A cloistered nun in India has received a doctoral degree in aerospace engineering. Carmelite Sr Benedicta of the Holy Face, 32, gained the degree from India’s Defence Institute of Advanced Technology. The institute specialises in training officers of the Indian armed forces and related organisations. As a lay woman, Sr Benedicta had received a master’s Read more
Pope Francis has expressed his deep feelings of horror and condemnation of the killings of at least 50 people in a nightclub in Orlando in Florida. In a statement released by the Vatican on Sunday, the killings were described as a “new manifestation of homicidal folly and senseless hatred”. The statement said Pope Francis joined Read more
Pope Francis has raised the memorial of St Mary Magdalene on July 22 to the level of a feast on the Church’s liturgical calendar. A decree titled “ApostolorumApostola” (Apostle of the Apostles) was published by the Congregation for Divine Worship formalising the decision. St Mary Magdalene is recognised as the first to witness Christ’s Resurrection Read more
A temporary life-sized replica of the Sistine Chapel has been put up in Mexico City as a private art project. The replica, which has been approved by the Vatican, is open to the public until June 30. The replica was created using more than 2.7 million photographs printed on cloth and hung from a metal Read more
US presidential hopeful Donald Trump has said who Jesus is for him, after being asked the same question put to Peter in Matthew’s Gospel. The question “Who do you say I am?”, in reference to Jesus, was put to Mr Trump by evangelical commentator Cal Thomas in the US. The exchange was published in transcript Read more
The Catholic Church in Ireland is “very lacking” in people of intellect who, educated in faith, can address issues of our times, the Archbishop of Dublin says. The Church needs “competent lay men and women educated in their faith”, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said, according to a report in the Irish Times. The archbishop referred to Read more
Western civilisation is on the brink of a collapse like ancient Rome because the will to raise children is lacking, a former UK Chief Rabbi has warned. Lord Jonathan Sacks said European society as it currently is “will die” because of a demographic crisis. He warned that even mass immigration is not a solution because of Read more
An Italian sect that arose after alleged apparitions of the child Jesus has been found guilty of schism and has incurred an automatic excommunication. The Diocese of Sora-Cassino-Aquino-Pontecorvo made the announcement on June 5 concerning the self-styled Universal Christian Church of the New Testament. This followed an examination by the Congregation for the Doctrine of Read more
A Church of England vicar on an alcohol-fuelled nightclub binge told police he was from the Vatican and had diplomatic immunity. Rev. Gareth Jones of Ilford in London punched, kicked, bit and spat at a police officer and a paramedic who found him passed out in Covent Garden. Prosecutor Edward Avdin said the vicar yelled Read more
The executive director of the Society of St Vincent de Paul in Phoenix, AZ, has paid tribute to the volunteer work of the late boxing champion Muhammad Ali. Steve Zabilski wrote that Ali, with his wife Lonnie, were regular volunteers at the society’s dining rooms. Mr Zabilski stated that Ali was part of the Vincentian Read more