Russian Orthodox churches in Europe are preparing to reconnect with Moscow after nearly 90 years under the protection of Constantinople. An extraordinary General Assembly of 186 members met in Paris Sept. 7 to decide whether to reconnect with the Russian Orthodox Church, which they left in 1931 because of persecution under Stalin’s anti-religious policy. This Read more
World
Philippine President Duterte: No Need to Celebrate Arrival of Christianity
Thursday, September 12th, 2019Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte stated that there is no need to celebrate 500 years of Christianity in the Catholic majority country in 2021. Speaking at a groundbreaking ceremony in the City of Naga, Cebu, Duterte linked the arrival of Christianity to colonialism. “Why would I celebrate the arrival of the Spanish here? Why would I?” Read more
Spanish church warns against mindfulness
Thursday, September 12th, 2019Spain’s Catholic bishops have warned that the increasingly popular use of Mindfulness is incompatible with “Christian prayer practices”, and cautioned Catholics they risk “effectively abandoning the faith” if they engage in it. “Our pace of life, marked by activism, competitiveness and consumerism, generates emptiness, stress and anguish”, said the Bishops Conference’s Commission for Doctrine of Read more
Cardinal blesses rally protesting US immigration policies
Monday, September 9th, 2019
US prelate Cardinal Joseph Tobin blessed Catholic leaders and community groups before joining a rally protesting the current US immigration policies. These policies are particularly hard on children and their families. “I am Joseph, your brother, who has been heartbroken by the inhumanity,” Tobin told a rally in Newark, New Jersey last Wednesday. The government Read more
Conservative cardinals challenge next month’s synod agenda
Monday, September 9th, 2019
Two cardinals are challenging the working document for next month’s synod of bishops on the pan-Amazonian region. Cardinals Walter Brandmüller and Raymond Burke have both written to fellow members of the College of Cardinals raising concerns about the document. “Some points…seem not only in dissonance with respect to the authentic teaching of the Church, but Read more
Environmental degradation seriously concerns Fiji
Monday, September 9th, 2019
Fiji’s Archbishop Peter Loy Chong says Fiji is facing several serious concerns caused by environmental degradation. According to a report by the World Bank published in 2000, on the potential effects of climate change on the Pacific region, Fiji faces numerous risks. These include: higher rates of disease as average temperatures rise increasingly destructive storms Read more
Zimbabwe Catholics pray for Mugabe to be forgiven
Monday, September 9th, 2019
At the Catholic cathedral where Zimbabwe’s former independence leader and ruler Robert Mugabe attended Mass, prayers for his forgiveness were offered on Sunday. Mugabe died last Friday in Singapore. He was 95 Father Richard Mushukua opened Sunday’s Mass paying tribute to Mugabe and asking congregants to forgive him. “He did a lot of positive things Read more
Jury out on Irish Catholic Church’s future
Monday, September 9th, 2019
The “jury is out on whether the Irish Catholic Church has a discernible future,” a founder member of the Association of Catholic Priests. Apart from being a “convenient scapegoat for the ills of Irish society”, the church has virtually disappeared in the media. It has also vanished from public debate, modern Irish writing and the Read more
Suit challenges religious liberty of Catholic hospitals over assisted suicide
Monday, September 9th, 2019A Colorado man with cancer along with his doctor have filed a suit challenging religious liberty last month against a health system run by the Catholic Church. The suit alleges that hospital policy barring doctors from participating in assisted suicide violates state law. Cornelius “Neil” Mahoney, 64, was told July 16 that his cancer was Read more
Vietnamese Catholics grateful to late French cardinal
Monday, September 9th, 2019The head of Catholic bishops in Vietnam has praised a late Vatican official for his efforts to build bridges between Vietnam and the Catholic world. Cardinal Roger Marie Elie Etchegaray, president emeritus of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, died on Sept. 4 in Cambo-les-Bains in Read more