The Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, His Beatitude Cardinal Mar Louis Raphael I Sako received a delegation from the United Nations Investigative Team for the Accountability of Da'esh/ISIL (UNITAD) on Thursday, led by the Special Adviser and Head of the Investigative Team Karim A. A. Khan QC.
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KIEV, UKRAINE —  The newly elected head of the independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church has officially assumed office in the capital of Kiev, a month after the church severed its centuries-long ties with the Russian Orthodox Church.  read more
 
Pope Francis has appealed for the end of Yemen’s humanitarian crisis, saying the “cries of these children and their parents rise up” to God. --  He made the appeal at the Vatican an hour before his scheduled departure on a three-day trip to the United Arab Emirates, which is ... read more
 

Papal message for young people

ABU DHABI, 3rd February, 2018 (WAM) -- During the Papal Flight to Abu Dhabi from Rome today, Pope Francis presented to members of the accompanying media copies of an icon made at the Monastery of Bose in Italy, carrying a message for young people.
 
Francis has invested time in building a relationship with the Grand Imam, a man he describes as 'my brother and a dear friend'
 
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - "The Pope's visit can help promote Islamic-Christian dialogue. But it must be said that we do not start from scratch and too many times only the most problematic or negative aspects are highlighted... The basis already exists, we can
 
ABU DHABI, 1st February 2019 (WAM) - Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance, attended today the 'Peace Gathering' event which was hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development at the Umm Al Emarat Park in Abu Dhabi.
 
by Dr. Sultan bin Ahmad Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State ---   ABU DHABI, 1st February, 2019 (WAM) -- When His Holiness Pope Francis arrives in Abu Dhabi next week, it will be the first ever Papal visit to the Arabian Gulf. While this represents a milestone event in its own right, it is also a
 
The idea that Christian churches could overcome their thorny divisions and achieve oneness was far-fetched not long ago, and for the most part, it still is. But there appeared a light of inspiration to try it during the past century, and that incentive, revelation if you will, has remained in Christian consciousness, even though it's now on the churches' back burner.
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For the local migrant community, the pontiff's visit constitutes "encouragement and a recognition" of their value. A "multinational and multicultural" Church of people is "united under the same sky". There is a "beautiful climate" in the Emirates. Muslim media have been paying close attention to the visit, which will boost interfaith dialogue.  read more
 
He stressed the importance of the visit, which coincides with the Year of Tolerance.-- Ahead of Pope Francis' visit to the UAE from February 3-5, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance, welcomed the pontiff in a personal message which was shared on social media.    read more
 
MOSCOW, January 31. /TASS/. Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia hopes that he will be able to visit Ukraine in the future to meet with the believers of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, he said in an interview timed to the tenth anniversary of his enthronement.

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ZAGREB, January 31, 2019 - The World Jewish Congress (WJC) has praised the Catholic Church in Croatia for having held the commemoration last Thursday in memory of the victims of the Holocaust and underscored that "is emboldened by the strong address delivered by Cardinal Josip Bozanić."   read more
 

Francis in Arabia, the Muslim-friendly pope

VATICAN CITY: When Francis becomes the first pope to visit the Arabian peninsula on Sunday, he takes another important step in his efforts to build bridges with Islam and confirms interreligious dialogue as a keystone of his papacy.
 

Bishop says Asia Bibi will live in Canada

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revealed Canada has offered asylum to Bibi and her husband, Ashiq Masih, and that the offer has been accepted
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Pope Francis is set to preside over the largest act of Christian worship in the Arab world when he celebrates a Mass during the first papal visit to the United Arab Emirates. 
 
TORONTO (CNS) -- Asia Bibi, the Catholic woman who spent eight years on death row in Pakistan, will be welcomed to a small town in Canada, where she will be reunited with her two teenage daughters, along with the family who aided and protected her daughters in Lahore while the mother sat in jail through years of legal appeals.
 
More than 10,000 people descended on St Mary’s Catholic Church in Dubai last night to collect their tickets to see Pope Francis during his coming visit to the UAE. Officials could only allocate the parish 43,000 tickets for the public Mass in Abu Dhabi next week despite about 7,000 more local worshippers wanting to attend.

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ABU DHABI, 29th January, 2019 (WAM) -- Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance, stated that the historic joint visit of His Holiness Pope Francis, Head of the Catholic Church, and Dr. Ahmed Al Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al Azhar, to the UAE reflects the country’s efforts to establish the values of
 
ABU DHABI, 29th January, 2019 (WAM) -- The UAE is preparing for the joint visit of His Holiness Pope Francis, Head of the Catholic Church, and the Dr. Ahmed Al Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al Azhar, which reflects the country’s stature as an international capital of tolerance and social cohesion.
 
Justin Welby is working in Thomas Cranmer’s old study in Lambeth Palace, a room that looks as if it hasn’t changed at all since the Book of Common Prayer was written here almost six centuries ago. It feels like a mini-monastic retreat: there is a desk, a crucifix, several Bibles and not much else. read more
 
"The purpose of the Light of Remembrance project – said its promoter Golda Tencer – is to raise awareness on the dangers connected to religious and ethnic intolerance. The project is addressed to the whole of Polish society, to all those who relate to fundamental human rights: the right to life and to freedom, regardless of ethnicity and religious affiliation.       read more
 
Chaldean Father Thabet Habib Youssef, pastor of the Church of St. Adday in the Christian town of Karamles, on Iraq’s Nineveh Plains, helps oversee the reconstruction and repair of Christian homes and Church properties in Karamles. He spoke with Aid in the Church in Need about the
 
BEIRUT, Lebanon - At a gathering of Middle East leaders coinciding with the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the Syriac Orthodox patriarch emphasized the need to unify efforts against extremism and terrorism.   read more
 
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — As the United Arab Emirates prepares to host Pope Francis in February, the country’s minister of tolerance said the first-ever papal visit to the Arabian Peninsula will contribute to building bridges at a time of growing nationalism and insularism around the world.
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ABU DHABI – Pope Francis’ upcoming historic visit to Abu Dhabi, which will begin on Feb. 5, will bring together many prominent leaders from Islam, Christianity, and Judaism from various parts of the region.
 
Despite threats reportedly growing, fewer than 100 of 12,000 Russia-affiliated parishes have joined the new church -  by Mansur Mirovalev
Kyiv, Ukraine - "It wasn't a search, it was a sacrilege," Father Anatoly Kaplyuk said, describing how
 
The Syro Malabar church synod also decided to take action against media outlets that portrayed nuns and priests badly. - 
The Syro Malabar church synod (a meeting of the metropolitans in the church) which concluded on Friday decided to take action against
 
Coptic Christians across Egypt celebrated the Epiphany feast on Saturday evening, amid tightened security measures as governors and executive leaders visited churches to congratulate the Copts.
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President Petro Poroshenko visited the presentation of the book "Dialogue Heals Wounds" by Primate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk. 
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