Falling fertility rates mean nearly every country could have shrinking populations by the end of the century, a new study has found. And 23 nations – including Spain and Japan – are expected to see their populations halve by 2100. Countries will also age dramatically, with as many people turning 80 as there are being Read more
World
Falling fertility rates: ‘Jaw-dropping’ global crash in children being born
Thursday, July 16th, 2020Florida man crashes into church, sets it on fire with parishioners inside
Thursday, July 16th, 2020A Florida man was arrested Saturday after plowing his vehicle into a Catholic church and then setting the building on fire as parishioners were inside preparing for Mass, according to officials. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office said Steven Anthony Shields, 24, crashed his van through the front doors of Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Read more
Italy predicts decline in births following coronavirus
Thursday, July 16th, 2020According to Italy’s national statistics institute, Italy is likely to see a significant decline in the number of babies born in the period following the COVID-19 pandemic. In their 2020 annual report, Istat, Italy’s national statistics institute, predicted that the climate of uncertainty and fear caused by the coronavirus may result in 10,000 fewer births Read more
Radical shake up to Vatican Curia
Monday, July 13th, 2020
The Vatican Curia looks likely to soon get a radical shake-up, comments Robert Mickens, in La Croix International. According to his sources, the Rome-based editor for La Croix International, says that Pope Francis has signed off Praedicate Evangelium, the upcoming apostolic constitution that will reform the Roman Curia. Francis will receive the resignation of around Read more
Archbishop envisages women’s inclusion in the College of Cardinals
Monday, July 13th, 2020
A time when women’s inclusion in the College of Cardinals is acceptable is not hard to imagine, says Archbishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, president of the French Bishops’ Conference (CEF). “Nothing prevents them from holding many more important functions in the workings of the institution, with everything being a matter of competence.” Furthermore, Moulins-Beaufort is not opposed Read more
Teaching maths, history and economics is ministry in a Catholic school
Monday, July 13th, 2020
The question of religious schools’ right to hire and fire teachers has been decided by the US Supreme Court. The Court found in favor of two Catholic schools in California, ruling that a “ministerial exception” to government interference applies to teachers in religious schools. The justices ruled in a 7-2 decision that teachers at Catholic Read more
Woman’s Day appoints a Chief Spiritual Officer
Monday, July 13th, 2020
A new spiritual role has come for TV star and producer Candace Cameron Bure. The actress – famous for her roles AS DJ Tanner on Full House, Fuller House and various Hallmark movies – has accepted a new role: as the Woman’s Day’s new Chief Spiritual Officer, or CSO. As a woman who has always Read more
Church’s relevance in society is diminishing says bishop
Monday, July 13th, 2020
The Church’s relevance in today’s society is diminishing, says Bishop Heiner Wilmer of Hildersheim, Germany. Last year, a record 272,771 Catholics in Germany formally left the Church. While Wilmer is concerned there could be a further drop in church attendance due to the coronavirus crisis, his main concern is the Church’s apparent irrelevance in today’s Read more
‘Irish Sun’ apologises to former seminarian over ‘Fling and a Prayer’ story
Monday, July 13th, 2020A former seminarian has received an apology and damages in the High Court from the publishers of the Irish Sun over an article falsely claiming he had been sent home from the Irish College in Rome. Conor Gannon sued News Group Newspapers (NGN) over the May 12, 2018, article entitled ‘Fling and a Prayer’ which Read more
Pope Francis expresses sadness after Hagia Sophia is declared a mosque
Monday, July 13th, 2020Pope Francis expressed his sadness Sunday after Turkey’s decision to convert the former Byzantine cathedral of Hagia Sophia back into a mosque. In improvised remarks after reciting the Angelus, the pope recalled that July 12 is Sea Sunday, when the worldwide Church prays for seafarers. “And the sea carries me a little farther away in Read more