S i g n i s I n d i a

BANGKOK, Thailand, July 9, 2010--The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue is organizing a meeting in Thailand next week with its Asian members and consultants.

The meeting is scheduled for July 12-18 at Baan Phu Waan Pastoral Center in Sam Phran, outside Bangkok. Thirty-six Church officials, mainly bishops, are expected to participate, including council president Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran.read more »

MANILA, July 12, 2010—Philippine Catholic bishops called on President Benigno Aquino III to rescind current policies that promotes artificial contraception.

The head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said Aquino must protect the sanctity of life by putting an end to government’s contraceptive mentality.

Bishop Nereo Odchimar, CBCP President, said they expect the new president to take action soon by reversing current policies that promotes the use contraceptives such as condoms and pills. read more »

VATICAN, July 9, 2010 (CNS) -- Commissioning another statue for Vatican City might sound like overkill in a place where thousands of sculpted figures crowd the landscape.

But the Vatican is on a campaign to fill every niche. When Pope Benedict XVI stopped to bless a 16-foot-tall marble statue of St. Annibale Di Francia July 7, it was cause for celebration. Carved out of a single block of milky-white Carrara marble, it was placed in one of a series of recesses that run along the outside of St. Peter's Basilica.read more »

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, July 11, 2010 (CNA/EWTN News).- In his first Angelus prayer from the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo, the Holy Father recalled the parable of the Good Samaritan. He said that the story from Luke's Gospel should lead us to change our thinking and living to Christ's logic, that of charity.

Beginning his pre-Angelus words to the faithful, the Pope first thanked God for giving him the possibility to enjoy a time of rest.read more »

NEW YORK CITY, N.Y., Jul 4, 2010--As Americans across the country celebrate the nation's Independence Day this weekend, they should humbly remember their dependence on their Creator, said Archbishop Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York.

In a column written this week, he reflected on the celebration of Independence Day and called on the faithful to proclaim a “spiritual Declaration of Dependence” on God that is “downright revolutionary” in American society today.read more »

MANILA, July 11, 2010—Hundreds of Biblical animators have participated in the regional Bible workshop held at the Hotel Pier Cuatro in Cebu City last July 2-4, 2010.

Convened by the St. Jerome Biblical Center, the 6th Central Visayas Regional Bible Workshop was a venue for all involved in Biblical apostolates to share their experiences, hopes and aspirations in the ministry.read more »

VATICAN, July 8, 2010 (CNA/EWTN News).- More information regarding the soon-to-be-announced modifications to the Vatican's canonical guidelines for dealing with abusive priests and other sins came to the surface on Thursday. In addition to the previously leaked content, sins such as the attempted ordination of women and "crimes against the faith" will also be addressed by the pending Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) document.read more »