The relic of St Anthony of Padua has been stolen from a Southern California church on the 780th anniversary of the saint’s death. Parishioners of St Anthony’s Church are praying to Anthony, the patron Saint of lost things, for the speedy return of the relic. “It’s our history, so it’s irreplaceable,” Fr Jose Magana said. “It Read more
Identical twins and Franciscan Brothers Julian and Adrian Riester – who were born seconds apart – died just hours apart two weeks ago on 1 June. Both men were admitted to the hospital just days before dying of heart failure. They were aged 92. Brother Julian died in the morning and Brother Adrian died in Read more
Organisers of World Youth Day 2011 are estimating the event will pump NZ$180 million into the Spanish economy. Fernando Gimenez Barriocanal, World Youth Day’s finance manager, reported that “nearly NZ$90 million will come from abroad and will remain in Spain.” The event’s organizers are now focused on increasing registration, especially among young people in Spain, Read more
The Vatican, the United States, the United Nations are all in agreement in condemning Syria’s outrageous use of force against its own people and have called for reform. In receiving the Syrian ambassador’s credentials, Pope Benedict took the opportunity of saying the Holy See urges the troubled Syrian government to respect Syrian citizens’ desire for reform, Read more
The Archbishop of Canterbury’s sharp rebuke of the British government’s welfare reform has put the Church of England in the midst of a major political debate. Writing in the New Statesman, Dr Rowan Williams questioned the morality of David Cameron’s Conservative party’s policies on welfare reform. Dr Williams attacked changes in the National Health Service Read more
The South African Catholic Bishops’ Conference is urging reforms in Swaziland, calling sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarchy a police state that is “tearing itself apart.” A statement issued Thursday after the bishops visited Swaziland said the king should lift a state of emergency that has been in place for nearly four decades, reinstate “the full Read more
Former prison chaplain Fr Eugene Klein has been charged with helping a notorious Chicago mobster sneak messages out of jail and trying to recover a valuable Stradivarius violin. The aim was to keep the government from getting it, prosecutors said. Bishop of Wiaona diocese Rev John Quinn has suspended the Rev Eugene Klein from his Read more
Former Anglican minister John Hunwicke — received into the Catholic Church during Holy Week — has temporarily closed down his blog following news his ordination as a priest in Britain’s ordinariate has been “deferred.” “I think I had better share with my friends the distressing news that my ordination within the Catholic Church has been “deferred”, the Read more
Pope Benedict XVI has suggested that New Zealand has a moral responsibility to be a good neighbour to Island States. “Due to its geographical position, your country is able to assist in the development of smaller, more distant countries with fewer resources. Some neighbouring countries, including the Small Island Developing States, look to New Zealand Read more
Members of the American Catholic Council, meeting in Detroit, are concerned the Church’s hierarchy is not listening to the Church. Specific mention was made of the role of women, married clergy and the treatment of homosexuals. Members of a liberal group of U.S. Roman Catholics on Sunday called on Church leaders to open talks with their members Read more