Catholics in a Nigerian city are risking their lives to attend Sunday Mass, as their community has fallen prey to violence from radical extremists. “There were a lot of bomb explosions, but that did not seem to deter people from coming to church,” said Fr John Bakeni, the celebrant of a March 14 Mass in Read more
An Italian nun has become a worldwide pop sensation after a stunning singing performance on a television variety show. Sr Cristina Scuccia, a member of the Ursuline Sisters of the Holy Family, wowed judges on the Italian version of the TV show “The Voice”. Her audition has gone viral, with more than 3 million views Read more
A New Zealander, Archbishop Sir David Moxon, has played a key role in bringing about an historic interfaith accord against human trafficking. Eradicating modern slavery and human trafficking worldwide by 2020 is the goal of the newly-formed Global Freedom Network. An accord was signed at the Vatican on March 17 by representatives of Pope Francis, Read more
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI sent a commentary to Pope Francis on the major interview the new pontiff gave last year to La Civilta Catholica. The prefect of the Pontifical Household for both popes, Archbishop Georg Ganswein, said this to a German television station. Archbishop Ganswein, who is also Benedict’s secretary, said the retired Pope wrote Read more
Several Australian bishops said they would support re-establishing year-round Friday abstinence from meat in their country. Auxiliary Bishop Peter Elliott of Melbourne, Bishop Geoffrey Jarrett of Lismore and Bishop Michael Kennedy of Armidale are among prelates who would back the change. Friday penance regulations were relaxed in Australia in 1985, allowing Catholics to perform an Read more
Scotland’s Catholic Church must change its culture and theology to protect children in its care, says the Protestant minister asked to review its safeguards. Dr Andrew McLellan announced the remit and membership of a new commission to investigate how the Catholic Church handles abuse. The former Moderator of the Church of Scotland believes his own Read more
A boycott of three major beer brands has been called for over their support for gay rights in St Patrick’s Day parades. The Catholic League’s Bill Donohue called for a boycott of Guinness, Heineken and Sam Adams. This was after the first two brewers withdrew sponsorship of New York’s St Patrick’s Day parade . Sam Read more
The world’s richest man, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, says it makes sense to believe in God. In a wide-ranging interview in Rolling Stone magazine, Mr Gates said there is no scientific explanation for how the mystery and beauty of the world came about. His children have been raised in a religious way, by him and Read more
Patriarchs of the world’s Orthodox Churches have agreed to hold an ecumenical council in 2016, the first in more than a millennium. The council could lead to closer ties to the Roman Catholic Church. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I fears that some churches are too isolated from each other and the outer world. Speaking to a Read more
An apostolic exhortation by Pope Francis is the best-selling papal document in Britain since the Second Vatican Council. More than 25,000 copies of Evangelii Gaudium have been sold since December. This is the highest figure for any Vatican document since Unitatis Redintegratio, the Vatican II Decree on Ecumenism sold 85,000 copies in Britain. Sales are Read more