Anticipation building for papal encyclical on environment
WASHINGTON - The much-anticipated encyclical by Pope Francis on the environment, expected sometime this spring or early summer, is generating a lot of buzz in Washington and elsewhere.
CNEWA officials look at long-range needs of Lebanon's refugees
BEIRUT - Officials of a pontifical aid agency said they saw much that needed done in Lebanon -- if they could get beyond crisis mode.
Funding for D&P to help Iraqi refugees through winter
Thousands of refugees who fled Mosul, Iraq, six months ago, now living in tents near the border with Turkey, will get more stable and winter-ready housing thanks to an extra $2.4 million in government funding given to the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace.
Pope thanks Catholics for helping Haiti, says much more left to do
VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis thanked Catholics worldwide for helping people in Haiti recover from a devastating earthquake, but said "there is still much work left to do."
Indian church appeals for support for relief work in flood-hit Kashmir
CHENNAI, India - The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India has appealed to Catholics to mobilize funds and materials to augment church relief work in northern Jammu and Kashmir state, devastated by floods.
D&P raises $1.8 million for African relief
Millions of Africans have food today thanks to $1.8 million Canadian Catholics have given to their development agency.
The federal government will kick in about $1.3 million in matching funds to top up five months of fundraising by the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace.
As drought struck the six-country region in May, Development and Peace saw famine on the horizon and began raising money. By August Ottawa stepped in to announce a matching funds program. A final tally of how much of Development and Peace's Sahel region fundraising is eligible for matching funds is pending, but so far the organization has identified approximately $1.3 million that Ottawa should match.
The total Development and Peace commitment in the region comes to almost $8 million, including a $5-million food distribution program the Canadian bishops' development agency is working on with Canadian Foodgrains Bank in three Sahel countries.
In Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Chad and Senegal Development and Peace is working with longstanding partner agencies and the Caritas Internationalis network on seed and food distribution, cash-for-work programs, subsidized food sales and nutrition clinics.
The federal government matching program ended Sept. 30.