* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Mario Miranda Festival, July 24-26, 2008 Old GMC Building, Panjim. June 24, 4.30 pm Children's Day (with Bookworm). June 25, 5 pm Mario's medium analyzed. Short films on Mario. Featuring the first public appearance in Goa by Amruta Patil, graphic novelist and Goa Art College graduate. Her recent graphic novel, 'Kari' (Harper Collins) earned wide acclaim. July 26, original play by the Mustard Seeds Arts Company (5pm)
* * * 2008 Goan International convention currently on at Mississauga University of Toronto (UTM), July 23-27, 2008. http://2008goanconvention.com/index.php * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Vatican-Saudi talks on churches Archbishop Hashem discussed the Saudi talks whilst visiting Qatar Vatican-Saudi talks on churches The Vatican is holding talks with Saudi Arabia on building the first church in the kingdom, where some 1.5m Christians are not allowed to worship publicly. Archbishop Paul-Mounged el-Hachem, one of Pope Benedict XVI's most senior Middle East representatives , said the discussions had begun a few weeks ago. But the archbishop cautioned that the Vatican could not predict the outcome. The discussions come in the wake of King Abdullah's historic meeting with the Pope at the Vaticanlast November. A Catholic-Muslim Forum was also set up by the Pope two weeks ago to repair relations between the two faiths after the crisis caused by a speech he gave in Germanyin 2006, in which he appeared to associate Islam with violence. 'Reciprocity' The disclosure of talks between the Vatican and Saudi Arabia, which do not have diplomatic ties, came soon after the first Roman Catholic church in the Qatari capital, Doha, was opened in a service attended by 15,000 people. Archbishop Hachem, the Apostolic Nuncio to Kuwait, Qatar, Yemen, Bahrain and the UAE, who attended the inauguration, said he hoped there would soon be a similar church for the many Christians in neighbouring Saudi Arabia. If we manage to obtain authorisation for the construction of the first church, it will be an outcome of historic dimensions Father Federico Lombardi Spokesman for Pope Benedict 'Discussions are under way to allow the construction of churches in the kingdom,' he said. Although he made clear the outcome was uncertain, the archbishop added that a church in Saudi Arabiawould be an important sign of 'reciprocity' between Muslims and Christians. The Vaticanhas noted that Muslims are free to worship openly in Europeand demands religious freedom as a condition for the opening of diplomatic relations. About a million Catholics, many of them migrant workers from the Philippines, live in Saudi Arabia. They are allowed to worship in private, mostly in people's homes, but worship in public places and outward signs of faith, such as crucifixes, are forbidden. The last Christian priest was expelled from the kingdom in 1985. Christians complain that rules are not clear and that the Saudi religious authorities, who enforce the kingdom's conservative brand of Islam, Wahhabism, sometimes crack down on legitimate congregations. The authorities cite a tradition of the Prophet Muhammad that only Islam can be practised in the Arabian Peninsula. A spokesman for Pope Benedict, Father Federico Lombardi, said: 'If we manage to obtain authorisation for the construction of the first church, it will be an outcome of historic dimensions.' Story from BBC NEWS: http://news. bbc.co.uk/ go/pr/fr/ -/2/hi/europe/ 7302378.stm Published: 2008/03/18 12:04:54 GMT © BBC MMVIII Saudis to allow construction of a Catholic church? Rome, Mar. 17, 2008(CWNews. com) - The Vatican is negotiating with the government of Saudi Arabiato allow construction of a Catholic church in that country, Vatican Radio reports. Islam is the state religion of Saudi Arabia. The government has not allowed the construction of any non-Muslim place of worship. No religion other than Islam is allowed to schedule public services, and even the possession of Bibles, rosaries, and crucifixes is forbidden. While it is home to 800,000 Catholics-- virtually all of them foreign workers-- Saudi Arabiais the only country on the Arabian Peninsulawithout a Catholic church. However King Abdullah has now given his support to the drive for construction of a Catholic church. Saudi Arabiadoes not have formal diplomatic relations with the Holy See. But in November 2007, King Abdullah became the first reigning Saudi monarch ever to visit the Vatican. Commenting after his meeting with Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news), Vaticanofficials had confirmed that the Pontiff pressed for permission to open a Catholic church in Saudi Arabia. Vatican diplomats have long argued that Islamic states should practice reciprocity in recognizing the religious freedom of their Christian minorities, just as the predominantly Christian states of Europerecognize the rights of Muslims. The city of Rome, for example, has allowed construction of one of Europe's largest mosques. Father Federico Lombardi, the spokesman for the Holy See, said that opening a Catholic parish in the Islamic land would be 'a historic achievement' for religious freedom and a major step forward for inter-religious dialogue. The apostolic nuncio to Kuwait, Qatar, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain, Archbishop Paul-Mounged El-Hachem, is reportedly the lead Vatican negotiator in talks with Saudi officials. - Forwarded by www.goa-world.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------- **** http://www.GOANET.org **** --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tri Continental Film Festival 2008 July 25 - 30, 2008 Goa, India http://www.moviesgoa.org/page/tri_continental/ http://www.moviesgoa.org/tricon/schedule_2008.pdf ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
