A city in Spain is starting to use its cemeteries to generate renewable power. On the east coast, Valencia aims to install thousands of solar panels in graveyards around the city. The project has been dubbed RIP – standing for Requiem in Power – and was launched this month with the first photovoltaic panels installed. Read more
World
Anglican-Catholic dialogue examines churches’ ethical teachings
Monday, June 10th, 2024Recognising that the Christian churches continually are called to grapple with new moral issues and that reaching different conclusions can complicate the search for Christian unity, a commission of Catholic and Anglican bishops and theologians has been studying how their traditions make decisions and what they can learn from each other. According to a statement Read more
Faith-based agencies denounce Biden’s executive order at the southern border
Monday, June 10th, 2024President Joe Biden signed an executive order on June 4 dramatically limiting the number of immigrants who may apply for asylum at the southern United States border. Starting Wednesday, the policy pauses entry at the border once 2,500 illegal entries have occurred in any 24-hour period. The executive order follows two failed attempts in Congress Read more
Protestors occupy Vatican embassy in Colombia
Monday, June 10th, 2024After two days of occupying the apostolic nunciature in Bogotá, Colombia, protestors agreed to leave. They were protesting the violence of paramilitary groups against community leaders and Indigenous peoples and will now hold a meeting with the government about potential solutions. About 15 activists entered the area on Jun 4 during a march that had Read more
Pope mending bridges, encourages gay man in vocation
Thursday, June 6th, 2024
Pope Francis has reportedly encouraged a 22-year-old gay man to continue to pursue a vocation to the priesthood after he was not accepted into a Catholic seminary. Just days after the Vatican issued an apology for the pontiff’s use of a slur in reference to seminarians who identify as gay, Francis reportedly responded to an Read more
Theologians gather in Rome to shape next Synod
Thursday, June 6th, 2024
In response to Pope Francis’s call, 15-20 theologians from around the world gathered in Rome to prepare for the next stage of the Synod on Synodality. The meeting is taking place from 4 to 13 June at the General Curia of the Jesuits, near the Vatican. The theologians, including theology, ecclesiology, and canon law experts, Read more
No ‘Witch Hunt’ for improper Fiducia blessings
Thursday, June 6th, 2024
Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández has emphasised that the Vatican will not engage in a “witch hunt” over improper blessings of same-sex unions. The prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s comments came after a meeting on May 22 with Coptic Pope Tawadros II. In an interview with María Martínez López, a bioethics Read more
Despite archbishop, Catholic school is safe, respectful and inclusive
Thursday, June 6th, 2024
A letter which Archbishop of Hobart Julian Porteous sent to all Catholic schools last month has drawn ire from a Hobart Catholic primary school. The letter In the May 2 letter, Porteous railed against the “radicalised transgender lobby”, same-sex marriage and the “woke movement”. “What we are now witnessing in our Australian society is the Read more
French euthanasia bill faces strong Catholic opposition
Thursday, June 6th, 2024
French lawmakers are debating a new “end of life” bill which proposes extensive measures for euthanasia and medically assisted suicide, sparking strong opposition from Catholic leaders. The bill, introduced on 27 May, is set to be more permissive than existing laws in Canada and Belgium. A commission of 71 parliamentarians reviewed over 3,000 amendments in Read more
Catholics killed In Democratic Republic of Congo after refusing to convert to Islam
Thursday, June 6th, 2024Pope Francis condemned the recent killing of 14 Catholics in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) who reportedly were killed after they refused to convert to Islam. The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano reported that the 14 Catholics, several of them very young, were killed in North Kivu by members of the ISIS-affiliated militia called Read more