At state funeral in Washington, Jimmy Carter’s life celebrated as a “miracle”
Washington DC, US RNS A prestigious group of mourners, including a slate of current, former and future presidents and vice presidents, assembled in the Washington National Cathedral on Thursday for the state funeral of President Jimmy Carter, celebrating the life and legacy of the peanut farmer-turned-politician from Plains, Georgia. Carter’s casket, which had been lying […]
Essay: Resolutions are not always in our control. Let’s try aspirations instead
JIM WALLIS, director of Georgetown University’s Center on Faith and Justice in the US, says, in an article first published on Religion News Service, that it’s better to be spiritually prepared for a new political season than to make the usual resolutions…
Australia violated refugees’ rights in offshore detention centre, says UN
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters A UN committee found that Australia violated a human rights treaty by detaining a group of asylum seekers, including minors, on the remote Pacific island of Nauru even after they were granted refugee status, it said in a statement on Thursday. Under Australia’s tough immigration policies, those attempting to reach the country […]
Saints of Past Ages: Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Amid ongoing controversy surrounding the German theologian executed by the Nazis, PETER SMITH, of Associated Press, looks at his life and legacy…
Filipino Catholics pray for good health and peace in huge procession venerating Jesus statue
Manila, Philippines AP Some 1.8 million mostly barefoot Catholic worshippers marched Thursday in an annual procession in the Philippines that venerates a centuries-old black statue of Jesus. Some said they prayed for good health for their families, an end to tensions in the South China Sea, and for incoming US President Donald Trump to be […]
Ramping up criticism of Israel, Pope calls situation in Gaza “shameful”
Vatican City Reuters Pope Francis on Thursday stepped up his recent criticism of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, calling the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave “very serious and shameful”. In a yearly address to diplomats delivered on his behalf by an aide, Francis appeared to reference deaths caused by winter cold in Gaza, where […]
Venezuela opposition leader Machado freed after being briefly detained, movement says
Caracas/Maracay, Venezuela Reuters Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was freed on Thursday after a brief detention, her Vente Venezuela movement said on social media. Machado was detained after an anti-government march in Caracas, her first public appearance in months, amid gunshots, the movement said, adding that during her detention she was forced to film […]
Search widens for Tibet quake survivors as tens of thousands moved to shelters
Beijing, China Reuters Authorities moved more than 47,000 people to shelters in earthquake-hit Tibet, Chinese officials said on Thursday, while rescuers widen a massive combing effort for survivors near the foothills of the Himalayas, despite slim survival odds. It is not yet clear how many are still missing after Tuesday’s quake of magnitude 6.8 killed […]