The government of Cambodia has recognised the Catholic Church for its contribution to developing local society. The Vicar Apostolic of Phnom Penh, Bishop Olivier Michel Marie Schmitthaeusler, representing the Catholic Church, received the “Grand Order of National Merit” from Environment Minister Sam Al Say. The presentation occurred at the Saint Paul Institute in Takeo Province Read more
A leading German cardinal has made an apology to LGBTQ people for the mistreatment they have been subjected to by the Catholic church. Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising (pictured) issued his apology on March 13 at a liturgy celebrating the 20th anniversary of a monthly LGBTQ Mass held in the archdiocese. Speaking at Read more
A German Catholic diocese has commissioned 17 women to perform baptisms, citing a shortfall in the number of priests. In Germany’s industrial Ruhr area, the Diocese of Essen is the first diocese in the country to appoint a group of women to administer the sacrament, reported CAN Deutsch. Church law stipulates that only an ordained Read more
According to the Vatican’s top diplomat, Russia has “taken note” of the Holy See’s willingness to mediate between the Kremlin and Ukraine to end the war, but has made no sign of wanting to take up the offer. The Holy See is “ready” to help mediate, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Read more
Nearly 30 million people were under lockdown across China today as surging coronavirus cases prompted the return of mass tests and hazmat-suited health officials to city streets on a scale not seen since the pandemic’s start. China reported 5,280 new Covid-19 cases, more than double the previous day’s tally, as the highly transmissible Omicron variant Read more
In a March 12 statement, the Vatican said the Nicaraguan government “has decided to withdraw the consent (welcome) for Archbishop Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag, apostolic nuncio to Nicaragua since 2018, imposing him to leave the country immediately after notifying him of that measure.” The statement continued: “Such an order is incomprehensible since (Archbishop Sommertag) has worked Read more
Saudi Arabia on Saturday executed 81 people convicted of crimes ranging from killings to belonging to militant groups. It was the largest known mass execution carried out in the kingdom in its modern history. The number of executed surpassed even the toll of a January 1980 mass execution for the 63 militants convicted of seizing Read more
Scandinavia’s Catholic bishops and church leaders (pictured) have let their German confreres know they don’t think much of the German Synodal Way. In their March 9 letter to the German bishops’ conference, the Nordic bishops said they appreciated that there was a “palpable need for change” in Germany. However, the issues addressed were not a Read more
A cathedral in Geneva, Switzerland, has celebrated its first Catholic Mass in nearly 500 years. The vigil of the First Sunday of Lent was the day chosen to celebrate the historic Mass. The last Mass celebrated at St Pierre Cathedral took place in 1535. After the Reformation, the building was taken over by John Calvin’s Read more
While it is important to follow news reports about the war in Ukraine, meeting victims of that war “has an impact on the gut”, says a leading Catholic cardinal. “The impact on your eyes when you see (through the media) the bombing and the destruction and the blood and all that” is one of outrage, Read more