Some commentators are suggesting that religious liberty is under threat in the United States in both the legislature and the courts. At least one Bishop thinks there is a possibility that the Church will no longer be free to preach the truth from the pulpit or to present Catholic teaching. Bishop Samuel J. Aquila of Fargo, Read more
To mark the 25th anniversary of Assisi meeting with religious leaders, called by Blessed John Paul II in 1986, Pope Benedict XVI has convoked a new gathering in the Italian town Oct. 27. Benedict and representatives of the world’s major religions will make speeches and sign a common commitment to peace when they meet in Assisi Read more
The Vatican has appealed to diocesan bishops to encourage laicised priests to play a more active role in parish life. This information is contained in a letter from Cardinal Ivan Dias, the prefect for the Evangelisation of Peoples. The letter, dated February 2 2011, was to a priest who had written to the congregation on behalf Read more
In difficult times many people look to religious authorities for help and guidance; and religious authorities, in turn, rarely miss an opportunity to comment on current events. While Pope Benedict said he had not come to Germany “primarily to pursue particular political or economic goals, as other statesmen rightly do but, rather, to meet people and Read more
It was a busy time for Pope Benedict in Germany. Although not without some criticism and protest, Pope Benedict has received an exuberant welcome from his fellow countrymen. In his opening address the Pope said, “I have not come here primarily to pursue particular political or economic goals, as other statesmen rightly do,” he said, Read more
Media reports about the explicit nature of some school sex education programmes have drawn numerous responses and a diversity of opinions, many of them expressed with considerable intensity. The CEO of the The New Zealand Catholic Education Office, Br Pat Lynch, says they are dismayed that some teachers of the national curriculum sex education have taken an extreme approach Read more
Some Jewish groups expressed concern on Friday that the 40 years of progress in Catholic-Jewish relations could be brought into jeopardy by the Vatican’s outreach to traditionalist Catholics. The Vatican told the Society of St. Pius X that they must accept some core church teachings if they want to be fully reintegrated into the church. Read more
Catholic women are being urged to write to their bishop to protest at sexist language in the new version of the Roman missal. Fr Sean McDonagh of Ireland’s Association of Catholic priests said it was obvious from the language of the new missal that not a single woman had been consulted while it was being Read more
Violence must never be carried out in God’s name Pope Benedict insisted as he marked the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. “The tragedy of that day is compounded by the perpetrators’ claim to be acting in God’s name,” he said. In a letter sent a letter to Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, Read more
The day before Cardinal Joseph Ratziner was elected pope, the US embassy at the Vatican said he appeared to lack sufficient support. The statement was made in an unclassified diplomatic cable, and is one of many documents made public in the latest release of Wikileaks documents. “Despite a week of media speculation suggesting that German Read more