Latest news with #CAFOD
ITV News
17-07-2025
- Politics
- ITV News
Three killed in Israeli strike on Gaza's only Catholic church which Pope Francis called every day
Three people have died after Israeli strikes hit Gaza's only Catholic church which the late Pope Francis made daily phone calls to throughout the war. According to aid charity CAFOD, two of those killed in the attack were the parish's 60-year-old janitor Saad Salameh and Fumayya Ayyad, an 84-year-old woman who was inside a welfare tent in the church compound. Several people were also injured in the attack including the parish priest, Father Gabriele Romanelli, who became close to Pope Francis before his death in April. The pontiff would often call the lone Catholic church in the Gaza Strip to see how people huddled inside were coping during the war. Previously, Father Romanelli described the regular calls with the late Pope as "big consolation for our souls". The shelling of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza also damaged the church compound, where hundreds of Palestinians have been sheltering from the war. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, told Vatican News that the church was hit 'directly' by a tank on Thursday morning. Pope Leo XIV on Thursday renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza in response to the attack. In a telegram of condolences for the victims sent by the Vatican's No. 2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Leo expressed his "profound hope for dialogue, reconciliation and enduring peace in the region'. The pope was 'deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack,″ and expressed his closeness to the parish priest and the entire parish. Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols, leader of Catholics in England and Wales condemned the 'appalling strike' on the church which he called a 'place of sanctuary and spiritual support amidst the horrors of war'. He said: 'I add my voice to Pope Leo's call for a return of hostages, and an immediate ceasefire to end the suffering in Gaza and bring peace to the region." The Israeli military said it was aware of the damage caused at the church and is investigating. It said the IDF 'makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and civilian structures, including religious sites, and regrets any damage caused to them'. In a rare move, the Israeli Foreign Ministry posted an apology on social media. 'Israel expresses deep sorrow over the damage to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and over any civilian casualty,' the ministry said. Israel has repeatedly said it only targets militants, and accuses Hamas of operating from civilians areas. Elizabeth Funnell, Middle East representative for CAFOD, said: 'It is outrageous that working as a janitor in a church, Saad Salameh was not safe. He was killed while going about his daily work, in the grounds of a sacred building that should have been protected. "Fumayya Ayyad was 84, old enough to remember all the changes in the region since World War II. She was sitting down receiving support, in a tent within the church compound, when she was fatally wounded. 'Father Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest, had been urging people to remain inside their rooms in recent days, as the situation around the church was becoming so dangerous. "This is not a normal way for people to live, and yet his words and advice undoubtedly saved lives. A colleague in the church compound in Gaza told me: 'If Father Gabriel hadn't warned us to stay indoors, we could have lost 50 to 60 people today. It would have been a massacre.'" Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni blamed Israel for the strike on the church. 'The attacks on the civilian population that Israel has been demonstrating for months are unacceptable. No military action can justify such an attitude,' she said. The church is just a stone's throw from Al-Ahli Hospital, said acting director Fadel Naem, noting that the area around both the church and the hospital has been repeatedly struck for over a week. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which also has a church in Gaza that previously sustained damage from Israeli strikes, said the Holy Family Church was sheltering 600 displaced people, including many children, and 54 people with disabilities. It said the building suffered significant damage. Targeting a holy site 'is a blatant affront to human dignity and a grave violation of the sanctity of life and the inviolability of religious sites, which are meant to serve as safe havens during times of war,' the Church said in a statement. Around 1,000 Christians live in Gaza, an overwhelmingly Muslim territory, according to the US State Department's international religious freedom report for 2024. The report says the majority of Palestinian Christians are Greek Orthodox but they also include other Christians, including Roman Catholics. Separately, another person was killed and 17 injured on Thursday in a strike against two schools sheltering displaced people in the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, according to Al-Awda Hospital. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strike.
