Well, that was interesting. At the official “religious freedom” event during his U.S. visit, Pope Francis never mentioned the U.S. bishops’ “Fortnight for Freedom” campaigns, nor their battles over alleged religious discrimination on Obamacare provisions and conscience protection issues. The bishops have certainly made this a priority. Here was Archbishop William E. Lori last June Read more
Some parents in the northern district of Fiji are refusing to let their children attend school on religious grounds. iTaukei Affairs Board representative to the Labasa Inter Agency Committee on Child Welfare, Ravuama Naceba, has been in Dogotuki addressing the issue. “When addressing the issue, we had offered the parents a choice on whether they Read more
The Vatican will not demand the ‘capitulation’ of the traditionalist Society of St Pius X, a spokesman for the former says. The secretary of the Ecclesia Dei commission, Archbishop Guido Pozzo, told a French media outlet that the Vatican continues to work for reconciliation with the society. Formal talks between the SSPX and the Congregation Read more
The city of Houston has issued subpoenas demanding a group of pastors turn over any sermons dealing with homosexuality, gender identity or Annise Parker, the city’s first openly lesbian mayor. And those ministers who fail to comply could be held in contempt of court. “The city’s subpoena of sermons and other pastoral communications is both Read more
Pope Francis has told Albanian religious leaders that distorted forms of religion that promote violence must be firmly refuted as false. During a one day visit to the former communist nation on September 21, the Pope said authentic religion is a source of peace. “To kill in the name of God is a grave sacrilege. To Read more
The Catholic bishops of New Zealand have strongly urged the government of Sudan to remove the charge of apostasy from its penal code in order to align the code with its Constitution and international commitments. They did this in a letter to the Sudanese ambassador to New Zealand His Excellency Mr Abd Al Rahim Al Siddig Read more
255. The Synod Fathers spoke of the importance of respect for religious freedom, viewed as a fundamental human right.[202]This includes “the freedom to choose the religion which one judges to be true and to manifest one’s beliefs in public”.[203] A healthy pluralism, one which genuinely respects differences and values them as such, does not entail Read more
The Archbishop of Suva, Fiji, Peter Loy Chong says that Christians and non-Christians should challenge the Constitution because faith is not supposed to be private. The Constitution protects the right of every person either individually or in community with others, in private or in public, to manifest and practise their religion or belief in worship, Read more
Fiji’s Prime Minister, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama, has told religious leaders that they have a special responsibility not to spread misinformation and must uphold that responsibility. He was reacting to a comment made by the Catholic Archbishop of Suva, Peter Chong, which, he said, “clearly had the potential to inflame public opinion.” Bainimarama said that it Read more
Churches in Europe have welcomed pledges by the European Union to make financial aid for countries conditional on their protection of religious freedom. The European Union contributes aid to many nations of the South Pacific. The Brussels-based Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community, said action was needed “given the systematic and increasing Read more