S i g n i s I n d i a

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 »

JAKARTA, Indonesia, July 3, 2010--Christians continue to endure persecution in the city of Bekasi, 25 kilometres from Jakarta. Today a banner was hung in front of a mosque with a picture of a Christian man with a noose around his neck and the words: “This man deserves the death penalty!”

The man is Andreas Sanau, 29, accused along with Henry Sutanto by the Islamic Defender Front (FPI) of organising mass baptisms. The FPI is a radical Islamic group known for his violence against religious minorities, especially Christians.read more »

ROME, Italy, July 10, 2010--As the six-month milestone since a devastating earthquake left the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince in tatters nears, the work of rebuilding continues slowly. Apostolic Nuncio to Haiti, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, told Fides news agency that, simply put, "there is still much left to do."

The 7.0 magnitude earthquake that took place on Jan. 12 severely damaged much of the city, including many Church buildings.read more »

MANILA, July 13, 2010— Catholic bishops want a proper closure to unresolved questions over the legitimacy of then President Arroyo’s administration.

Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said that if there is no closure, the issues will just keep coming back.

Pabillo made the statement on Tuesday as the government is considering the full disclosure of the 4-year old report of an inquiry into claims some top military officials were involved in the alleged stealing of the 2004 elections for Arroyo.read more »

VATICAN, July 11, 2010 (Zenit.org).- For the third year in a row, the economic crisis has left the Holy See and the Vatican City State in the red.

This was revealed Saturday in a statement published by the Council of Cardinals for the Study of Organizational and Economic Matters of the Holy See on the 2009 financial statement of the Holy See and the Vatican City State Governorate.

The council met for its 45th meeting last week in the Vatican, presided over by Benedict XVI's secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.read more »

JERUSALEM, July 12, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is encouraging the Latin Catholics in the Holy Land to be visible signs of unity.

The Pope stated this in a message sent to Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal of Jerusalem. The letter, which was published today by the patriarchate, was sent June 7, after the Pope's apostolic trip to Cyprus.

The Holy Father wrote to the Patriarch to thank him "for the warm welcome I received from you and from the flock entrusted to your care during my recent apostolic journey to the Republic of Cyprus."read more »

BEIJING, China, July 8, 2010--Mgr Jia Zhiguo, underground bishop of Zhengding (Hebei), was released yesterday morning after 15 months of detention in an unknown location. Last night, surrounded by a hundred faithful, he celebrated Mass in the cathedral of Wuqiu village (pictured) where he lives.read more »

MADRIC, Spain, Jul 5, 2010--The new law on abortion that entered into force today is “objectively incompatible with the upright moral conscience –in particular, the Catholic conscience” Spain’s Conference of Catholic Bishops said on Monday. They added that from an ethical perspective, the new law is worse than the previous statute.

In a statement published on the conference’s website on July 5, the bishops explained that this change in legislation is a deterioration for three reasons.read more »

SEOUL, South Korea, July 6, 2010--The weekly bulletin from the Seoul archdiocese will be available on iPhone from mid July.

Subscribers will be informed in advance when a new issue of the bulletin is available. Using “push” technology, they can tailor the content to suit them precisely, choosing only the pages and sections they want.

The bulletin is already available on a website as well as in E-book, PDF and MP3 audio file formats.read more »