DUBLIN, MAR 7 (ZENIT.org).- HLI-Ireland's campaign to have a million rosaries prayed to convert abortion providers is picking up steam. Organizers report that the initial printing of 10,000 calendars has already been exhausted, so that a second print run of 10,000 has had to be ordered.

    Organizers say that "the campaign has been a huge success and has spread like wild-fire around the country." Interest has not been limited to the Republic of Ireland, however. Concerned persons in the United States, Canada, and Portugal have also requested calendars. Preliminary results of the campaign will be released in April. For further information, visit the HLI-Ireland web page: http://www.iol.ie/~hlii/homepage.html .

    Meanwhile, Italian missionaries working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are organizing a worldwide chain of fasting and prayer to alleviate the ravages of war that have plagued central Africa for years. According to the missionaries, the European Union has not had the will to get involved, while the U.N. has been slow to act and is now incapable of intervening.

    The appeal to fast and pray is directed to national and international organizations of solidarity, all religious confessions, journalists, and men and women of good will. By participating in the chain of fasting, these people hope to call the world's attention to the tragedy that plays itself out day after day in the Great Lakes region.

    Specifically, the fast will last from Ash Wednesday (March 8) to April 8, ending with a rally at the Roman Collosseum. Participants will choose the manner of fasting that is appropriate to them. However, this is a "chain" of fasting, so that every day some community or group is celebrating the fast.

    To notify the organizers of the fasting date of a group, send email (in English or Italian) to the Segretariato Missioni SX at muungano@libero.it, or send a fax to +39 0521.314.269. ZE00030721 and ZE00030722.