Annual meeting on interreligious dialogue
(VIS) The annual meeting between the officials of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID) and the staff of the Office for Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation (IRDC) of the World Council of Churches (WCC), took place from 3 to 4 February in Geneva, Switzerland. Appropriately this was during Interfaith Harmony Week.
Pope and Patriarch's joint statement to show common Christian witness
(Vatican Radio) The historic meeting of Pope Francis with Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church has a special significance during this Jubilee year of mercy. That’s the view of Dominican Fr Hyacinthe Destivelle who is in charge of relations with the Slavic Orthodox Churches at the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
Fr Kirill Gorbunov on meeting between Pope and Patriarch
(Vatican Radio) Father Kirill Gorbunov, Press Secretary for the Catholic Archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow, said on Friday that he believes the upcoming meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, will help take relations “to a new level” between the two Churches. He spoke to Susy Hodges shortly after the announcement that this historic meeting between the two spiritual leaders will take place in Cuba on February 12th.
Pope Francis: creation focus of Feb prayer intention video
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis is asking people around the world to pray during the month of February for an increase of attention to and care for our common home. The Holy Father is making the request through his new video initiative in cooperation with the Jesuit-operated Apostleship of Prayer. Below, please fin the full text of the Holy Father's Message, which you can view at thepopevideo.org/.
Pope and Patriarch's encounter is 'sign of hope' for all Christians
(Vatican Radio) The Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church announced on Friday that Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill will hold a historic first encounter in Cuba on February 12th. A statement released jointly in Moscow and in Rome said the meeting will mark “an important stage in relations” between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches and a “sign of hope for all people of good will”.
India’s Church voices support for Kandhamal Christians
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) has pledged the commitment and closeness of the Catholic Church of India to the Christians of the eastern state of Odisha who continue to suffer after facing untold violence over 7 years ago. Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, Archbishop Trivandrum, the president of the CBCI, the apex body of the Catholic Church in India, expressed this in a message to Archbishop John Barwa of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar whose jurisdiction covers Kandhamal district, which in 2008 witnessed perhaps the worst anti-Christian violence in the history of India. “I join in praying and thanking God for the blessings showered upon the Kandhamal Christian community. I want to assure my commitment and the unwavering support of the CBCI to the suffering brethren in Kandhamal,” Cardinal Cleemis wrote in his letter.
Pope Francis meets with President of Zambia
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met with the President of Zambia, Edgar Chagwa Lungu, on Friday morning. A communiqué from the Press Office of the Holy See informs that the Pope and the President held cordial discussions on a range of topics, including the contribution of the Catholic Church to the upbuilding of Zambian society, the promotion of peaceful co-existence through a culture of dialogue and encounter, migration, climate change and the protection of the environment. The Holy Father and the President also discussed international issues, with special focus on the conflicts that affect various areas of Africa and the commitment of the country to regional peace.
Vatican Weekend for February 7, 2016
(Vatican Radio) On Vatican Weekend for February 7, 2016 we bring you this week's edition of 'There's More in the Sunday Gospel than Meets the Eye' presented by Jill Bevilacqua and a couple of interviews relating to the forthcoming Apostolic visit of Pope Francis to Mexico from the 12th to the 17th of February. The first highlights for us how Mexico is a land of contrasts: overwhelmingly Catholic yet historically anticlerical. And the second the importance of the visit of Pope Francis to Ciudad Juarez on the border with El Paso,Texas.
