Hopefully, you didn’t forget that there is (still) a war going on in Ukraine. It isn’t just any war, of course, but a war of conquest perpetrated by Russia invading a sovereign nation. And it is a war that has seen massive numbers of unspeakable war crimes. These war crimes have included, among other things, Read more
I never met my uncle Martin. If he were alive today, he would be in his 90s, but he died when he was three years old, victim of what would today be a minor infection. However, before the development of antibiotics there was no such thing as a minor infection. Had Martin caught that infection Read more
As I write this the war news gets grimmer by the day. We have gone in the space of a few weeks from ‘it could not happen’ to ‘not in 2022!’ to ‘is there no respect for life – much less for self-determination – in Putin’s vision?’ Meanwhile, many of us are discovering just how Read more
On Friday, in a move that raised the eyebrows of some, Pope Francis consecrated Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. A good Jesuit, Francis is applying the maxim “Pray as if everything depended on God, work as if everything depended on you,” a Vatican official told La Croix’s Loup Besmond de Senneville. Read more
Although Russia’s Catholics hold different views about the conflict in Ukraine, a spokesman for the country’s bishops said all are united in welcoming Pope Francis’ plan to consecrate their country to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on March 25 in a service at the Vatican. However, a Catholic professor in the country said the pope’s Read more
It was around 4 pm on Thursday when I checked the global news and saw the words of Vladimir Putin’s invasion speech coming through minute by minute; I had just finished an overnight tramp, something I had done in-part to escape the overwhelmingness of the local and global situation. I often check international news sites Read more
As of October 3 Russian authorities will verify the formation of pastors for faith communities, especially those who have studied abroad. The verification will be of the “religious formation received” by servants of the cult of all religions. The newly renewed Duma will have the power to approve or not “the activity of servants of Read more
It’s freezing cold and the kids don’t have proper shoes, but the elderly Samar couldn’t risk it. Overnight, the bombings got too close. They fled their village in a panic, the older children carrying the little ones, walking for seven hours just to getaway. The youngest children are shaking, their cheeks are bright pink from Read more
Catholics could remember the centenary of Czar Nicholas II and his family in 1918 with “penance and reflection,” says the secretary-general of the Russian bishops’ conference. Msgr. Igor Kovalevsky says killing the royal family “was one of the first steps on a path of mass murder, forced labor, religious persecution and genocide which led on Read more
There is a major role for faith-based groups to help create a nuclear weapon-free world, Nobel Prize winners said at a nuclear disarmament summit at the Vatican last week. They suggested faith groups could use their ability to mobilise people and public opinion, and lay out the moral and spiritual case for disarmament. The Nobel Read more