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The Vatican has issued a message to Hindus, congratulating them and wishing them a “happy Diwali”, the Hindu sect’s Festival of Lights. The message to Hindus, issued by President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, proposed that Catholics and Hindus work together for the protection of children from forced labor, sexual abuse, AIDS, and other social evils. (1) 1) “Hindus and Christians: Together to help needy children,” (Vatican Information Service, November 11, 2004) This is a prime example of the loss of the supernatural in the post-Vatican II Church. Conversion for eternity's sake, the prime reason...

SYDNEY: The governments of Australia and New Zealand joined the resident Indian community in celebrating Diwali by illuminating their parliament houses in a rare gesture. In Australia, the northern façade of the gigantic parliament building at Canberra was illuminated at an impressive function Saturday. The Australian Parliament House would be illuminated for three nights. In Wellington, capital of New Zealand, it was Prime Minister Helen Clark who lit the traditional lamp to inaugurate the first ever Diwali function to be celebrated in parliament house. Clark had visited India only last month. At the Canberra illumination, around 1,000 people attended the...

WASHINGTON: It was a Diwali without sparkle for many Indians who attended a White House event on Wednesday to mark the festival. President Bush was a no-show, First Lady Laura Bush did not turn-up, and there was little representation from the top echelons of the administration or the Republican Party - not even in the form of Karl Rove, Bush's chief political strategist who attended last year's festivities. This year's principal was Robert Blackwill, former US ambassador to India and White House pointman on Iraq, who resigned from the administration over the weekend and whose last day it was at...

The Catholic Church has issued a message to Hindus, wishing them a happy Diwali, the Festival of Lights, one of the oldest and most important feasts on the Hindu calendar. Echoing the theme of a message to Muslims last week, which marked the approaching end of the Holy Month of Ramadan, the message to Hindus focused on children. It was issued by President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, who called for collaboration among people of different faiths in protecting children. "During this season of Diwali, as you strive to overcome darkness through light, evil through...

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 05, 2004 12:37:33 AM ] WASHINGTON: After the electoral fireworks, the light. Indian-Americans will have their first dibs in the Bush II White House at a Diwali celebration to be hosted by the President next week. A tradition begun by the Bush I White House last year will be continued this year on November 10, when community elite will troop into 1600, Pennsylvania Avenue for the festival of lights. Bush was not present last year - he was in Hawaii on his way back from a trip to East Asia - but community leaders hope...