Welcoming refugees with authentic hospitality is “our greatest security against hateful acts of terrorism”, Pope Francis says. He was speaking to alumni of Jesuit schools in Europe who were in Rome for a conference on refugees. The pope said: “I encourage you to welcome refugees into your homes and communities, so that their first experience Read more
Assisting with abortion – even for former non-Catholics – is an obstacle to ordination. According to the National Catholic Reporter, the Vatican published the ruling on Thursday after Pope Francis approved the interpretation of church law during a Pontifical Council in May. The Catholic Church considers the sanctity of life “so absolute” that the new Read more
Legalising marijuana for recreational use is an option voters in California will decide on 8 November. However, the public policy arm of the state’s bishops, has officially taken “no position” on the ballot. The conference notes the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches the use of drugs except on strictly therapeutic grounds is a “grave Read more
Artificial contraception and the Catholic church’s ban on it is the subject of a statement challenging the church’s ruling. Ireland’s former president, Mary McAleese, is among more than 100 international Catholic academics who have signed a ‘Scholars’ Statement’ challenging the church’s stance. Prepared by independent think tank the Wijngaards Institute for Catholic Research, it will Read more
Seeking euthanasia may result Catholics being denied sacraments, say some Canadian bishops. While the legalization of assisted suicide and euthanasia in Canada does not alter the truth that these acts are “gravely immoral,” it is “foreseeable” that priests will receive requests for the sacraments from Catholics contemplating these actions, the Alberta and NWT bishops stated Read more
Neonatal unit infants, and a hospice for the terminally ill received visits from Pope Francis last Friday, where he stressed the dignity of human life from conception to natural death. The visits are the latest in the Pope’s “Mercy Friday” initiatives, to spend time with various groups each month during the Jubilee of Mercy. In Read more
The European Space Agency just released a three-dimensional map of the Milky Way galaxy that charts the location of over a billion celestial objects. The new 3D map reflects the first 14 months of data collected by ESA’s Gaia satellite. Launched on December 19, 2013, Gaia orbits the Sun-Earth second Lagrange point (L2), which lies Read more
A clerical sexual abuse survivor’s suggestion has led the Pope’s Commission for the Protection of Minors to adopt a Day of Prayer for victims of sexual abuse. Pope Francis announced the Day of Prayer on Monday, following a week-long meeting of the Commission. The Commission, has a mandate to develop and educate the church about Read more
Divorced remarried Catholics and those living “in irregular situations” are able to receive holy communion in some cases, Pope Francis says. In a letter to the bishops of Buenos Aires, Pope Francis has praised their proposals for implementing Amoris Laetitia, including access to the sacraments for those in “irregular family situations,” Vatican Radio reports. The document Read more
Jacques Hamel, the French priest brutally slain by two ISIS sympathizers as he was celebrating Mass in late July, is a martyr, Pope Francis says. This suggests sainthood for the murdered priest may not be far off. The pontiff also said that killing in the name of God is “satanic.” On Wednesday morning, Francis celebrated Read more