Catholic schools in Wales were in breach of the law when they read out a anti-gay marriage letter from a religious education group to pupils as young as 11, claimed Education Minister Leighton Andrews. The Welsh government has reminded Catholic Education Services (CES) that schools should give a ‘balanced perspective’ when discussing same-sex marriage. The Read more
Politicians, including the Irish Deputy Prime Minister, as well as Father Vincent Twomey, an Irish theologian and former professor at the country’s Maynooth seminary, have called for the resignation of the head of the Irish Catholic Church, Cardinal Seán Brady. “It is my own personal view that anybody who did not deal with the scale Read more
As a 17 year old Kirstin Holum was touted as a future star when she was placed sixth in the gruelling 3,000 metres event. She was expected not to reach her peak for another decade because of the time it took to build up the resilience required for the demanding sport. “Speed skating was such Read more
When the parish priest of Amras, Austria, announced to his congregation that only those in the state of grace should receive communion – no adult came forward. Fr Busskamp had announced that Catholics who are divorced and remarried, or Catholics who do not attend weekly Mass were not worthy to receive Communion. As the Mass Read more
The Korean Catholic Church continues to grow, now numbering over 10 per cent of the population. With new baptisms last year of 134,562, the total Catholic population reached 5,309,964. In the past ten years the Korean Catholic population has increased on average by an annual 2-3 per cent. The data released by the Catholic Bishops’ Read more
New polling from Gallup suggests that it’s Catholics who could well be the best bellwether of whether President Obama or former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney will be elected president this November. Among Catholic registered voters, Obama and Romney each took 46 percent in 19 days worth of Gallup tracking polls between April 11 and April Read more
The Vatican is to take direct control of the Catholic charity Caritas Internationalis, to ensure its “distinctive identity”. Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone said the charity network would come under the direct control of his secretariat and the “Cor Unum” Council which is in charge of the Roman Catholic Church’s charity work. An “ecclesiastical Read more
Parish Priest of Padre Pio Parish, in the Parramatta Diocese, Fr Kevin Lee, stated in an interview on Channel 7 News on Tuesday, that he had been married for a year. Fr Lee, who is also a police chaplain, claimed that most priests lead a double life. This claim was completely rejected by Bishop Anthony Read more
Children of God for Life announced that PepsiCo with not use the aborted fetal cell line HEK-293, derived from embryonic kidneys, in their Senomyx agreement to develop flavour enhancers for their drink products. Executive Director for Children of God for Life, Debi Vinnedge commented that PepsiCo’s decision was a major breakthrough and thanked the thousands Read more
John Sentamu, the charismatic Archbishop of York – the only black bishop in the mother church of the Anglican Communion, is the bookies favourite to replace Rowan Williams. However his former aid, Arun Arora, claims that a whispering campaign fuelled by “naked racism” will damage his chances of election. Sentamu’s upbringing in Uganda, where he Read more