Religious Broadcast

 During Holy Week, the Indonesian Church is a beehive of activities that can only boost the ties between clergy and the community. The many initiatives undertaken for the Easter of Resurrection include fundraisers for diocesan projects, regular Masses, confession, audio and video productions to help the faithful prepare for the celebration, not to mention many prayers and Chrism Masses. Unlike Christmas, which is seen as a time of joy and celebration, Easter is a time for meditation, devotions and a deep introspection into the faith, its principles and values. This Lent, the Archdiocese of Jakarta handed out cardboard boxes to families to encourage them to "save" some money for Church projects and social initiatives, open to Catholics and non-Catholics alike. However, the values ​​and expectations associated with Easter are the most intense in spiritual terms. This is especially true for Confession, a sacrament that allows believers to turn to the Church to have their sins fo...

                 An Irish priest who surprised wedding guests with his version of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah says he is flabbergasted that it has received more than 28 million views online. Fr Ray Kelly has sung the song with new, marriage-themed lyrics at weddings for four years, but his performance earlier this month travelled around the world. "This morning, I was on Polish television over Skype and I did an interview with New Zealand radio, I'm doing a magazine interview later and a television crew is coming down today to film a document tary,"he.... more brief                                                          ...

Following the lunch hosted by Italian president Georgia Napolitano at the  Quirinale Palace  ,was a courtesy visit to Vatican city,Rome by the couples(Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip).Queen Elizabeth II, clothed in Lilac-coloured spring coat,arrived Ciampino airport with her husband earlier today. Welcomed to Vatican city,was a gift for her royal Grandson  at the Paul II hall, Rome.. more brief Image: Huffpost Religion

Pope Francis canceled a visit to Rome's main seminary Friday after coming down with a fever.The 77-year-old Francis, who lost part of a lung to an infection in his youth, was due to leave the Vatican and visit with seminarians Friday evening. But 30 minutes before he was due to arrive, Vatican guards told journalists at the seminary that he was ill and the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, later confirmed he had come down with a slight fever and wouldn't attend.Doctors said he should rest, Lombardi said. It was the second known time Francis has canceled an appearance due to illness in the year since he's been pope. On Nov. 15, he scrapped his morning audiences because he came down with a cold.. more brief

Hundreds of people have flocked to a small town in northern Israel to view a statue of the Virgin Mary that residents say "weeps" oil. Members of a Christian family from Tarshiha, near the Lebanon border, say they have witnessed a miracle in their living room. Osama Khoury said Tuesday that his wife Amira found the statue "covered with oil" recently. Amira said the statue "spoke to her" and told her not to be afraid. After a neighbor witnessed the oil, word soon spread.Parts of the statue appear to be slick with moisture, even after it is wiped off.The family says it is most striking when a "tear" seems to roll down the statue's cheek.. more brief more image below: courtesy: huffpost

Nigeria Osun State  governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola and his main challenger in the August governorship election, Senator Iyiola Omisore, weekend, despite  their political differences worshiped together at the annual Oke-Maria Pilgrimage, at Otan-Ayegbaju, Boluwaduro Local Government Area of the state. The Catholic Archbishop of Ibadan and Apostolic Administrator of Osogbo Catholic Diocese of Osogbo, Most Rev. Gabriel Abegunrin had  announced the likely attendance of the duo around 10.00pm on Saturday , urging devotees at the 'Maria Shrine' (prayer mountain), to shelve their political differences.. more brief

photo: Huffpost VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis says that ‘‘unjust’’ social conditions like unemployment can lead to sin, financial ruin and even suicide.Francis discussed three types of destitution — material, moral and spiritual — in his first message for Lent, the solemn period leading up to Holy Week and Easter, that was released Tuesday. Moral destitution, he said, ‘‘consists of slavery to vice and sin’’ such as alcohol, drugs, gambling and pornography.He noted that sometimes ‘‘unjust social conditions’’ like unemployment lead to this type of destitution by depriving people of the dignity of work and access to education and health care.‘‘In such cases, moral destitution can be considered impending suicide.’’.. more brief

