S i g n i s I n d i a

MANILA, July 25, 2011— With only three weeks to go before the World Youth Day (WYD) takes place in Madrid, Spain, the Episcopal Commission on Youth (ECY) of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) urged Filipino delegates to prepare spiritually for the event.

More than being financially ready to join the WYD, the delegates, including some 2,000 Filipinos, should be spiritually ready to participate in this global gathering of Catholic youth on August 16 to 21, according to ECY chairman and Legazpi Bishop Joel Baylon.read more »

MADRID, Spain, July 23, 2011--An exhibition in honor of World Youth Day, featuring 13 masterpieces of sacred art, opened at Madrid's Prado Museum on July 21, and will run until September 18. Entitled “The Word Made Image,” the show highlights aspects of Jesus' life and character.read more »

OSLO, Norway, July 22, 2011--Catholics in Norway are shocked by what appears to be a terrorist attack on government headquarters in Oslo that killed at least seven people and injured another 15 on July 22.

“We are so used to being this quiet little nation where nothing like this happens,” said Fr. Paul Bratbak, the communications director for the Diocese of Oslo, in a July 22 interview with CNA.

“It's just too much to take in at the moment.”read more »

LOS ANGELES, Calif., July 22, 2011--The July 22 Memorial of St. Mary Magdalene is a time to recall the holy woman’s life and her “beautiful story” of God’s life-changing love and mercy for everyone, Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles said. He contrasted her life with an American culture that is “quick to condemn.”

“God is kind and merciful. There is no one who is beyond the pale of his redemption. There is no one whom God cannot redeem and use for his purposes,” the archbishop wrote in his July 22 column for the archdiocesan paper The Tidings.read more »

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, July 22, 2011--An Argentinean couple has sent a letter congratulating Argentinean President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner for the upcoming birth of her first grandchild. Dr. Luis Aldo Ravaioli and his wife, Maria Margarita, urged the president to translate her joy into a commitment to defend the rights of the unborn against attempts to legalize abortion.read more »

BEIJING, China, July 24, 2011--China’s state-backed Patriotic Catholic Association will ordain more bishops without papal approval when “conditions are right,” a top leader in the organization said.

Bishop Joseph Guoa Jincai of Chengde, vice-chairman of the group, told the state-run China Daily newspaper that local churches are preparing for the ordinations of bishops in seven dioceses.read more »

XAIBOUATHONG, Laos, July 23, 2011--“Let’s go find some bombs to play with” is really not what you want to hear from little kids.

But in Laos, a country that borders Vietnam, you never know what you’ll hear about deadly explosives.

I’m sitting with Bounma, a teenager whose right leg is pocked with shrapnel scars.

When he was seven, he and a friend were in the woods, hunting for birds. His friend knew “bombies” the size and shape of tennis balls were probably lying around. He knew they were fun.read more »