‘Francis effect’ having tangible benefits for Church’s charities The “Francis Effect” is having a real impact on the work of Caritas Internationalis, the Church’s umbrella group of 164 aid and development charities, according to the Rome-based network’s secretary-general. Michael Roy says while the global economic crisis has meant few of the charities report significant increases…

Burundi’s bishops have called for action to be taken to ensure the country’s elections take place safely. In a statement issued in the aftermath of the departure from the country of constitutional court vice-president Sylvere Nimpagaritse, the bishops’ conference urged support for elections so the institutions of state could “enjoy the confidence of the people”.…

Cuban President Raul Castro gestures toward Pope Francis after a private meeting in the Vatican on May 10. President Castro said he has been so impressed by the Pope that he is tempted to start praying again and return to the Church. He said he would attend all the Pope’s Masses on his September 19-22…

The founder of the liberation theology movement has spoken at the special Vatican conference of the Church’s aid and development agencies, talking about “a poor Church for the poor”. The appearance of Fr Gustavo Gutierrez at the event is being hailed as a symbolic moment of acceptance for the Peruvian friar and the theological movement…

A statue of Pope St John Paul II must be removed from a public square in the small town of Ploermel in France, according to a court which says it violates the separation of church and state. Taking issue with the “ostentatious” location and size of the 29-foot statue, which shows the saint praying under…

One of the United States’ leading opponents of the death penalty has spoken on behalf of the Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Sr Helen Prejean, famously played by Susan Sarandon in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking, was invited to speak by Mr Tsarnaev’s lawyers in an attempt to convince a jury to sentence Mr…

Kenya’s bishops have called on their government to fulfil its constitutional duty to protect all Kenyans, following the massacre of 50 Kenyans at the North Rift and elsewhere in the country.  The bishops’ conference, headed by Homa Bay’s Bishop Philip Anyolo, heard the news of the killings as they gathered in Nairobi for their Ordinary…

Grace Akognon (6) with Leinster rugby player Isaac Boss at the launch of Children’s Hospice Week at LauraLynn, Ireland’s only children’s hospice. LauraLynn is asking the public be a superhero for LauraLynn by texting 50300 SUPERHERO to donate €4 or hold a Hero Bake Off, Dress Up for a Day, or take part in a…