A reliquary containing bone fragments believed to belong to St Peter passed from the Vatican’s safekeeping to Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople last week. “For us, this was an extraordinary and unexpected event that we could not have hoped for,” said Archbishop Job of Telmessos who received the relics on Bartholomew’s behalf. Job had Read more
A national prison charity in the UK has outlined a different approach to rehabilitation in its new five-year vision based on Catholic social teaching and the inherent dignity of every human being. The Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact), which provides support to prisoners, people with convictions, and their families, says the concept of the Read more
Three leading Irish newspapers have formally apologised and paid compensation to a former seminarian after admitting they made false statements about him. The Irish Times, The Irish Examiner and The Echo claimed the seminarian was expelled from formation after being found in bed with another seminarian. They alleged the seminarians had been attending an event Read more
Every morning, each member of the Samona family stops to pray in front of a small statue of the Virgin Mary that adorns the flower bed in the yard of their Novi, Detroit home. They pause again in front of the tiny statue when they return home at day’s end. It’s been part of the Read more
Six men in Papua New Guinea who tortured three women they claimed had practised sorcery have been sentenced to eight years each in jail. Justice David Susame told a National Court hearing in New Ireland, that it is becoming a practice in some parts of the country to round up people, accuse them of sorcery, Read more
Pope Francis has said that the international community shouldn’t tolerate acts of violence like the air attack that recently struck a detention center for migrants in Libya. Francis prayed for the victims of the strike, which on Wednesday killed at least 44 people and wounded dozens, in what the UN said could amount to a Read more
In an example of ecumenism in unity, Pope Francis and Orthodox Archbishop Job of Telmessos left mass together down the stairs under the main altar in St Peter’s Basilica and prayed together at St Peter’s tomb. Job was representing Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople at the pope’s celebration of the feast of Sts Peter Read more
For the first time ever, a civil court in France has suspended a priest from his ministry. The former priest was found guilty of embezzlement. He stole about €400,000 of assets belonging to two elderly sisters. Father Ryszard Pszczolkowski was sentenced last week to three years in prison. This penalty “constitutes the legal maximum” incurred Read more
Over 250 priests say they do not want Cardinal George Alencherry to be reinstated as their archbishop. Alencherry was removed from his administrative responsibilities last year after priests made public allegations that he sold off land and incurred a loss of US$10 million for the archdiocese. Now a spokesperson for the priests says the Oriental Read more
Pope Francis has written a letter applauding the German Church’s synodal journey and urging it to emphasise the centrality of the Holy Spirit in ecclesial renewal. The Church needs spiritual renewal, not just structural, he wrote as the Germany’s Catholics prepare to embark on a synodal process. “We are all aware that we are living Read more