BBC News
11-04-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Bury schoolgirl, 8, embarks on year-long charity mission
An eight-year-old girl says she feels "joyful" that her year-long series of charity fundraising challenges will help those in from Bury in Greater Manchester, has vowed to raise money throughout 2025 for a wide range of causes close to her include walking 124 miles (200km) over 40 days as part of the Big Lent Walk with her dog Cookie, and completing a sponsored swim in May."Raising money for other people is making me feel really joyful and happy," said Tahlia. 'Super proud' Tahlia started her charity quest in January when she asked friends and family to make a donation to Bury Hospice rather than buying her presents."Before my birthday, I asked my mum if [I can raise money for] charities that care for the world instead," she schoolgirl's kind-hearted decision helped to raise more than £500 for the hospice, which provides palliative and end-of-life February, she saved her pocket money to sponsor Yorik the goat at Bleakholt Animal she is walking 3.1 miles (5km) each day with her canine companion to raise funds for CAFOD (Catholic Agency For Overseas Development) as part of the Big Lent Walk. Next month, she plans to complete a sponsored swim to raise funds for a stroke was inspired to swim a mile for charity after her grandad suffered a stroke in January 2021 at the age of mum Vicky said she was "super proud" of her daughter's fundraising efforts. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
BBC News
04-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Alvaston head teacher's hen-durance charity forfeit for pupils
A head teacher is set to walk 3.6 miles (5.8km) dressed as a chicken with a colleague who will wear a fried egg costume, after making a fundraising pledge to pupils. Graham Lobb promised children at St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy in Derby they would take on the challenge on Friday, if they managed to raise £1,000 for Lobb will walk from the school in Alvaston to St Mary's Church in the city centre and be accompanied by colleague Nathalie than being cooped up inside, the schoolchildren have been walking to reach their fundraising target for CAFOD, an international Catholic aid agency. "It's about having some fun with fundraising, the children have really enjoyed the walking and the fact that myself and Miss Woodings are going to dress up and do this, it's creating a bit of excitement around school," Mr Lobb money raised by the children for CAFOD will go towards chickens for vulnerable families in Kenya, to provide produce they can sell to earn a living, and the charity will provide training on how to look after the birds. 'Looking silly' Each class at St John Fisher has been set the target of walking 211 miles (339.5km) the distance between nine jubilee churches in the Diocese of extra 200 miles was walked across the whole school to bring the grand total to 1,411 miles - the distance from the school to the Vatican."The whole school has been fundraising so it's close to 190 children, so roughly each child needs five people to sponsor them £1."I didn't feel it was an unrealistic target amount with the current challenges that everyone's got with the cost of living," Mr Lobb said colleagues and friends had pledged to make up the difference if students struggled to reach the target of £1,000."They all want to see me looking silly dressed as a chicken and to be brutally honest I think my mum will also be doing the same thing as well, and my wife, because they want to see me dressed up, they want to see me looking silly," Mr Lobb said.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tributes to man killed in Nairobi motorcade crash
A British man killed in a suspected hit-and-run involving a vehicle in the Kenyan president's motorcade was "incredibly generous" and "always pleasant", a friend has said. Edgar Riches, 79, from Poole, Dorset, died on Thursday after he was struck on a road in Kenya's capital, Nairobi. He had been visiting relatives in the country when he was fatally injured, the BBC was told. Police detained a driver, since bailed, who is thought to have been driving a support vehicle at the back of President William Ruto's official convoy. Mr Riches worshipped at Poole's St Joseph and St Walburga and Our Lady of Fatima Churches, was a long-standing member of the town's Conservative Association and raised money for Catholic aid charity CAFOD. Ann Stribley, the president of Poole Conservative Association, said she had known Mr Riches for about 50 years. "He was private, quiet person but incredibly generous and if he said he was going to do something, he always did it," she said. "There's a total sense of shock and loss. He will be greatly missed. I shall remember him as a kind, quiet and thoughtful, always pleasant, individual. "He was a huge benefit to the association for many years and we will be lucky to see his like again." "[Mr Riches] was an active fundraiser and organised many social events, fundraising for CAFOD to help a school in Kenya," a church representative, who did not want to be named, said. "He went every year to visit his sister and nephew." There has been uproar on social media following Thursday's incident. While Kenyans are accustomed to roads being cleared for the presidential motorcade, some have questioned why the convoy was so big and moving at such speed. Kenyan police said Mr Riches' next-of-kin have been informed. You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. British man killed by president's convoy in Kenya hit-and-run
