A Sri Lankan court issued a summons on Friday ordering an ex-president to appear in a case alleging he failed to prevent suicide bomb attacks in 2019 that killed nearly 270 people. The court ordered ex-President Maithripala Sirisena to appear on 14 October in a complaint filed by a Catholic priest and a worshipper. They Read more
World
Diocese creates mental health ministry
Thursday, September 15th, 2022
Raging suicide statistics have led an American Catholic diocese to create a mental health ministry. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reports over twice as many people died in 2020 by their own hand rather than someone else’s. Once considered a mortal sin, suicide is viewed much more moderately today. By bringing suicide Read more
God must never be held hostage to human thirst for power
Thursday, September 15th, 2022
Pope Francis says God must never “be held hostage to the human thirst for power”, and religion must never be used to justify the “evil” of war. An implicit criticism of Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, who backs the invasion of Ukraine and has boycotted a conference of faith leaders, the Pope made his views plain Read more
Women deacons decision on hold
Thursday, September 15th, 2022
The Vatican is unlikely to make any statement on the possibility of women being ordained to the diaconate in the Roman Catholic Church until after the international bishop’s Synod on Synodality next year, said international expert Dr Phyllis Zagano. Dr Zagano was one of 12 scholars appointed by Pope Francis in 2016 to the commission Read more
Vatican’s ‘Vos estis’ records protected argues archdiocese
Thursday, September 15th, 2022
The Archdiocese of New York has argued that records compiled under ‘Vos estis lux mundi,’ a Vatican-ordered sexual abuse investigation of a retired bishop are protected by the First Amendment. In 2019, Albany Bishop Howard Hubbard, along with two other priests was accused of sexually abusing a female in the late 1970s when she was Read more
German synodal way members back permanent ‘synodal council’
Thursday, September 15th, 2022
The German “Synodal Way” has adopted a controversial proposal to create a permanent body composed of lay people and bishops to oversee the local Church. The country’s bishops initiated the “Der Synodale Weg” in 2019 in the wake of a damning report that showed the vast extent of the clergy sex abuse crisis. The aim Read more
Planned Parenthood now a top provider of transgender hormones
Thursday, September 15th, 2022America’s top abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, now offers “gender-affirming health care” including prescribing life-altering hormone injections to children as young as 16. According to Planned Parenthood itself, the abortion company has inched its way to becoming the second-largest provider of hormonal injections in America. This had increased significantly since the number of abortions provided by Read more
Pope Francis: ‘Cardinal Krajewski in Ukraine to show my closeness’
Thursday, September 15th, 2022“We continue to pray for the Ukrainian people, that the Lord will give them comfort and hope.” Pope Francis made that appeal on Sunday as he spoke to pilgrims gathered in St Peter’s Square for the Angelus prayer. The Pope also recalled that he had sent Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the Prefect of the Dicastery for Read more
China targets religion on radio, TV and internet
Thursday, September 15th, 2022Communist China is adopting a new regulation for radio, television and online programmes that strictly bans all forms of dissent and unauthorised religious content that threatens to disrupt “social order” and negate “socialist culture,” says a report. The State Administration of Radio and Television published the draft regulation titled: “Provisions on the Administration of Radio, Read more
Queen hailed for her part in reconciliation of Ireland
Thursday, September 15th, 2022The Queen is part of the reconciliation of Ireland, the head of the Church of Ireland has said. Archbishop of Armagh John McDowell was speaking during a service of reflection for the life of Queen Elizabeth II in which prayers were said to celebrate “her life and work for this country and for the Commonwealth, Read more