Palestine’s Vatican Embassy, launched last month, will benefit both Palestine and the Holy See, the Holy See’s diplomatic representative to Jerusalem says. And although there is no official State of Palestine, Issa Kassissieh, the Palestinian ambassador to the Holy See, said the new embassy is “a significant achievement for the Palestinian people.” The Holy See’s Read more
Australian Catholic leaders will sign professional standards contracts holding them accountable for protecting children from pedophiles. This is the first time the church has taken responsibility for protecting children in this way. Through the contracts, the leaders will agree to abide by the professional standards and to be monitored, audited and subject to public reporting. Read more
Ghana will be re-consecrated to the Sacred Heart at celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the Republic of Ghana and the Holy See. The celebrations will also encompass the 60th Independence Anniversary of the Republic of Ghana. Pope Francis has appointed Giuseppe Cardinal Bertello, President of the Governatorate of Read more
Archbishop of Los Angeles Jose Gomez said the new White House administration is cruelly playing with people’s lives, at a Vatican-sponsored conference last Friday. Gomez said fears surrounding deportation are not new and many people were deported when Barack Obama was president. However, he said the administration under President Donald Trump has set a harsh Read more
Catholics and Jews are America’s “most liked” religious groups, according to the latest Pew Research Center survey. Determined on a “feeling thermometer” ranging from 0 (freezing) to 100 (very hot), Jews and Catholics achieved a mean rating of 67 and 66 respectively. Mainline Protestants are just behind at 65. The lowest ratings are for atheists Read more
The Australian Senate has endorsed the Green Party’s call for Cardinal Pell’s return from Rome to face allegations of criminal misconduct. In reply, Pell says the Green Party’s actions show it is “anti-religion”. A spokesperson for Pell said the move is really about political point scoring. “The Greens have opted for an obvious political stunt Read more
The Vatican’s legal chief says according to Amoris Laetitia’s provisions, Communion can be given to people in irregular unions. But – this is only possible if they want to change their situations but cannot act on their desire because doing so would lead to further sin. In his new book The Eighth Chapter of the Read more
Sister Lucia of Fatima’s case for beatification is ready to be presented to Vatican officials. The Catholic Church in Portugal says it has assembled over 15,000 pages of testimony and documentation to support Lucia’s case. Lucia was one of three shepherd children who said the Virgin Mary appeared to them in the town of Fatima Read more
The Holy See’s special envoy to Medjugorje, is seeking answers to pastoral questions and looking at ways the Church can meet pilgrims’ needs, according to the Vatican. Archbishop Henryk Hoser will not be investigating apparitions of Our Lady. He is expected to finish his special posting by the middle of this year. Vatican spokesman Greg Burke stressed Read more
Illegal human organ trafficking caused a row at a conference at the Vatican earlier this month. Participants challenged the representatives from China to allow independent scrutiny to ensure it is no longer using organs from executed prisoners. In return, China proposed that the World Health Organization (WHO) form a global task force to help crackdown Read more