Add caption LONDON (AP) — Buckingham Palace says that Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip will visit Pope Francis in Rome.The palace said Tuesday the royals would have an audience with the pope at the Vatican in April. The palace said Monday the couple also plans to attend the 70th anniversary of D-Day ceremonies during a state visit to France in June.The high profile trips to continental Europe come as the 87-year-old queen is greatly reducing her overseas travel.  more brief  || Huff post

Frances D' Emilo/m.qctimes.com VATICAN CITY — With wails resounding amid the splendor of the Sistine Chapel, Pope Francis on Sunday baptized 32 infants, and at one point in the ceremony told mothers to feel free to feed their crying babies. Formally welcoming the children as members of the Catholic church, Francis poured water from a shell-shaped dish over the heads of the babies held in their mothers' arms. Francis pronounced the babies' names one by one, as beaming parents held their children, dressed in white satin or silk gowns and other finery, in the chapel whose ceiling was frescoed by Michelangelo. In the same chapel in March, Francis was elected as the first Latin American pope. He is the first pope to choose the name Francis. Among the children were two Francescas. It wasn't clear if Francis, whose cheerfulness and warmth draw huge crowds to the Vatican, might have inspired the choice of those names.In keeping with his down-to-earth style and his drive to make...

Catholic priest Rev Eric Fred has been found dead.So far police do not have a suspect or know why someone would kill Rev Freed.This is very sad saints of God,not long after new year celebration  more brief

Pope Francis has called for a rethink in the way the Catholic Church deals with the children of gay couple an divorced parents, warning against'administering a vaccine against faith' On an educational level, gay union raise challenges for us today which for us at sometimes difficult to understand, "Francis said in a speech to the Catholic union of superiors general in November, extracts of which where published on Italian media websites on Saturday.The number of children in school whose parents have separated is very high,'he said, adding that family make-ups were also changing.I remember a case in which-  more brief

via cbn news As Jews and Christians worldwide face a growing wave of persecution, one Jewish leader is saying the two groups must stand together to confront increasing violence."I will not be silent and we will not be silent," Ron Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress told Christians recently about Jewish support for persecuted Christians. In September, Lauder spoke at the annual International Christian Embassy Jerusalem's Feast of Tabernacles celebration where thousands of Christians were in attendance."Silence is the biggest help to anti-Semitism, or anti-Christian. One of the things we are seeing over and over again is that when you talk out, you fight back, people react," Lauder told CBN News. Historians blame public apathy for helping lead to the horrors of World War II. The World Jewish Congress, founded in 1936, became the diplomatic arm for Jewish people worldwide."We see the same recurrence we saw in the 1930s and it's very...

In his daily homily Pope Francis reflected on the end times, saying that faith will be increasingly  pushed out of the public square and that persecution of Christians is a “prophecy of what is to come, reports   Catholic News Agency . The Pope directed his comments to those gathered in the chapel of the Vatican's Saint Martha guesthouse for his daily Mass on Nov. 28. Reflecting on the day's reading taken from the Gospel of Luke, in which Jesus speaks of the trials and tribulations that will precede the end times, the pontiff explained that when the Lord refers to this in another passage, “he tells us that it will be a desecration of the temple.” It will be “a profanation of the faith, of the people,” he continued, and “it will be an abomination, it will be desolation and abomination.” “What does this mean?” the Pope asked the Mass attendees, responding, “It will be like the triumph of the prince of this world: the defeat of God.” “It seems at that final moment of calamity, it...

The Pope has attacked the greed of capitalism in a scathing new text in which he sets out his vision for the Catholic Church, in the first major written document of his papacy. Pope Francis chose the title: 'The Joy of the Gospel' for his 224-page document which addresses numerous themes, including evangelisation, peace, social justice, the family, respect for creation, faith and politics and the role of women in the Church. Referring to the financial crisis, the pontiff is urging  Catholics to say 'thou shalt not' to an economy of 'exclusion and inequality' that he says 'kills'. The Pope also warns that society is also in a 'constant potential for disintegration and death' because of the 'worldwide crisis affecting finance and the economy'. He also urges political leaders to carry out a 'vigourious' reform of the system saying 'money must serve, not rule'. Pope Francis also touched upon possible reform in the Vatican, say...