Brother Alois Löser, prior of the Taizé Community for the past nearly two decades, has announced that he’s stepping down as leader of the world-renowned ecumenical monastery in France that the late Brother Roger Schutz founded. In a message on July 23 to the community, the 69-year-old prior – a German Catholic – said he Read more
World
7,000 people in Bougainville need temporary accommodation after eruption
Thursday, July 27th, 2023Ash fall from the erupting Mt Bagana in central Bougainville has collapsed a number of traditional houses. A cabinet minister in the government of the autonomous Papua New Guinea region, Theonila Roka Matbob, said there is in excess of 7,000 people needing temporary accommodation as a result of the eruption. Mt Bagana, erupted for the Read more
Vatican prosecutors request 73 years prison in corruption trial
Thursday, July 27th, 2023Vatican prosecutors in the Catholic Church’s 2-year-old corruption trial asked on July 26 that Cardinal Angelo Becciu be sentenced to seven years and three months in prison and pay 14 million euros in fines for embezzlement, abuse of office and witness tampering in connection with a real estate deal that lost almost $200 million. In Read more
Tattooed priest breaks barriers in prominent cathedral
Monday, July 24th, 2023
Canterbury Cathedral’s recent appointment of a tattooed priest as the new Canon Precentor and Residentiary Canon-designate has sparked both praise and controversy. Rev. Wendy Dalrymple, previously the rector of All Saints with Holy Trinity in Loughborough, England, has garnered attention for her arm tattoos, leading to a mixed reaction from the online community. The announcement Read more
Vatican State news supports gender equality in Afghanistan
Monday, July 24th, 2023
The Vatican state newspaper, Osservatore Romano, has come out in favour of gender equality in Afghanistan. On 20 July, the newspaper dedicated its front page to condemning the Taliban’s decree that all Afghanistan’s beauty centres must close down. The beauty centre closure is a complete shutdown. The Taliban decree is likely to negatively affect thousands Read more
Deep-sea mining delayed amidst environmental opposition
Monday, July 24th, 2023
The expected commencement of industrial-scale deep-sea mining for metals in the Pacific Ocean has been put on hold following opposition from environmental organisations and several nations. The metals are used in car batteries. The International Seabed Authority (ISA), a United Nations body that administers vast mining-licence areas in international waters, announced the need for additional Read more
Broadening definition of brain death challenged
Monday, July 24th, 2023
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the National Catholic Bioethics Center have raised concerns over a potential rewriting of US law that could broaden the definition of brain death. At the heart of the matter is the Uniform Determination of Death Act, initially proposed by the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) in 1981. Read more
Vatican moves to reunite Ukrainian children taken to Russia
Monday, July 24th, 2023
A Vatican plan is underway to reunite Ukrainian children with their families, a senior Vatican official says. The Ukrainian children were taken to Russia during the war. The plan The Holy See’s plan to reunite the children followed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s explicit request for its help, when he met Pope Francis at the Vatican Read more
Vietnam to let Vatican appoint resident representative
Monday, July 24th, 2023The Vietnamese government will allow the Vatican to appoint a resident representative in the communist Southeast Asian country, following years of negotiations amid the fraught diplomatic relationship between the two states. The development will likely be announced during the visit of President Vo Van Thuong to the Holy See by the end of July, Reuters Read more
Indonesia’s top court issues circular against interfaith marriage
Monday, July 24th, 2023The top court in Indonesia has come out with a circular requesting courts not to grant a nod to interfaith marriages contradictory to its 1986 ruling, which makes interfaith marriages legal in the Muslim-majority Southeast Asian nation. In the July 17 circular, Muhammad Syarifuddin, chairman of the Supreme Court, emphasised the need to establish guidelines Read more