Pope Francis says he is considering working on an encyclical letter on nonviolence. He discussed the possibility with reporters during his return flight to Rome after his week-long trip to Thailand and Japan. “The plan exists, but the next pope will do it.” The encyclical is one of many “projects in the drawer” that are Read more
Pope Francis, Monday, travelled to Hiroshima and Nagasaki and standing before survivors of the 1945 atomic bombing, Francis said a world without nuclear weapons is possible. Francis said it is “perverse” to think the threat of nuclear weapons makes the world safer. Calling their use a crime against the dignity of humanity and against any Read more
Pope Francis has made four new appointments to the Pontifical Council for Culture. All are women. Sr Dominica Dipio, MSMMC, professor of literature at the Makerere University of Kampala, Uganda; Sr Mariella Mascitelli, PDDM, an architect specialising in architecture and art for the liturgy, Italy; Maud de Beauchesne-Cassanet, head of the Department of Religious Art Read more
An Argentine court on Monday convicted two Roman Catholic priests and the former gardener of a church-run school for deaf students in the province of Mendoza on 28 counts of sexual abuse and corruption of minors. Priests Nicola Corradi and Horacio Corbacho were sentenced to 42 and 45 years in prison, respectively, while the school Read more
A company in Japan is taking conservation to extremes by providing the ability to even eat the plate the food is served on. That is a small Japanese confectionery company which offers edible takeaway containers and is working on an edible coffee cup. The cups and edible takeaway food trays are aimed at tapping into Read more
Pope Francis’ visit to Thailand ended on a missionary note. In a country where Catholics represent less than 1% of the population, Francis called on these modern missionaries in Thailand to give Christianity a fresh face. “As I prepared for this meeting, I read, with some pain, that for many people Christianity is a foreign Read more
Business Manager of the Ballarat Catholic Diocese, Andrew Jirik (pictured) is warning parish churches will not survive without more Catholics. In a ‘searing’ editorial in the diocesan newspaper, “Our Diocesan Community”, Jirik compared the challenge facing the diocese akin to the Protestant Reformation of some 500 years back. The Ballarat Catholic Diocese needs “more Catholics Read more
Australian paedophiles are fuelling market demand for extreme content according to senior police officers. The Australian reports the explosion of child exploitation footage is so great the police can no longer arrest their way out of the problem. The problem is made more difficult by digital encryption services and the authorities needing help to police Read more
An Argentine bishop wanted for alleged sex abuse offences has been living at the Vatican’s Domus Santa Marta. This is the same hotel where Pope Francis lives. Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta is accused of sexually abusing two seminarians. The seminarians also say he mismanaged the diocese’s finances and abused his power. The bishop was criminally charged Read more
A 70-year old French nun has been banned from living in a rest home because it cited a strict ban on religious garb and “ostentatious” signs of religion. The home said she must remove her religious habit if she was to live at the publicly-funded residence. Although the nun’s application to live at the home Read more