Worldaround - Informations

What is the media coverage of this week? Surely Tony Blair.. He is most attractive figure in media. Vatican hails in his conversion to Catholicism. The former Prime Minister , Tony Blair was received into catholic church. Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said the path Blair has been on "was not improvised, has lasted a long time and has been deep and serious." Lombardi added that the Catholic community was "happy to welcome such a prominent person ... at the end of a deeply spiritual personal path. "Tony Blair refused to discuss religion when he was the British Leader. Now he has done more than talk about it - he's become a Catholic. His views on abortion, gay rights and stem cell research were also at odds with Catholic teaching, and his parish priest Fr Timothy Russ commented that he had “some way to go” on important moral issues. Mr Blair, whose wife Cherie and four children are Catholic, met Pope Benedict XVI on an official visit in June - his t...

This week witnessed the meeting of Pope and French President. This will be a land mark in the history. French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived Thursday at the Holy See and for an audience with Pope Benedict XVI. Mr Sarkozy arrived more than 10 minutes late for his appointment with Pope Benedict. During their half-hour meeting at the Vatican, Mr Sarkozy gave the Pope a copy of his book, The Republic, Religion and Hope, which he co-wrote in 2004 with Father Philippe Verdin and Colin Thibaud, a philosopher. The book argues that French society needs religious instruction and that the separation between Church and state should be relaxed. On his first visit to Vatican City as president, Catholic Sarkozy was conferred the title Honorary Canon at the Lateran Basilica. It is a title given to the head of France since King Henry IV. After he received the Honorary Canon of St. John Lateran during evening prayers at the Lateran Basilica, President Sarkozy delivered a talk on the relationship betw...

India is a democratic country. There is religious freedom. But now a days Christians are persecuting by the Hindus. The Indian church facing a great challenge . Hindus are always saying Christian religion is a foreign religion. So they are attacking Christians . In this blog I call your attention to this serious matter. CBCI reports two cases in last week. Two Salesian priests and a nun, along with a group of students were attacked by communal elements in Kawant, Gujarat on Wednesday, Dec. 19. At around 8 pm Salesian priest father Monty Rodrigues, Damien Sladen, Brother Ramesh Durairaj, Dominican sister Manju along with a group of students from Don Bosco Kawant were staging a social awareness play at Baidiya village in Kawant Taluka, Gujarat. Mid-way through the play, some communal elements disrupted the programme and demanded that the group leave the village. Sensing further trouble, the awareness programme was immediately halted. The group started returning to Kawant. However, on th...

Is anyone in the world don’t like ‘peace’ ? Undoubtedly I will say ‘no’. Every human being gives a great position for peace. Yes, it is a pleasant state of life. Even in the midst of war and conflicts all prefers serenity and peace. Pope published his message on World day of peace. He invites everyone to reflect on the theme: The Human Person, the Heart of Peace. Pope says, respect for the person promotes peace and that, in building peace, the foundations are laid for an authentic integral humanism. In this way a serene future is prepared for coming generations. Anything that threatens the traditional family threatens peace, because the family "is the first and indispensable teacher of peace,”. The Pope also said the responsibilities learned and the joys and struggles shared within individual families must be mirrored on a global level because everyone is part of one human family. The pope chose "The Human Family, A Community of Peace" as the theme for 2008, the 40th ...

Hope ! Hope !! Hope!!! Yes, hope ..echoed around Italy and the world. Pope Benedict XVI released his second encyclical, “Spe Salvi" , Christian Faith, on November 30. In this encyclical Pope given a model of hope- St.Josephine Bakhita. Iam very much inspired by this saint. So I would like to share about her. Why iam inspired by an African Saint? Because our sisters are missionaries in Africa. Most often they used to say, inspiring events from the life of St. Bakhita. Three years ago I watched a movie of Bakhita. It depicts her a symbol of hope in the midst of darkness. Last two years I conducted my annual retreat in the Canossian Charity Sister’s Generalate in Rome. Here I got opportunity to know more about her life. Yesterday I went there and I got a life history of Bakhita- A song of Freedom. It is written by Maria Luisa Dagnino , a Canossian Charity sister. It depicts very clearly the life of Bakhita. Why Pope say she is a model of Hope? This book reveals that . Iam very ...

24th November 2007 . Pope Benedict XVI elevated 23 churchmen from around the world to the top ranks of the Catholic Church hierarchy . On Saturday he had given each a red skullcap known as a «biretta,» . The Pope placed the biretta on the cardinal's head saying, "(This is) red as a sign of the dignity of the office of a cardinal, signifying that you are ready to act with fortitude, even to the point of spilling your blood for the increase of the Christian faith, for peace and harmony among the people of God, for freedom and the spread of the Holy Roman Catholic Church". During Mass on Sunday he given each one a cardinal's ring. In a liturgy that emphasized the church's cultural diversity and its unity of mission, Pope Benedict XVI appointed 23 new cardinals from 14 countries. The pope, presiding over his second consistory, told the new cardinals he had chosen them to be the "closest advisers and collaborators" of his ministry in Rome. The cardinals...

