St Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Newtown, Connecticut, became the centre of grieving for the six adults and 20 children — some of whom were preparing for their first Communion — killed by a lone gunman at the local school on December 14. The pastor, Monsignor Bob Weiss, was on the scene of the Read more
Far-right Catholics in France have been warned they will be disbanded if they show evidence of a “religious pathology” that could lead to violence. The warning — which has been decried by religious freedom experts — came from Interior Minister Manuel Valls at a conference on the official state policy of secularism. Valls said foreign-born Read more
In a first for one of the world’s largest movie-making centres, a Hindi-language musical about Jesus has been produced. The 6-hour Bollywood production will be screened as a series on Indian television. Christaayan was directed by a Society of the Divine Word priest, Father Geo George Kannanayil — an experienced moviemaker — but 80 per Read more
In a wide-ranging message for the World Day of Peace on January 1, Pope Benedict XVI says peace is threatened by a much broader set of causes than war, terrorism and international crime. Peace involves the human person as a whole, the Pope says, so true peacemakers defend human life at every stage of its Read more
Responding to a serious binge-drinking culture, Catholic temperance advocates in India’s most Catholic state want their bishops to declare drinking alcohol a sin. The temperance commission of the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council also wants a ban on church institutions employing people who drink, and a ban on drinking alcohol at weddings. The commission’s secretary, Father Read more
In a move described by a Vatican representative as “an abuse of authority”, government authorities backed by the new Chinese leadership have withdrawn their recognition of Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin, the auxiliary bishop of Shanghai. Bishop Ma has been under house arrest since he publicly resigned from the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association at his ordination Read more
Having launched his Twitter account, Pope Benedict XVI has committed himself to approving a tweeted response to three questions a day from around the world. He made his Twitter debut on December 12 to his more than a million followers. The Pope’s first tweet, just one character short of the 140 maximum, was: “Dear friends, Read more
Residents of Sichuan province in China are stocking up on candles to prepare for darkness. A travel website reports increased searches for one-way tickets to the remote towns of Bugarach in southern France and Şirince in Turkey. It’s all part of the panic generated by an ancient Mayan prediction interpreted to mean the world will Read more
A leading underwater archeologist’s claim he has found evidence of Noah’s flood has coincided with a Dutch builder opening his life-size replica of Noah’s ark to the public. Robert Ballard, who discovered the wreck of the Titanic in 1985, said his evidence of the flood in Genesis comes from the depths of the Black Sea Read more
A lay-led Truth, Justice and Healing Commission will co-ordinate the Catholic Church’s response to the forthcoming Australian royal commission on sexual abuse. Its chairman will be a retired Supreme Court judge, Barry O’Keefe, QC and its chief executive officer will be another prominent layman, Francis Sullivan. The only other member named so far is Dr Read more