Postcards: In Western Sahara refugee camps, little optimism over frozen conflict
LAMINE CHIKHI, of Reuters, reports from a refugee camp in Algeria, close to the border with Morocco…
Vatican includes group backing women’s ordination on website
Rome, ItalyAP The Vatican has included a group that advocates for women’s ordination on a website promoting a two-year consultation of rank-and-file Catholics, indicating that Pope Francis wants to hear from all Catholics during the process. The inclusion of the Women’s Ordination Conference on the website promoting the Vatican’s 2023 “synod,” or meeting of bishops, […]
Updated: World rushes aid to tsunami-hit Tonga as drinking water, food runs short
Updated 11:30pm (AEDT)Wellington, New Zealand/Sydney, AustraliaReuters More ships and aircraft carrying aid are due to arrive in Tonga in coming days as the international community responds to calls for urgent assistance from the Pacific island nation following a devastating volcanic eruption and tsunami. Personnel wearing personal protection equipment, and a load of humanitarian relief supplies […]
Ex-Pope Benedict accused of failing to act in Munich Church abuse report
Berlin, GermanyReuters Former Pope Benedict XVI failed to take action against clerics in four cases of alleged sexual abuse in his archdiocese when he was Archbishop of Munich, a report found on Thursday, compounding a scandal engulfing the Catholic Church. Benedict has previously denied wrongdoing over the cases. Lawyer Ulrich Wastl speaks at a news conference about a […]
Stampede at Liberia church gathering kills 29
Monrovia, LiberiaAP At least 29 people in Liberia, including 11 children and a pregnant woman, have died in a stampede of worshippers at a Christian event in a densely populated area of the capital, Monrovia, officials said Thursday. The stampede erupted when a gang of thugs armed with knives attacked some of the hundreds attending […]
First aid finally reaches Tonga as telephone lines partially restored
Reuters The first aircraft carrying humanitarian supplies arrived in Tonga on Thursday, five days after the South Pacific island nation was hit by a volcanic eruption and tsunami that devastated communities and spoiled most of its drinking water. A Royal New Zealand Air Force C-130 Hercules landed in Tonga’s Fua’amotu International Airport, a defence spokesperson […]
GreenSight: ‘Chittah’ or wheat
ALVIN JOHNSON looks at where the ‘chittah’, translated as wheat, appears in the Bible…
Chad frees rebels ahead of national peace-building talks
Klessoum Prison, ChadReuters Chad’s transitional authorities on Tuesday released the first of some 250 members of armed groups it has promised to free from prison under an amnesty aimed at fostering dialogue after the battlefield death of President Idriss Deby last April. Justice Minister Ahmat Mahamat Alhabo led a short ceremony at Klessoum prison near […]
In the US, three members of ACNA response team resign from overseeing abuse investigation
RNS Three members of the group overseeing the investigation into sexual abuse allegations in the Anglican Church in North America’s Upper Midwest Diocese resigned on Monday, saying that the team “downplayed or ignored” abuse survivors’ needs. The move comes days after the group, called the Provincial Response Team, named a firm to investigate how diocesan leadership handled […]
With eagles and elephants, Philippines lures public for ‘zoo jabs’
Manila, The PhilippinesReuters The Philippines opened a zoo on Wednesday as a makeshift vaccination centre in the hope its elephants and eagles can attract young and elderly people hesitant about getting inoculated against COVID-19. Manila zoo was giving vaccinations to young people age 12-17 and the elderly and allowing recipients of jabs to spend time […]