Germany — a nation whose history is entangled with the Catholic Church — has become a “mission country” its Bishops’ Conference says. Conference president Bishop Georg Bätzing says under half of Germany’s citizens still belong to Christian denominations. Evangelisation in Germany has been a central theme since the time of Pope St John Paul II Read more
A 10pm candlelit Mass is drawing hundreds of young students to worship each week in Lille, France. Every Tuesday night, 800 to 900 students converge on a chapel at Lille Catholic University for the Mass. Burning attraction For the six students who initiated the Masses, the unexpectedly successful candlelit formula is one they want others Read more
New Zealand’s Bishop John Adams will be leading talks at this year’s Parish Renewal Conference in Sydney. It could be said his experience seeing his church reduced to rubble during the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes uniquely qualifies Adams for the task. He has a broader sense of parish renewal perhaps. “I was standing next to our Read more
The presbyterate of the Prelature of Trondheim met in the Brigittine convent of Tiller 22-24 October 2023. This talk was given by way of introduction. Forgive me if I set off from a few personal remarks. ‘Three years have passed since I was consecrated bishop. When I arrived here, I had spent thirty years abroad. Read more
Diocesan priests assembled last week in Rotorua were told they should think laterally and reach out in new and imaginative ways like they have never done before. Speaking for a second time to the Assembly, Brisbane’s Archbishop Mark Coleridge reflected on the experience in Australia and asked what the Church is learning. “This is the Read more
Hong Kong Cardinal Stephen Chow has spoken about his vision for evangelisation in China. He emphasised sharing the love of God without the primary goal of converting individuals to Catholicism. “I think it is important that we say that Pope Francis made a distinction. Evangelisation is really to help people to understand the love of Read more
The number of foreigners living in Japan has reached an all-time high. According to the country’s Immigration Services Agency, more than three million aliens were living in Japan at the end of 2022. In fact, the agency’s count of 3,075,213 is lower than the actual number because there are undocumented aliens in the country in Read more
Blessing creatures, great and small, is a much loved tradition at St Mary’s Church in Timaru. Last Sunday, the church’s pews were filled with cats and dogs along with their human friends for the Blessing Of The Animals Service. The annual service – accompanied by a children’s choir – is a highlight for many says Read more
Recently, I criticised comments made by Bishop Robert Barron, known for his “Word on Fire” ministry and the bishop of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, in which he complained about the Catholic faith being “dumbed down. I found his comments a-historical and thought they suggested that only very smart, well-informed and well-read Catholics could qualify as good Catholics. Read more
Pope Francis’ hope for the Church to offer the Portuguese community a more cohesive opportunity through World Youth Day (WYD) is being met with some strong challenges. Hours after he touched down in Lisbon on Wednesday, one of three huge billboards erected by activists to raise awareness of sexual abuse by clergy was removed, says Read more