The Catholic Church in Scotland is outraged after its leader, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, was named Bigot of the Year by Britain’s largest gay advocacy. Stonewall, a charity which claims 10,000 members, made the award at an annual ceremony in London in reaction to the cardinal’s stance against the Scottish government’s intention to legalise same-sex marriage. Read more
A think tank close to China’s leadership is recommending an end to the country’s one-child policy — for political and economic reasons rather than on human rights grounds. The China Development Research Foundation proposes allowing two children for every family in some provinces from this year and nationally by 2015, and dropping all birth limits Read more
As Brazil prepares to host World Youth Day next July, a rock-star priest has opened one of the world’s biggest worship spaces in Sao Paulo, where his inaugural Mass drew a congregation of more than 50,000. Father Marcelo Rossi, a nationally known singer, TV host and actor, is campaigning to stem the exodus of the Read more
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, on the site where Jesus was crucified and rose again, may close for a day in protest over a disputed $NZ2.8 million water bill. Such a move would bar thousands of pilgrims and visitors from the church that is considered to be the most holy Christian shrine Read more
In the climax of a selection process that took nine months, a blindfolded boy in an altar ballot has drawn the name of the new pope of the 18-million-member Coptic Orthodox Church. Bishop Tawadrous of Beheira was chosen on November 4 — his 60th birthday — to be the 118th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch Read more
An Australian Jesuit priest said the Catholic Church needs state intervention to resolve the crisis surrounding sex abuse of children by priests. Fr. Frank Brennan, a noted jurist, said in a report by The Sydney Morning Herald that the ”Church cannot be left alone to get its house in order”. ”Where there is a social Read more
The Vatican may eventually limit the number of visitors to the Sistine chapel to protect Michelangelo’s ceiling frescoes, Reuters reported. The Sistine Chapel ceiling celebrated its 500th anniversary on Wednesday. Pope Benedict XVI marked the anniversary of what he dubbed as the “liturgical classroom” with vespers. He said “the works of art which decorate [the Read more
Catholics in Germany are wary about planned celebrations in 2017 to mark the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s launching of the Reformation. A report from Reuters said German Protestants have invited Catholics to join in the celebrations, but it is still hard for some Catholics to accept the invite. “It’s not impossible in principle, but Read more
His womanising and predilection for killing his enemies without mercy did not prevent James Bond from getting the attention of the Vatican. Vatican’s L’Osservatore Romano newspaper devoted an entire page and five articles in praise of the fictional British spy in its Oct. 31 edition. The Osservatore film critic Gaetano Vallini wrote that the James Read more
Millions of Filipino Catholics started flocking to cemeteries on Thursday to pay respects to their dead as the country observed All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. The annual tradition that combines Catholic religious rites with the country’s penchant for festivity is popularly called “Undas” or Day of the Dead, a major family affair in Read more