Italy’s Constitutional Court has shot down a bid to decriminalize assisted suicide, judging that there were inadequate protections for the weakest. Right-to-die advocates in Italy have been trying to force a referendum on the contentious issue in the largely Catholic country where opposition is strong. It gathered 750,000 signatures in August, well above the minimum Read more
World
Pope invited to visit Ukraine to help bring peace
Monday, February 14th, 2022
Pope Francis has been invited to Ukraine by the leader of the country’s Eastern-rite Catholics who said it would be a huge gesture to help bring peace at a time of tension with Russia. Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk said there was no need to wait for conditions to be ideal, and the visit could take Read more
Benedict’s apology disappoints and angers
Monday, February 14th, 2022
Retired Pope Benedict XVI’s lack of a personal apology or admission of guilt immediately riled sex abuse survivors. They said his response reflected the Catholic hierarchy’s “permanent” refusal to accept responsibility for the rape and sodomy of children by priests. Benedict’s letter received a lukewarm reception from bishops in Germany, while victims’ organisations expressed disappointment, Read more
Sick must be cared for in body and soul
Monday, February 14th, 2022
Caring for the sick means healing the wounds of the soul as well as the body, Pope Francis says. “Care cannot be divided because the human being cannot be divided. We could — paradoxically — save the body and lose humanity” Francis says. Speaking in a video message released just before the 30th World Day Read more
Religious repression in Hong Kong could soon worsen, Christian cleric warns
Monday, February 14th, 2022
A Christian cleric in Hong Kong thinks that the Chinese government’s repression of religious freedom there is about to occur. At the same time, Hong Kong’s new bishop has underlined the importance of protecting human dignity. Speaking anonymously during an online discussion, the cleric said the freedom of religious schools is particularly under threat. The Read more
French Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church rebuts critique
Monday, February 14th, 2022
Last October, Jean-Marc Sauvé gave the French Bishops’ Conference the report he and members of the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CIASE) had compiled. Then in November, the French Catholic Academy published a 15-page critique of the report. The Academy has about 70 members. “The most serious defects of the CIASE report, Read more
Human trafficking syndicate bust in South Africa, 10 Bangladeshis freed
Monday, February 14th, 2022A Pakistani national, allegedly behind a transnational human trafficking syndicate operating between South Africa and several Asian countries, has been arrested. Ten Bangladeshi nationals were rescued in a raid in downtown Johannesburg. For a month, detectives from the serious organised crime unit at SAPS national head office have been assisted by crime intelligence agents in Read more
Number of Catholics worldwide rose by 16 million in 2020
Monday, February 14th, 2022According to statistics released on Friday by the Vatican, the number of Catholics worldwide increased by an estimated 16 million in 2020 to 1.36 billion. The rise was in line with global population growth in the year that the coronavirus pandemic swept the planet, reported Vatican News, the online news portal of the Holy See. Read more
French Catholic nun turns 118, making her the second oldest person in the world
Monday, February 14th, 2022Sister Andre Randon, a French nun, celebrated her 118th birthday on February 11. This milestone makes her the second-oldest living person in the world and the oldest living person in Europe, according to the Gerontology Research Group which validates details of people believed to be 110 or older. In anticipation of the big day, the Read more
Pakistani woman had nail hammered into head to ‘guarantee’ baby boy
Monday, February 14th, 2022A pregnant Pakistani woman had a nail hammered into her head by a faith healer who said it would guarantee she gave birth to a boy, a doctor said Wednesday. Exploitative faith healers, whose practices are rooted in mystic Sufi lore, are common across Muslim-majority Pakistan despite the disapproval of some schools of Islam. In Read more