An Australian, Professor Tracey Rowland, is among five women that Pope Francis has appointed to the International Theological Commission. This is a record number of women to be on the 30 member commission. There were two women appointees in the previous five-year term of the commission, which is an aid to the Pope and the Congregation for Read more
The Boston Globe announced on Tuesday that it would hire John L. Allen Jr., a journalist for The National Catholic Reporter, and explore starting a free-standing publication dedicated to Catholicism. “There is a resurgence of global interest in the Catholic Church, inspired by the words and deeds of the newly installed leader, Pope Francis,” Brian Read more
“Christianity, the world’s most persecuted religion, now risks being wiped out in countries where until recently it has been well established,” declares a new report from Aid to the Church in Need. “Oppression and exodus now threaten Christianity’s status as a worldwide religion.” The Catholic charity, which operates directly under the Holy See, said over Read more
War against Christians is being waged on a global scale, involving direct physical violence, harassment, and imprisonment, according to veteran Vatican journalist John Allen. In a new book, The Global War on Christians, he says 100,000 Christians were killed each year throughout the first decade of the 21st century — 11 new martyrs every hour. “I Read more
The “right wing” of the Catholic Church is not happy about the election of Pope Francis, according to Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia. The archbishop, who is known for speaking plainly, made this comment in an interview with National Catholic Reporter correspondent John Allen during World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro. Allen had asked Read more
Christians in Gaza face a new threat as the Hamas government has decided to ban coeducational schools. This means the five Christian schools on the strip, two Catholic and three Protestant, may have to close — even though they serve a largely Muslim population. National Catholic Reporter correspondent John Allen points out that the distorting Read more
Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI has said he is “happy to be back at the Vatican” after moving into his new quarters in a restored convent in the Vatican Gardens. A Vatican statement said the retired Pope intended to “dedicate himself to the service of the Church, above all with prayer”. But Vatican correspondent John Allen Read more
Discrimination, arrests, kidnapping and killing of Christians around the world have led National Catholic Reporter correspondent John Allen to suggest the next pope will be pressed to make defence of religious freedom his number one job. Allen offers these statistics on anti-Christian discrimination: + According to the Germany-based International Society for Human Rights, 80 per Read more
Seventy million Christian martyrs since the time of Christ . . . at least 100,000 new martyrs for the Christian faith each year in the first decade of this millennium . . . 11 Christians killed every hour of every day for the whole of the past decade. These figures from a conference on the Read more
According to NCR columnist, John Allen, if there was doubt that Bertone was not the target of Vatileaks, journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi puts this idea to rest in the “sensational new book,” His Holiness: The Secret Papers of Benedict XVI.” Allen says Nuzzi’s book leaves little doubt about the resistance around Bertone and the Vatileaks thriller cites the Read more