Catholic News 2
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- A convicted felon who graduated from Yale Law School and won acclaim as a poet is being asked by a Connecticut committee to prove his "good moral character" before he is allowed to practice law....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Latest on North Korea's nuclear and missile programs (all times local):...
GATUNDU, Kenya (AP) -- Stooped but determined, a 102-year-old woman believed to be one of Kenya's oldest citizens cast her ballot in national elections on Tuesday....
JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- President Jacob Zuma survived a no-confidence vote Tuesday in the seventh and most serious attempt to unseat him after months of growing anger in South Africa over alleged corruption and a sinking economy. But his African National Congress party, which has ruled since the end of apartheid, continued to fracture....
DENVER (AP) -- An attorney for Taylor Swift told jurors Tuesday that his superstar client is "absolutely certain" she was sexually assaulted and will prove it in court during the civil trial of dueling lawsuits filed by Swift and a former radio host....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Directly contradicting President Donald Trump, a draft report produced by 13 federal agencies concludes that the United States is already feeling the negative impacts of climate change, with a stark increase in the frequency of heat waves, heavy rains and other extreme weather over the last four decades....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump warned North Korea that it could face "fire and fury" after a new report Tuesday said U.S. intelligence believes Pyongyang has successfully produced a nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles....
(Vatican Radio) Kenyans went to the polls on Tuesday in a general election pitting the current President Uhuru Kenyatta against opposition leader Raila Odinga.Thousands of international observers have been monitoring the vote amid fears of a repeat of the violence that plagued the country following elections a decade ago.Listen to our report: Long queues began forming before dawn at over 40.000 polling stations across the country as Kenyans turned out to cast their votes in the closely contested election.Although there are eight presidential candidates on the ballot paper, the real battle is between incumbent Kenyatta, the 55-year-old son of Kenya's founding president and his longtime rival, 72-year-old Odinga, son of the country’s first vice-president.Kenyatta, who won the previous election in 2013 by a thin margin, is seeking a second and final term in office.Despite allegations of vote-tampering, that last occasion was a largely peaceful affair, unlike the vote ...
(Vatican Radio) Kenyans went to the polls on Tuesday in a general election pitting the current President Uhuru Kenyatta against opposition leader Raila Odinga.
Thousands of international observers have been monitoring the vote amid fears of a repeat of the violence that plagued the country following elections a decade ago.
Listen to our report:
Long queues began forming before dawn at over 40.000 polling stations across the country as Kenyans turned out to cast their votes in the closely contested election.
Although there are eight presidential candidates on the ballot paper, the real battle is between incumbent Kenyatta, the 55-year-old son of Kenya's founding president and his longtime rival, 72-year-old Odinga, son of the country’s first vice-president.
Kenyatta, who won the previous election in 2013 by a thin margin, is seeking a second and final term in office.
Despite allegations of vote-tampering, that last occasion was a largely peaceful affair, unlike the vote a decade ago which descended into ethnic violence across the country, killing over a thousand people.
Bishops call for calm
Ahead of this vote, Kenya’s Catholic bishops issued an appeal for peace, noting the relatively calm manner in which the political campaigns have been conducted.
They urged the security forces, the judiciary, the media and all those involved with the voting process to act with responsibility in order to guarantee “just, fair peaceful and credible elections”. The bishops also proposed a prayer novena for the nine days leading up to the vote.
Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is among thousands of international observers who have been monitoring the election process. Final results are not expected before Wednesday at the earliest.
(Vatican Radio) Over a hundred prominent Indian Christians have written an open letter to the heads of all Churches and Christian communities, spurring them to action in support of civil society in its struggle to safeguard India’s secular credentials and cultural and religious diversity. In the letter released on Aug. 4, the 101 signatories noted a dangerious shift in the country “from a pluralist, secular, democracy to a Hindu Rashtra”. Silence over violence against minorities, marginalizedNoting that there is “a systematic design to undermine the Constitution,” the writers said that “official machinery often seems to be working in tandem with the vigilantes” in carrying out street lynching of innocent victims, on the basis of religion and caste. And amidst all this, the “media seems mute, silent in self-censorship, coerced by the State, or leashed by its corporate owners,” they wrote. The op...
