Women symbolise Ukraine’s strength with the way they courageously face adversity, says the leader of Ukraine’s Catholic Church. They can be seen praying for peace, defending their nation, staying behind to care for loved ones, mourning loss and death, and fleeing to bring their children to safety all symbolise hope for Ukraine, says Archbishop Sviatoslav Read more
Pope Francis has overhauled the Vatican’s central bureaucracy, dramatically expanding the number of top leadership roles lay Catholics, both men and women, can hold. On Saturday, Francis issued a new constitution for the Vatican’s central administration, known as the Curia, stating that any baptised lay Catholics can head Vatican offices. For centuries, male clerics have Read more
As the number of vocations to religious life is dropping, sometimes sharply, Pope Francis urges communities to be realistic, trust in God and educate laypeople to carry on their work and spirituality. In a meeting March 17 with members of the Augustinian Recollects, an order founded in 1588, the pope acknowledged that 25 years ago, Read more
The Christian heritage of the West cannot be preserved by looking backward, but only by looking forward, the former head of the Knights of Columbus said in a lecture in Rome on March 17. Carl Anderson (pictured meeting Pope Francis) made the comments while delivering a lecture for the St John Paul II Institute of Read more
Cambodia has dropped all testing for Covid-19 and reintroduced its pre-pandemic visa-on-arrival system in a bid to resuscitate its economy, especially sectors like tourism. Prime Minister Hun Sen said easing the entry requirements for international travellers would attract investment, business and tourism to the kingdom. “It will also reduce nose pain from taking the Covid-19 Read more
A group of Catholics in the southern Indian state of Kerala burned effigies of Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Oriental Churches, and Cardinal George Alencherry, head of the Eastern-rite Syro-Malabar Church, to protest their stand on the five-decade-old liturgy dispute. The protesters also called for a total boycott of Cardinal Read more
Although Russia’s Catholics hold different views about the conflict in Ukraine, a spokesman for the country’s bishops said all are united in welcoming Pope Francis’ plan to consecrate their country to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on March 25 in a service at the Vatican. However, a Catholic professor in the country said the pope’s Read more
A Russian Orthodox priest has been fined for condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and stressing the importance of the commandment “Thou shalt not kill.” The Rev. Ioann Burdin, of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Kostroma Diocese north-east of Moscow, made his remarks both online and in his sermon to parishioners on Sunday March 6. Police then called Read more
Almost 1,000 Polish Catholic convents have opened their doors to Ukraine’s refugees. The UN refugee agency says by March 14, almost 1.8 million people had entered Poland from Ukraine since the full-scale Russian invasion on February 24. The Council of Major Superiors of Congregations of Women Religious (the Major Superiors) in Poland says as at Read more
On Monday, Pope Francis met the South Sudan bishop-elect who was shot in the legs last April shortly after his nomination to lead Rumbek diocese. Bishop-elect Christian Carlassare (44) had a private meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Monday. Carlassare’s episcopal consecration is scheduled for March 25. It was deferred after the shooting, Read more