Pope makes surprise visit to San Carlo community
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday paid a surprise visit to the San Carlo community at the Italian Centre for Solidarity (CeIS) near Castelgandalfo in the Alban hills. Founded by Father Mario Picchi, the San Carlo community works to prevent and combat social exclusion, focusing especially on those suffering from drug addiction.
Prison chaplains meet to discuss problems of minorities in jails
(Vatican Radio) The International Prison Chaplains Association, or IPCA, is holding a European conference here in Rome next week to reflect on the particular challenges facing minorities within the prison system. IPCA is an international, ecumenical network providing support to chaplains, both lay and ordained, working in many different contexts in countries right across the globe.
Rights group welcomes Pakistan law against violence on women
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Thursday welcomed a landmark law passed by the country's most populous province to stop violence against women, but said it would make a difference only if there was "efficient enforcement". The Protection of Women against Violence Bill 2015, passed on Wednesday by Punjab, criminalises all forms of violence against women, including domestic, sexual, psychological, emotional, economic and verbal. Under the new law, the provincial government will establish district protection centres, residential shelters and a toll-free helpline for victims of violence. The law also says family courts must hold hearings within seven days of a complaint being made, and a decision must be taken on all complaints within 90 days. For serious offences, courts can order defendants to wear GPS-linked bracelets to monitor their movements.
Sri Lanka likely to accept international war crimes probe
Sri Lanka's foreign minister said on Thursday he is willing to consider international participation in investigating possible war crimes during the 26-year Tamil insurgency. "I think it is only fair that the victims of the war would want some form of guarantee that the new courts will deliver justice and accountability in a fair manner, and for that we are willing to consider the participation of international actors," Mangala Samaraweera, the minister, said at a Washington think tank.
Website to redress India's Odisha Christians’ injustice ‎
A website has been launched to focus attention on the failure of India’s federal and Odisha state governments to ensure comprehensive justice and rehabilitation for the victims of the 2007-2008 anti-Christian riots in the state. The website, www.kandhamal.net, has been commissioned by a group of social activists, jurists, lawyers, academicians, writers and artists who have been frustrated at the snail pace of justice process which has seen many killers and arsonists go scot free, while many others not have been arrested. Rights activist, Father Ajaya Kumar Singh, one of the moderators of the website, said that the website will be authentic source of information, data and legal documentations which will be used by advocacy and legal aid groups as well researchers working with the victim survivors of the violence.
Bishop urges govt. to help Filipinos detained abroad
A Catholic Church leader of the Philippines is calling on the government to help free Filipinos detained abroad and get them home safely. "The time has come ease the suffering of these people. The government cannot abandon them,” said Bishop Ruperto Santos of Balanga, the president of the Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). He has asked Manila to make every effort so that " their agony and their sorrow is not prolonged." His words came in the wake of the homecoming of Filipino worker, Joseph Urbiztondo, after 25 years in detention in Kuwait. He had managed to save his life paying the "blood money" to the family of a Bangladeshi he was accused of murdering though he denied it.
