Santiago de Chile (Agenzia Fides) On Saturday, October 17, at the Marian College of Santiago de Chile, there will be a National Encounter of Women's Pastoral Ministry on the theme: "Women, missionary disciples for life in Chile." According to a

Managua (Agenzia Fides) On Sunday, October 11, thousands of missionaries from various parishes of the Archdiocese of Managua participated in the Archdiocesan Missionary Congress on the theme "Disciples and Missionaries of Jesus Christ Priest and Good Shepherd." The activities began

Preaching the Gospel helps to reflect on and update content and activity of the missionary dimension of the Church." This is what Archbishop Jose Mara Arancedo of Santa Fe de la Vera Cruz said in his weekly radio message on

In the week immediately before World Mission Sunday, final preparations by the US Pontifical Mission Societies Office have included an expanding of their presence on the Internet, in terms of materials and outreach, as well as continuing radio interviews. This

Quito (Agenzia Fides) For World Mission Sunday (DOMUND) 2009, in the four sectors of the city of Quito, the capital of Ecuador, there will be "Missionary Festivals" for "praying and celebrating all our missions and missionaries throughout the world." This

The application of the Convention of Rights of the Child, a utopia that is possible" will be the theme of the 10th Archdiocesan Encounter for Youth and Children, to be held October 27 in the Santa Cecilia Auditorium of the

The Church, the community that all of us form as baptized, exists to evangelize. Announcing the Good News of Jesus is the mission of every Christian." This is what Bishop Heriberto Bodeant of Melo (Uruguay) said in his Message for

Missionary Disciples: You are the light of the world and the salt of the eath." This will be the theme of the First Missionary Congress of the Diocese of Moron (suffragan of Buenos Aires), which will take place May 21-23,

An 11-year-old autistic girl writes poetry about her inner world.

A partnership between the city of Portland, Oregon andevangelical churches has led to thousands of volunteers completinghundreds of community service projects focused on schools, hunger,homelessness, health, poverty, and the environment.

Abortion is a health service, " says Rev. Debra Haffner, director of the Religious Institute. "Abortion is a morally objectionable activity," says Charmaine Yoest, president of Americans United for Life.

Step by step, Congress is moving forward on health care reform, and religious groups are among those mobilizing around the issue. After the Senate Finance Committee approved its health care plan this week, both the House and Senate are now

Faith groups are also divided on another issue in the news this week: gay rights. Religious leaders were among both supporters and opponents of a mass march for gay rights in Washington and of a speech President Obama gave to

The Reverend Sun Myung Moon is handing over day-to-day operations of the Unification Church he founded to his daughter and three sons. The church claims more than 100,000 members and a network of businesses worldwide. It may be best known

At the Vatican, African bishops spoke out against what they called the "cultural imperialism" of many Western aid programs. The bishops are in Rome for a special meeting to address the role of the Catholic Church in Africa. One of

In Iraq, the government released its first official tally of civilian war deaths. It said more than 85,000 thousand Iraqi civilians were killed between 2004 and 2008 and almost 150,000 were wounded. The number includes 15,000 unidentified bodies that were

In Indonesia, officials have given up the search for the missing after the earthquake that devastated that country last month. The death toll stands at more than 1,100. Humanitarian groups and faith-based organizations are working to meet the demands of

President Obama made his first visit to New Orleans since becoming president. In connection with the visit, a coalition of some of the nation's most influential religious leaders asked him to prioritize recovery for the region. In a letter signed

Action by Churches Together International said it is providing meals for nearly 60,000 people in flood-ravaged southern India but is struggling to generate financial support.

Religious groups are urging Americans to take a stand against violence in media, particularly hate speech against immigrants, by taking part in a weeklong media fast.