Pope Francis endorses Thy Kingdom Come initiative
THE Archbishop of Canterbury recorded an impromptu video of Pope Francis encouraging Christians to take part in the Thy Kingdom Come prayer initiative, during a recent visit to the Vatican. In the message, recorded on Archbishop Welby’s phone, the Pope says: “We all have a problem and that is that our hearts tend to shrink, become smaller, and close up. We can’t solve that problem by ourselves. Only the Holy Spirit can solve it.” The video was released last weekend, in advance of Thy Kingdom Come, which runs from Ascension Day, next Thursday, to Pentecost. Comment, page 14
Libya on verge of civil war, says UN representative
THE United Nations Special Representative to Libya, Dr Ghassan Salamé, told the UN Security Council this week that continuing violence in the country could result in its “descending into a civil war which could lead to the permanent division of the country”. Since April, 460 people had died, including almost 30 civilians, in fighting, he said. “A better future is still possible, but we must all be seized with the fierce urgency of now, while the front lines remain on the outskirts of Tripoli, and before the battle moves, God forbid, to the capital’s more densely populated neighbourhoods.”
Roman Catholic priest murdered in El Salvador
A ROMAN Catholic priest, Fr Cecilio Perez, was killed by a criminal gang in his parish in El Salvador last Saturday, the Vatican News Service reported. Fr Perez, aged 38, was the parish priest of San José la Majada, in Sosonate diocese. He was reportedly killed because he refused to pay protection fees to the gang.
Archive research centre opened in Cairo
A NEW research archive opened in Cairo this month, a joint project of the diocese in Egypt with North Africa & the Horn of Africa and the University of Leicester. The archive includes registers of baptisms, marriages and deaths, minute books, correspondence, and orders of service,the Anglican Communion News Service reported.