When the Vatican Christmas tree and nativity scene were unveiled on Saturday, Pope Francis reminded the faithful to “stay rooted in Jesus Christ” during the holidays. “The tree teaches us about our roots, the nativity scene invites us to contemplation. Don’t forget these two human and Christian attitudes,” he said. “The tree, with its lights, Read more
The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Service of Charity is holding a thermal shirt drive to help people in Ukraine, who are facing an energy emergency amid the war. Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the pope’s almoner, says the charity office is “already stocking up” on thermal shirts for men, women and children. He is encouraging others to Read more
The mayor of Kyiv has said the city “cannot let Putin steal our Christmas” as Ukrainians prepare to celebrate the festive season with darkened trees. As Russian airstrikes knock out power and wreak havoc on critical infrastructure, Kyiv’s mayor Vitaly Klitschko said Christmas trees will be erected across the Ukrainian capital to mark Christmas and Read more
A Paralympian told lawmakers in Canada she was offered euthanasia equipment when she requested a wheelchair lift be installed in her home. Retired Army Corporal Christine Gauthier testified before Canada’s House of Commons veterans committee last week that she was shocked when the Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) employee offered her assisted suicide as a solution Read more
A mother of a 5-month-old is pleasantly surprised that a woman would officially baptise her child in a Catholic parish church. The Baptism occurred last Sunday at St Hedwig’s Parish in the Catholic Diocese of Essen, in the Ruhr region of Western Germany. I had no particular expectations on this issue. Still, the fact that Read more
The head of the commission to investigate abuse in the Archdiocese of Cologne has resigned, saying he wondered if its main aim was to protect Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki. The German Catholic news agency KNA reported Stephan Rixen has stepped down as head of the Independent Commission for the Investigation of Abuse in the Archdiocese Read more
Terrified residents expressed grave shock as North Korean authorities publicly executed three teenagers by firing squad including two who allegedly watched and distributed South Korean movies, says a report. A third teenager was accused of murdering his stepmother, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on Dec 2 quoting witnesses. The officials in the ultra-communist pariah state Read more
Pope Francis has tightened control and oversight over Vatican-based foundations and associations in his latest effort to impose international standards of accounting and governance on Vatican offices and affiliated entities. A new law aims to bring the Holy See into further compliance with recommendations from the Council of Europe’s Moneyval committee, which in April 2021 Read more
Pope Francis recently wrote to Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, thanking him and the diocese as a whole for their work accompanying immigrants at the southern border. Straddling the U.S-Mexico border, the Diocese of Brownsville is the southernmost diocese in Texas. It has long been at the epicentre of the church’s response to migration, Read more
The German bishops’ conference unveiled the initial results Wednesday of a study measuring global support for the goals of the country’s controversial “synodal way.” The study, co-funded by the bishops’ conference, is gauging the attitude of Catholics around the world toward the four main themes of the German initiative: power, the priesthood, women in the Read more