A priest in the strife-torn Central African Republic is being hailed as a hero after saving the lives of hundreds of Muslims. Fr Xavier-Arnauld Fagba opened his church doors to protect the Muslims from attacks by a militia, the Globe and Mail reports. “They didn’t have anyone to help them,” said Fr Fagba, 31, who Read more
A gay rights group will be allowed to march in Boston’s St Patrick’s Day parade in the United States. But it is unclear whether MassEquality will be allowed to carry signs or use slogans. Initially, one of the lead organisers of the parade, the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council, denied MassEquality permission to join Read more
Leaders of 52 groups seeking reform and renewal in the Catholic Church have written to Pope Francis asking for a meeting. They urge the Pope to take immediate action to appoint more women to Church leadership positions. The Pope’s frequent references to pastoral care for people and to the status of women are cited. But Read more
The father of Liberation Theology, Fr Gustavo Gutierrez, has been warmly welcomed at a book launch at the Vatican. Fr Gutierrez, a Peruvian theologian, contributed two chapters to “Poor for the Poor: the Mission of the Church” by Cardinal Gerhard Müller, the head of the Church’s doctrinal watchdog. Pope Francis wrote the preface to the Read more
The Vatican City state consumes more wine per capita than any other country in the world. According to statistics from the California-based Wine Institute, the Vatican consumed 74 litres of wine per person in 2012. This is about double the per capita consumption of Italy as a whole. A standard bottle of wine is about Read more
Eulogies have been banned during Catholic funeral Masses in Ottawa in Canada. A February 2 decree from Archbishop Terrence Prendergast states Catholics gather at funerals “not to praise the deceased, but to pray for them”. Contrary to popular belief, eulogies “are not part of the Catholic funeral rites, particularly in the context of a funeral Read more
An extremist Indian political leader has called for a stop to religious conversions in his country, other those than to Hinduism. At a rally in Bhopal, Ashok Singhal of the fundamentalist Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), also called for Hindu families to have at least five children each. This is to stop them becoming outnumbered by Read more
Ministry to divorced and remarried Catholics was high on the agenda at a meeting of 150 cardinals from around the world. After a consistory on February 20-21, Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi said the cardinals’ discussions had focussed mainly on three topics. These were the Christian vision of people and family life, pastoral support for Read more
Pope Francis, Monday, started to reform the Vatican’s scandal-plagued financial system by announcing a new Secretariat for the Economy. The secretariat, a new co-ordination structure for economic and administrative affairs of the Holy See and Vatican, will be headed by Sydney’s Cardinal George Pell. Cardinal Pell will have authority over all economic and administrative activities with Read more
Pope Francis has denounced liturgy that is detached from true spiritual worship as empty and almost magical. The Pope also called for a renewed commitment by the Church to the Second Vatican Council’s vision of the liturgy. He said this in a message to a symposium devoted to the 50th anniversary of Sacrosanctum Concilium – Read more