Perth’s Archbishop Timothy Costelloe has spoken out about new confessional legislation passed by the Western Australian State Parliament. The confessional legislation removes civil law protections to the confidentiality of the seal of confession. The confessional experience is a personal encounter between that person and Christ, Costelloe wrote in a pastoral letter published last week. He Read more
Cardinal Soane Patita Mafi has a simple message for politicians attending next month’s COP26 climate conference in Glasgow – “Listen to the Pacific”. “We want those big nations to really see and to really hear,” the Tongan-based prelate said in an interview with The Tablet. “Not to pretend. Not to turn away. We want them Read more
Leaders of Ireland’s Christian churches presented a united front during a ceremony marking 100 years of partition of Ireland. The ecumenical service at the Church of Ireland cathedral in Armagh was billed as a neutral “reflection” on the island’s division into a British north and independent south a century ago. The 1921 partition came amid Read more
The head of the Vatican Congregation for the Evangelization of People, and one of Asia’s most important Church figures says Europe is becoming a “mission territory.” On Thursday, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle said, “We are really concerned, not only for Europe but for all the world, regarding evangelization.” Speaking with reporters during the presentation of Read more
A Catholic leader has said that his archdiocese won’t take part in the two-year global synodal process, saying that it would run “the risk of becoming ideological.” Archbishop Wolfgang Haas of Vaduz, Liechtenstein, announced his decision on Oct. 15, reported CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner. “I am of the opinion that in our small Read more
US scientists temporarily attached a pig’s kidney to a human body and watched it begin to work, a small step in the decades-long quest to one day use animal organs for life-saving transplants. Pigs have been the most recent research focus to address the organ shortage, but among the hurdles: A sugar in pig cells, Read more
With most of its eligible adult population covered, Fiji’s Covid-19 vaccine rollout for teenagers is gaining pace. The health ministry says 28,965 children aged 15 to 17 have received a first vaccine dose – and 3,892 teenagers have received a second. The rollout was recently extended to this age bracket, after vaccination rates covered almost Read more
A mobile health clinic stopped in St Peter’s Square on Monday to provide nine hours of free heart and general check-ups for the poor and homeless who live near the Vatican. The clinic is part of an initiative called “The Streets of the Heart,” which is traveling around Italy to raise awareness about the prevention Read more
A female survivor of abuse by a priest has written to seminarians imploring them to become good priests and to make sure the “bitter truth” always prevails. The letter, written in Italian, was sent to Pope Francis who requested it be made public with the author’s identity withheld. “Please, do not sweep things under the Read more
Catholic social teaching has useful principles that can help people of any faith to improve the world, Pope Francis said in his message to the fourth World Meeting of Popular Movements. “The social teaching of the Church does not have all the answers, but it does have some principles that along this journey can help Read more