A cathedral in Geneva, Switzerland, has celebrated its first Catholic Mass in nearly 500 years. The vigil of the First Sunday of Lent was the day chosen to celebrate the historic Mass. The last Mass celebrated at St Pierre Cathedral took place in 1535. After the Reformation, the building was taken over by John Calvin’s Read more
The deadlock over the appointment of a new bishop in the historic Swiss diocese of Chur has been ended by Pope Francis. The Holy See press office said on Feb. 15 that the pope had named Msgr. Joseph Marie Bonnemain as bishop of Chur in eastern Switzerland. Bonnemain, a 72-year-old member of Opus Dei, previously Read more
A Swiss bishop who recently warned of a potential schism caused by different opinions about ordaining women in the Catholic church has resigned unexpectedly. Denis Theurillat, who was the auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Basel cited “the increasing burdens of his office” as his reason for resigning five years before the customary retirement age Read more
Swiss bishop of Basel, Felix Gmür, is calling for the laity to be involved in the appointment of bishops. Gmür says the Church’s history shows that over time there have been different election procedures for bishops. “It was only with the publication of the ecclesiastical code of law (CIC) in 1917 that the right to Read more
A Swiss cathedral’s first Catholic mass in nearly five hundred years will be celebrated at a cathedral in Geneva at the end of this month. The mass will be celebrated at Saint-Pierre de Genève Cathedral on 29 February. The last Mass celebrated at the cathedral took place in 1535. After the Reformation, it was taken Read more
It is 8am and the rain is coming down in sheets. The streets are empty except for a dozen women and their pimps – women from some of the world’s poorest regions including Moldova, Romania, West Africa and Southeast Asia. Some are still in their teens. Not far away are numerous massage parlors and saunas offering women Read more
A new buzzword is circulating in the world’s convention centres and auditoriums. It can be heard at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and at the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund. Bankers sprinkle it into the presentations; politicians use it leave an impression on discussion panels. The buzzword is “inclusion” and it Read more
A New Zealand doctor now based in Britain has blown the whistle on Belgium’s euthanasia explosion — an increase of 4620 per cent in 10 years. Dr Peter Saunders, now chief executive officer of the Christian Medical Fellowship, said the number of euthanasia cases increased from 24 to 1133 in the 10 years to 2011. Read more