According to South Africa’s national Advertising Standards Authority, a TV commercial for deodorant, featuring angels falling from heaven, is offensive to Christians and it has ordered the ad’s removal. The angelic beings are seen tumbling to Earth because they are attracted to a man wearing Axe deodorant. “A viewer who complained to the ASA about the advert Read more
The UN has put out the word that the population of the world reached 7 billion on 31 October 2011. according to the 2010 Revision of World Population Prospects. It admits the date is symbolic and its calculations could be out by 6 months in either direction. In the press release, issued on 3 May Read more
Pope Benedict XVI joined Buddhist monks, Islamic scholars, Yoruba leaders and a handful of agnostics in making a communal call for peace Thursday, insisting that religion must never be used as a pretext for war or terrorism. Benedict welcomed some 300 leaders representing a rainbow of faiths to the hilltop Italian town of Assisi to Read more
Pope Shenouda III, the head of Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church, rejected demands by some families of victims of the Maspero violence on 9 October to open an international investigation into the issue, claiming that their mournful thoughts are causing them to make the request. The Church can not accept the demand given the current situation Read more
Reports to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) indicate that the Burma Army are directly attacking churches in Kachin State, beating pastors and church members, setting homes alight and raping, torturing and killing civilians. According to CSW’s sources, on 16 October soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion 438 seized control of a Roman Catholic Church in Namsan Yang Read more
Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun started a three-day fast in Hong Kong this morning, October 19, to express his “grief” at the recent decision by the Court of Final Appeal rejecting the Catholic Church’s appeal against the Government’s policy over the management of state-aided schools in this Special Autonomous Region of China. “To show my grief, Read more
Caritas says a poor response by the international community to major floods in Pakistan in 2011 is endangering lives. The Catholic aid network is urging donors to devote more resources to provide food, shelter and clean water to millions of people in need. Heavy monsoon rains began to inundate large areas of southern Pakistan in Read more
The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace has released a document calling for a radical reform of the world’s financial and monetary system. It also proposed the creation of a global political authority to manage the economy and a new world economic order based on ethics. The note, entitled “Towards reforming the international financial and Read more
The Church of England cleared another legislative hurdle to appointing women bishops, but traditionalist opponents warned on Monday the move was not a foregone conclusion. Some Anglican provinces already have women bishops, including Australia, the United States and Canada, but the ordination of women and homosexuals as bishops as well as same-sex marriages remain the Read more
Thirty-three years ago today Cardinal Karol Wojtyla was installed as Pope John Paul II. October 22, 2011 the Catholic Church around the world celebrated his feast day as Blessed John Paul II, just six and a half years after the end of his papacy. At the Vatican, a prayer vigil was scheduled for the afternoon Read more