The scientist who created Dolly the sheep is abandoning cloning in favour of a new ethical technique which produces stem cells without an embryo. Professor Ian Wilmut has decided that the method he pioneered 10 years ago is no longer the best way to grow a patient's own cells and tissues to help treat a range of medical conditions. Instead, he is planning to switch to a revolutionary and less controversial technique - developing cells from fragments of skin. New method does not require the use of human embryos, thereby removing the concern cited by the religious right and others opposed to stem cell research. Instead of coming from cloned embryos, stem cells - which can be grown into any type of organ - will be harvested from skin. In essence, the process is 'easier to accept socially' than the therapeutic cloning process. Now Professor Wilmut has decided not to pursue a licence to clone human embryos, an award he was granted just two years ago. The new technique being ado...

Pope Benedict and Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah held a historic meeting on Tuesday and discussed the situation of minority Christians in the Islamic country where the Vatican wants them to have more freedom. Pope Benedict greeted the king by extending both hands for a double handshake and then led the king into his library. The pope and the king spent about 30 minutes behind closed doors, speaking with the help of two translators. At the first meeting between a Pope and a Saudi monarch, the two also discussed the need for greater collaboration between Christians, Muslims and Jews and prospects for a Middle East peace. Interreligious dialogue, peace in the Middle East and the life of Christians living in Saudi Arabia were on the agenda when Pope Benedict XVI met King Abdullah Aziz of Saudi Arabia. The Vatican wants greater rights for the 1 million Catholics who live in Saudi Arabia, most of them migrant workers who are not allowed to practice their religion in public. They are only ...

The Dalai Lama was presented Sunday with the Gandhi Foundation USA's "peace pilgrim" award by several members of the Gandhi family. The Tibetan leader said he has always considered himself a follower of Mohandas Gandhi, who led a non-violent uprising that eventually resulted in India's independence. Receiving the prestigious "Peace Pilgrim Award", he called upon people to not to forget that the Mahatma had won freedom for his people by treading the path of truth and non-violence. Extolling Mahatma Gandhi's message of harmony, peace and brotherhood, the Dalai Lama has urged followers of all religions to show tolerance, understanding and respect for all faiths and follow the path of non-violence. He also stressed the importance of leading simple life, pointing out that Gandhi had done that despite being a leader revered by millions. More than 3 000 people applauded as the Dalai Lama accepted the award bestowed on him for "endowing his life to disp...

In northern Israel, Arab and Jewish children are finding common ground in an unusual way - at the only youth circus of its kind in the country. Based in the town of Carmiel, the Galilee Circus aims to bring the two communities together by teaching friendship and co-operation through the performing arts. There are 50 Arab and Jewish performers, from mainly Jewish Carmiel and Israeli Arab villages, who meet for classes twice a week in a community centre gymnasium. BBC published testimony of participants . Fourteen-year-old Manar Asadi is from the village of Dir El Assad. She said she never met any Jewish children before she joined the circus. "At first I thought they were bad, but when I met them at the circus I found they were good and beautiful people," she said. "I think the circus is a good idea because it is doing something special and it's good for our future”. Shair Ben Yosef, 14, an Israeli Jew from the village of Atzmon, said he also met Arab children for the ...

Dr Watson has drawn severe criticism over remarks he made in a British newspaper at the weekend. In the interview, he was quoted as saying Africans were less intelligent than Europeans. The Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory had already distanced itself from the scientist's comments but its trustee board has now suspended him. Dr Watson was due to give a lecture at the Science Museum in London on Friday as part of a book tour. But the museum cancelled the event, saying the scientist had gone beyond the point of acceptable debate. The Bristol Festival of Ideas has also cancelled an appearance by Dr Watson. And further critical comment of Dr Watson's views has come from Dr. Craig Venter, the scientist/businessman who led the private effort to decode the human genome. Dr. Venter said. "There is no basis in scientific fact or in the human genetic code for the notion that skin colour will be predictive of intelligence." In his Sunday Times interview, Dr Watson was quoted as sa...

Giant new church at Fatima shrine Thousands of pilgrims have flocked to a ceremony in Portugal to consecrate one of the world's biggest church. The Church of the Holy Trinity is at the shrine of Fatima, where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to three shepherd children in 1917.The church can accommodate nearly 9,000 worshippers and has no internal columns. Pope Benedict XVI given a televised address to the congregation on Sunday. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican's secretary of state, and about 40 other cardinals and bishops from around the world attended Friday's opening ceremony. The site, 113km (70 miles) north of the Portuguese capital Lisbon, took three years to build and is said to be the world's fourth biggest church. Designed by Greek architect Alexandros Tombazis, it has 13 doors, said to represent Christ's last supper with the 12 apostles. More than 250,000 pilgrims attended the inauguration this weekend of a new chu...