" for the BBC to drop the dating abbreviations BC and AD on the grounds that they might offend non-Christians. In a front-page commentary Oct. 4, L'Osservatore Romano said the change reflected a wider effort to "cancel every trace of Christianity from Western culture." The British media corporation recently announced it would replace BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini, or Year of the Lord) with B.C.E. (Before Common Era) and C.E. (Common Era.) It said the new terms were a "religiously neutral" alternative.

Vatican official calls for religious cooperation in Pakistan

October 3, 2011

VATICAN CITY - A top Vatican official urged Pakistani Christians to spread the Christian message, but also to show respect for the Muslim faith. Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-Fai, secretary of the Congregation of the Evangelization of Peoples, called for religious cooperation saying, "As a small minority in a predominately Muslim society, the church in Pakistan lives and moves within a framework which calls for sensitivity and great love for our Muslim brothers and sisters."

Adult stem cells making news in courts, Congress and on football field

October 2, 2011

WASHINGTON - Stem-cell research is once again making news in Congress and the courts. But this time, it's on the sports pages too. And instead of the embryonic stem-cell research that was once all the rage, the news is in the field of adult stem-cell research, which does not involve the destruction of human embryos. Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, sidelined with a neck injury, reportedly went to an unidentified European country in recent weeks to obtain a treatment involving adult stem cells that is not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States.

Even retired, Archbishop Tutu still acts as conscience of South Africa

September 30, 2011

CAPE TOWN, South Africa - Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu might seek to turn off the spotlight that has shone on him for the past three decades, but as he approaches his 80th birthday Oct. 7, he has not been able to withdraw from public life completely. The former Anglican primate of southern Africa now lives with his wife in the middle-class Cape Town suburb of Milnerton. Neighbors are used to seeing the diminutive archbishop on his brisk morning walks. Their greetings are met with a friendly wave of the hand, but the archbishop does not stop for a chat. Extrovert as he appears in public, the private Archbishop Tutu is reserved and, indeed, shy. Once always available to the media, the archbishop now denies all interview requests. He still writes occasionally and speaks at selected public events. When he does so, his comments on current issues invariably make headlines. In this way, he still serves as the conscience of the nation.

Russian Catholics condemn demolition of Missionaries of Charity hospice

September 30, 2011

WARSAW, Poland - Russia's Catholic Church criticized the demolition of a hospice complex run by the Missionaries of Charity after a Moscow court ruled it was used illegally for charity work. In late September, Moscow city officials were preparing to bulldoze a second building operated by the order, founded by Blessed Mother Teresa. The first was destroyed Sept. 16 after a 2010 court ruling that claimed the sisters had legally rebuilt the complex but failed to register its "entry into use" two decades earlier. "Nothing like this has happened to these sisters before anywhere in the world — it sets an unfortunate precedent," said Fr. Igor Kovalevsky, secretary-general of the Russian bishops' conference.

Vatican calls for 'courageous' decisions on Palestinians

September 28, 2011

VATICAN CITY - Addressing the United Nations, a Vatican representative called for "courageous decisions" toward the two-state solution for the Holy Land after Palestinian leaders requested full U.N. membership for the Palestinian state. Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, the Vatican's top foreign affairs official, did not say whether the Vatican explicitly supported the Palestinians' U.N. initiative. But he said the Vatican viewed the Palestinian bid "in the perspective of efforts to find a definitive solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian question -- an issue addressed by a U.N. resolution of 1947 that foresaw the creation of two states. "One of them has already been created, while the other has not yet been established, although nearly 64 years have passed. The Holy See is convinced that if we want peace, it is necessary to adopt courageous decisions," he said Sept. 27.

Pope to make second trip to Africa this November

September 28, 2011

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI will make his second trip as pope to Africa, visiting Benin Nov. 18-20 to sign and distribute a letter reflecting on the 2009 special Synod of Bishops for Africa. The synod focused on "the church in Africa in service to reconciliation, justice and peace." At the end of the synod, the bishops gave the pope 57 proposals for action on the part of church leaders and the faithful, including a call for a new spirituality to counter bad government, ethnic tensions, disease, exploitation by multinational companies and the cultural agenda of foreign aid organizations.