A Catholic priest who testified against an Indian bishop accused of rape has been found dead. His family suspect foul play. However, local medical staff said he had a series of health problems. Father Kuriakose Kattuthara, 67, was found dead inside his room a week after Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jalandhar was granted bail by Read more
World
Bishop says China’s one-child policy leads to trafficking
Thursday, October 25th, 2018China’s one-child policy is leading to human trafficking, says Cardinal Charles Bo of Myanmar. Speaking at the current synod on youth taking place in Rome, Bo says during synod he was reflecting on the situation for young people in Myanmar. He says the position young people in Europe are in is “quite different” from young Read more
Australian Church welcomes Prime Minister’s apology
Thursday, October 25th, 2018The Australian Catholic Church has welcomed Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s apology to survivors of institutional child sexual abuse and recommitted to working with the community to eliminate child sexual abuse. Leaders of Catholic Religious Australia (CRA) and the Australian Catholic Bishops released a statement after the prime minister’s address to parliament saying: ““The National Apology Read more
World’s superiors general want women’s votes at synod
Thursday, October 18th, 2018
Women’s votes at synods of bishops should be sought and they should have a larger role, say two Rome-based umbrella groups representing about a million Catholic religious from around the world. The Union of Superiors General for priests and brothers and the International Union of Superiors General for sisters and nuns are working on a Read more
Award for L’Arche founder Jean Vanier
Thursday, October 18th, 2018
Jean Vanier (90), who in 1964 founded the international federation L’Arche, has been awarded a Spiritual Solidarity Award from the Adyan Foundation, a Lebanon-based organisation for interreligious studies and spiritual solidarity. L’Arche communities are dedicated to creating and developing homes, programmes and support networks for people who have intellectual disabilities. The official letter accompanying the Read more
Digital missionaries may provide a way forward
Thursday, October 18th, 2018
Digital missionaries could help the Church become part of the digital world. In an update about the current Youth Synod meeting in Rome, Dr Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Communications, says a constant theme is focusing on digital communications. Ruffini says the issue of the pastoral care of young people in the Read more
Waste time to form connections with young people
Thursday, October 18th, 2018
Bishops should waste time to connect with young people, 54 year-old Archbishop Anthony Muheria of Kenya says. Speaking to his fellow bishops at the synod on youth, Mulheria noted: “There’s a lot of fury that goes on in discussing what we should do for the young people, what we should propose to them, what do Read more
New bible makes scripture more accessible to Catholics
Thursday, October 18th, 2018
A new version of the Bible has been edited to make scripture more accessible to Catholics. The new version – published by Ascension Press – has been prepared because Catholics often know less of biblical teachings compared to Lutherans and other Protestants, its general editor Mary Healey says. Called the “Great Adventure Catholic Bible”, it Read more
Pope decries lack of progress fighting hunger
Thursday, October 18th, 2018Fighting hunger shouldn’t be so difficult, Pope Francis says. At a time of technological and scientific progress, “we ought to feel shame” for not having advanced in “humanity and solidarity” enough to feed the world’s poor, he says. Just because we have faced emergencies and desperate situations of those most in need doesn’t mean we’ve Read more
Eight priests, nuns and teachers expelled from Myanmar
Thursday, October 18th, 2018Eight priests, nuns and teachers have been expelled from Myanmar’s northern Shan state. China-backed ethnic minority Wa State Army have ordered them to leave the Wa Hills, which border China. They were only allowed to take what they could carry. Read more