The United Nations voiced “extreme alarm” today at reports of “atrocious human rights violations” in Libya, including mass summary executions apparently carried out by Colonel Muammar al-Qadhafi’s forces in the last few days before they lost Tripoli, the capital.
The Bishop of Brentwood Thomas McMahon has pleaded with Basildon Council to reach a last-minute agreement with hundreds of travellers just hours before the deadline passed for them to leave England's largest illegal campsite. Bishop McMahon, and the Anglican Bishop of Chelmsford, Stephen Cottrell, offered to mediate between the local authority and around 240 traveller families at Dale Farm in Crays Hill, Essex, who had been given until midnight tonight to leave or face eviction.
A joint undercover investigation by BBC Newsnight and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has uncovered evidence that the Ethiopian government is using billions of dollars of development aid as a tool for political oppression.
Freeth’s book, which shares the name of a documentary film made about his family, is a personal account of a terrible decade spent working in Zimbabwean agriculture. During the most intense phase of Mugabe’s farm invasions in 2000-2002, Freeth worked for the Farmers’ Union, doing what he could to protect his members – several of whom were killed in their homes.
We are welcomed with gentleness and warmth by Claretian Bishop Casaldáliga, who thanked CAFOD and it’s supporters for its solidarity over the years. CAFOD’s representative in Westminster Diocese,
More than 300 Justice and Peace activists attending last weekend’s annual conference of the National Justice and Peace Network (NJPN) in Derbyshire agreed to help ‘Close the Gap’ between the richest and the poorest in UK society.
July 15, 2011 (CISA) –Militant Islamist Group bombed a protestant church where members were meeting after service on July 10 in Suleja, in Nigeria’s Niger Estate. According to Vatican Radio, there has been an upsurge of violence this week in Nigeria against Christian churches believed to be perpetrated by a fundamentalist Islamic Group known as Boko Haram.
The Holy See has identified a new public enemy – the speculator. In remarks to delegates at the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, Pope Benedict referred to the way food had become a commodity that was now traded without regard to the needs of the world’s hungry people.
The Vatican is turning to the Internet in its struggle against child abuse with a new website allowing clergy around the world to share information on eradicating the problem. It will be “a step … on a long and painful path,” adding the website would bring together the latest research on child abuse and Church laws, while allowing churches in different countries to have their say.
At the general assembly of the Catholic network in Rome this week a new secretary-general, Michel Roy, was elected, after the Vatican said they wanted a new leader who would give the confederation of charities a more distinct Catholic identity.
On World Refugee Day. The UN's World Refugee Day report shows that 80 percent of refugees are hosted by developing countries, not the richer nations that have the economic capacity to absorb and host refugees.
The Church has always stressed that commercial activity is essential to the common good. Her social teaching, past and present, insists that commercial activity should be directed to the common good and not merely to the private profit of property holders
Justice and Peace Commissions from Brentwood, Southwark and Westminster dioceses are preparing activities for '100 Days of Peace' around the Olympic and Paralympic Games next year.In particular, they are highlighting two initiatives for peace, one involving churches and schools, and one involving the UK government and the UN.
They want to see fiscal reform that favours those on a low income, they demand dignified housing, and the ability to cancel mortgage debt if the property becomes embargoed. They want to see a single constituencies arranged proportionally to the number of votes in each area, ... They demand that financial rescues be directed at families facing eviction rather than at the banks.
The citizens are tired of oppression, high rates of unemployment and escalating costs of living engendered by poor governance. When pushed to the wall, they will have no option but to take up arms against the dictatorial regime.
Pope Benedict XVI’s words last weekend need to be heeded. He said: “I am becoming progressively more concerned about the wellbeing and safety of civilians.” He went on to plead for a ceasefire and a negotiated solution to the conflict.
The Filipino missionary is taking little more than his optimism on the 2,000 km journey to promote peace and the protection of the sanctity of life.
In his social encyclical Caritas in Veritate, Pope Benedict presented the global economic crisis as an opportunity to shape a new vision for the future. Here, the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace sets out the steps to realising that vision
