The bishops of London, Durham and Chelmsford are emerging as leading contenders in the race to become the next Archbishop of Canterbury. An announcement on the successor to Dr Rowan Williams, who steps down at the end of the year, is expected early next month. The Crown Nominations Commission (CNC), the committee charged with selecting Read more
The comedian Stephen Colbert and Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York bantered onstage Friday night before 3,000 cheering, stomping, chanting students at Fordham University, in what might have been the most successful Roman Catholic youth evangelization event since Pope John Paul II last appeared at World Youth Day. The evening was billed as an opportunity Read more
More internal strife has arisen in the breakaway Catholic Society of St. Pius X, after Bishop Richard Williamson made an unapproved visit to a large group in Brazil. Fr. Christian Bouchacourt, the society’s district superior of South America, said the bishop’s visit was “a serious act against the virtue of obedience” that did not respect Read more
Most young people in Britain think that morality means looking after your family or putting others first, a BBC poll suggests. Almost 600 16 to 24-year-olds were asked to choose the most important moral issue from eight options, with 59% opting for caring for family. Some 4% said having religious faith or beliefs was the Read more
A 15-year-old Christchurch girl has been driven out of her school by bullies just seven weeks before important exams begin. The girl allegedly received text messages from one tormenter’s parents, who did not want the girl to get her mother involved. The girl’s mother is desperately trying to enrol her in another school – a Read more
Spokesman of the National Syrian Council (SNC) George Sabra welcomed the statements made by Pope Benedict XVI who is on a 3 -day visit to Lebanon . Sabra told Voice of Lebanon radio station (VOL) : The Pope’s statement on Syria was a pleasant surprise and we the Syrian Christians are a part of the Read more
A spokeswoman from St James School, a Catholic integrated school in Christchurch, said she did not envisage the proposed Christchurch shake-up of schools will have an effect because the school’s buildings were owned by the Catholic diocese. ”But we’re feeling very sorry for our colleagues down the road. We’re all in close proximity and it’s Read more
With exorcism booming in Poland, Roman Catholic priests here have joined forces with a publisher to launch what they claim is the world’s first monthly magazine focused exclusively on chasing out the devil. “The rise in the number or exorcists from four to more than 120 over the course of 15 years in Poland is Read more
The incoming head of the Swiss bishops’ conference has suggested that allowing remarried divorcees to receive communion and lay people to deliver homilies is a “pragmatic” course of action. The Swiss bishops elected Bishop Markus Buechel of St Gallen to be the next president of the Swiss bishops’ conference, replacing Bishop Norbert Brunner in January. Read more
The man who helped his chronically ill wife commit suicide burst into tears outside court after being discharged without conviction. “I think it’s a miracle. It’s so good that New Zealand has the vision to say what is right and wrong,” said Evans Mott a few minutes after his sentencing at the High Court at Read more