Developing and using killer robots – fully automated lethal weapons systems – would make warfare even more inhumane, Archbishop Ivan Jurkovic says. Jurkovic is the Vatican observer to the United Nations (UN) agencies in Geneva. He told a UN session for the “Group of Governmental Experts” on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) that autonomous systems Read more
Chile’s Catholic Church has asked for a drastic solution that could include resignations. The call came a day after Pope Francis acknowledged “grave mistakes” in handling a sexual abuse crisis and summoned Church leaders to Rome. At a meeting of Church leadership on Chile’s central coast, Santiago Silva, the president of the Episcopal Conference, said Read more
A global prayer movement has been endorsed by the Archbishop of Westminster and the Archbishop of Canterbury. The prayer movement urges Catholics to join others around the globe in praying Thy Kingdom Come between Ascension and Pentecost. The prayer Thy Kingdom Come is a prayer of longing, of hope and trust in the promise that Read more
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has apologised and said Facebook “made a mistake” in blocking a Catholic theology degree advertisement by Franciscan University of Steubenville. He said the ad had been blocked erroneously and did not violate terms of service. The ad, which featured a crucifix, was rejected over Easter on the grounds that its content Read more
French President Emmanuel Macron says he wants to repair church-state relations. His ambition has caused a furore in France, as he is seen to be tampering with France’s secular tradition. The Church and State have been legally separated since 1905, following a groundswell of change that began with the French Revolution in 1789 and continued during Read more
South Africa’s bishops say the decision to issue former President Jacob Zuma with a summons to court shows the “wheels of justice are still turning” in the country. No-one is above the law, they say. The former South African President faces 16 counts of corruption relating to a multibillion-rand arms deal arranged when he was Read more
The “Good Friday Agreement” that brought an end to the late 20th-century Troubles in Northern Ireland needs further work. The Agreement committed Northern Ireland’s political parties to resolving political issues by democratic and peaceful methods. Speaking on the Agreement’s 20th anniversary, the Catholic Church Primates of All Ireland say it “took a great effort to Read more
The Archbishop of Adelaide, Philip Wilson, is fighting to have charges that he covered up child sexual abuse reports thrown out of court. This is the fourth time Wilson has attempted to have the case rejected. Last year he lost an attempt in Sydney’s Court of Appeal to rule the charges invalid. His barrister Stephen Read more
“My religion tells me who created the universe,” the Pope’s astronomer and director of the Vatican Observatory says. “My science tells me how he did it.” Theologian and scientist Jesuit Br Guy Consolmagno is a graduate of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He also studied philosophy as part of his Jesuit Read more
The full text of Pope Francis’s apostolic exhortation Gaudete et Exultate – Rejoice and be Glad – has been published online by the Holy See. To access the exhortation, read more