(Vatican Radio) Over a hundred prominent Indian Christians have written an open letter to the heads of all Churches and Christian communities, spurring them to action in support of civil society in its struggle to safeguard India’s secular credentials and cultural and religious diversity. In the letter released on Aug. 4, the 101 signatories noted a dangerious shift in the country “from a pluralist, secular, democracy to a Hindu Rashtra”.
Silence over violence against minorities, marginalized
Noting that there is “a systematic design to undermine the Constitution,” the writers said that “official machinery often seems to be working in tandem with the vigilantes” in carrying out street lynching of innocent victims, on the basis of religion and caste. And amidst all this, the “media seems mute, silent in self-censorship, coerced by the State, or leashed by its corporate owners,” they wrote.
The open letter comes in the backdrop of several people falling victim to recent incidents of mob lynching and vigilantism over consumption of beef or trading in cows and beef. In the latest incident a Christian pastor was shot dead in northern Punjab state July 15 and police have not identified culprits.
Among the signatories to the open letter are rights activist Jesuit Father Cedric Prakash, rights activist and journalist John Dayal, rights activist Father Ajay Kumar Singh, several lawyers, priests, nuns and lay people working in the field of education, law and social activism.
Double-faced government
The open letter accused the government of “double talk” saying while it supporte the global fight against terrorism, at home it is not concerned with violent nationalism of the mob wreaking terror on the weak and the marginalized. The prominent Christians observed that between 2014 and 2016, under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led government, over 600 episodes of violent acts have taken place against their communities. Violence against low-caste Dalits and Muslims have surged according to the National Crime Records Bureau.
Call to raise voice, bold action
Speaking to The Hindu newspaper, one of the signatories, A. C. Michael, a former member of the Delhi Minorities Commission said that the open letter is a wake-up call to all Christians not to be passive any more but to “raise their voice against the violence that the country is witnessing today against the common man,” and to “spread the truth.”
“The Church, guided by you, needs to act before it is too late,” the prominent Christians urgently appealed to the heads of Churches and leaders of Christian communities. Evoking the foundation of their faith, they said, “It is time to stand with the victims to be the voice of poor and marginalized; time to collaborate and partner with the civil society to spread the truth; and time to take bold initiatives and action to prevent further erosion of our humane and constitutional values.”
(Vatican Radio) UN human rights experts have denounced widespread and systematic use of excessive force and arbitrary detentions against demonstrators in Venezuela. The team’s findings also uncovered other abuses, including violent house raids, torture and ill-treatment of those detained in connection with the protests.Listen to our report: In the absence of a response from the Venezuelan authorities to requests for access, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein deployed a team of human rights officers to conduct remote monitoring of the human rights situation in the country from 6 June to 31 July.The team conducted interviews with victims and their families, witnesses, civil society organisations, journalists, lawyers, doctors, first responders and the Attorney-General’s Office.Witnesses spoke of security forces firing tear gas at close range and without warning at anti-Government protestors.At least 125 people have died since a wave of anti...
(Vatican Radio) UN human rights experts have denounced widespread and systematic use of excessive force and arbitrary detentions against demonstrators in Venezuela. The team’s findings also uncovered other abuses, including violent house raids, torture and ill-treatment of those detained in connection with the protests.
Listen to our report:
In the absence of a response from the Venezuelan authorities to requests for access, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein deployed a team of human rights officers to conduct remote monitoring of the human rights situation in the country from 6 June to 31 July.
The team conducted interviews with victims and their families, witnesses, civil society organisations, journalists, lawyers, doctors, first responders and the Attorney-General’s Office.
Witnesses spoke of security forces firing tear gas at close range and without warning at anti-Government protestors.
At least 125 people have died since a wave of anti-government protests began in April. According to the UN team, security forces are allegedly responsible for at least 46 of those deaths, while pro-Government armed groups, are reportedly responsible for over two dozen others.
Information collected by the team suggests that the armed groups known as “colectivos” routinely disrupt protests on motorcycles, wielding firearms and harassing or shooting at people.
While no official data is available on the number of arrests, estimates suggest that over 5,000 people have been arbitrarily detained, with up to a fifth of them remaining in detention. Some of them are reportedly subject to cruel or degrading treatment by security forces, including electric shocks, beatings, hanging by the wrists, suffocation with gas, and threats of rape or killing of detainees or their families.
High Commissioner Zeid said the responsibility for these human rights violations lies at the highest levels of Government. A full report on the team’s findings is scheduled to be released at the end of August.
