EWS IN BRIEF

Muslims in Mali
POPE JOHN PAUL II encour
aged Catholic-Muslim dialogue during a meeting with Malian bishops at the Vatican last week. His Holiness declared that by fostering good relations with the country's Muslim majority, the Catholic clergy might preserve Mali from the internal divisions which plague much of the rest of the African continent.
Pro-lifer jailed
A 24-YEAR OLD pro-life fanatic has been found guilty of first degree murder in New York. John Sahn, a Catholic, was jailed for life without opportunity of parole for killing two women and injuring five others in gun attacks on two abortion clinics in 1994.
Christian Aid
CHRISTIAN AID obtained video footage last week revealing the neglect of children in both the orphanages and hospitals of war and poverty striken Georgia. In response the Christian organisation has launched an Eastern Europe Winter Appeal throughout the UK.
Trocaire support
TROCAIRE, Ireland's Catholic Agency for World Development, this week declared its full support of the Rwandan Report's assertion that humanitarian action aid cannot replace political action. To encourage reconciliation in the war-torn nation Trocaire has been funding initiatives aimed at rebuilding the Rwandan justice system.
Filipino Women
THE C.ATHOLIC institute for International Relations has recently focused on the plight of the women who worked as prostitutes on American bases in. the Philippines. A nonprofit organization called the Bukold has been set up to empower these impoverished Filipino women and provide them with work skills and health care.