A half-million young Catholics invade Rome, awaiting Pope Leo XIV at Holy Year youth festival
Leo will surely like what he sees: For the past week, bands of young Catholics from around the world have invaded the area around St. Peter's Square for their special Jubilee celebration, in this Holy Year in which 32 million people are expected to descend on Rome to participate in a centuries-old pilgrimage to the seat of Catholicism.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
39 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Israel euthanizes crocodiles after repeated escapes and inhumane treatment
PETZAEL, West Bank (AP) — A bask of crocodiles brought to an Israeli settlement in the West Bank decades ago is meeting its end, as authorities euthanize the aging reptiles after years of their repeated escapes from a long-neglected farm. Israeli authorities said Monday that government veterinarians had culled the crocodiles because they threatened the area's residents and were themselves suffering from inhumane treatment. The exact number of crocodiles euthanized and the method of culling were not immediately clear. 'The Nile crocodiles at the farm were being kept in an abandoned compound under poor conditions that constitute animal abuse, with insufficient access to food, which had driven them to cannibalistic behavior,' COGAT, the Israeli defense body that administers civilian affairs in the West Bank, said. The crocodiles were initially brought to the town of Petzael as a tourist attraction — a business adventure derailed by violence between Israel and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. They were later purchased by an entrepreneur who hoped to sell their skin. Their fate has been an open question since Israel in 2012 passed a law classifying the reptiles as protected animals and banned raising them for sale as meat or merchandise. 'I don't want to think of what will happen if a crocodile manages to escape and reaches the Jordan River, and then we'll have an international incident,' the head of the local community told The Associated Press in 2018, referencing the border with Jordan 4.2 miles (6.8 kilometers) away. COGAT said that authorities had spent hundreds of thousands of Israeli shekels (more than $29,000) to re-fence the dilapidated farm, which has been in a state of disrepair since it was shut down in 2013. It said that veterinarians were consulted on how to humanely exterminate the animals.
Winnipeg Free Press
39 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Flames and smoke force passengers to flee New York City area train
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — Flames leapt from the rails of a New York City area commuter train on Monday morning and smoke filled at least one car as passengers evacuated, according to authorities and video captured by a passenger. A roughly 30-second video posted to social media showed thick smoke on a Port Authority Trans-Hudson train car at the Newport station in Jersey City, New Jersey. People can be heard on the video saying 'open the door,' and 'easy, easy,' as they eventually disembark. The video then shows bright orange flames rising nearly to the top of the train car from the rails. The fire started at 6:19 a.m. on an eastbound train, and passengers were evacuated to the platform, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the train, said in a statement. Thirteen people were treated for smoke inhalation at the scene, nine of whom were transported to the hospital for further evaluation, the Port Authority said. The incident is being investigated, it added. The PATH trains conduct an average of about 165,000 passenger trips daily across the Hudson River from northern New Jersey into Manhattan.
Winnipeg Free Press
11 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
A Mississippi monkey sanctuary helps veterans with PTSD find peace
PERKINSTON, Miss. (AP) — In the embrace of a cheerfully chittering spider monkey named Louie, an Army veteran who grappled for decades with post-traumatic stress disorder says he finally feels at peace. 'Being out here has brought a lot of faith back to me,' said John Richard. 'There's no feeling like it.' The bond began last fall when Richard was helping two married veterans set up the Gulf Coast Primate Sanctuary, volunteering his time to build the enclosure that's now Louie's home in rural southeast Mississippi. During a recent visit, Louie quickly scampered up Richard's body, wrapping his arms and tail around him in a sort of hug. Richard, in turn, placed his hand on the primate's back and whispered sweetly until Louie disentangled himself and swung away. 'He's making his little sounds in my ear, and you know, he's always telling you, 'Oh, I love you,'' Richard said. ''I know you're OK. I know you're not going to hurt me.'' Richard said his connection with Louie helped more than any other PTSD treatment he received since being diagnosed more than 20 years ago. It's a similar story for the sanctuary's founder, April Stewart, an Air Force veteran who said she developed PTSD as a result of military sexual trauma. 'It was destroying my life. It was like a cancer,' she said. 'It was a trauma that was never properly healed.' Stewart's love of animals was a way to cope. She didn't necessarily set out to create a place of healing for veterans with PTSD, but that's what the sanctuary has become for some volunteers. 'By helping the primates learning to trust, we're also reteaching ourselves how to trust, and we're giving ourselves grace with people,' she said. Her 15-acre property, nestled amid woods and farmland, is filled with rescue dogs, two rather noisy geese and a black cat. It's also now home to three spider monkeys, two squirrel monkeys and two kinkajous, a tropical mammal that is closely related to raccoons. The sanctuary in the town of Perkinston, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) due north of the Gulf coast, includes three large enclosures for the different species. Each has a smaller, air-conditioned area and a large fenced-in outdoor zone, where the primates swing from platforms and lounge in the sun. Checking on the animals — changing their blankets, bringing food and water — is one of the first and last things Stewart does each day. However, she can't do it alone. She relies on a group of volunteers for help, including several other veterans, and hopes to open the sanctuary to the public next summer for guided educational tours. Stewart and her husband, also a veteran, decided to open the sanctuary in October after first rescuing and rehoming monkeys. With the help of two exotic-animal veterinarians, they formed a foundation that governs the sanctuary — which she said is the only primate sanctuary in Mississippi licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture — and ensures the animals will be cared for even when the Stewarts are no longer able to run it themselves. All the animals were once somebody's pet, but their owners eventually couldn't take care of them. Stewart stressed that primates do not make good or easy pets. They need lots of space and socialization, which is often difficult for families to provide. The sanctuary's goal is to provide as natural a habitat as possible for the animals, Stewart said, and bring them together with their own species. 'This is their family,' she said.
