The Venezuelan government has been accused of attempting to smear the Catholic Church as part of a tactic to keep beleaguered President Nicolas Maduro in power. With Venezuela’s economic crisis biting hard on the lives of ordinary citizens, the Church has increasingly become a lifeline for those struggling to gain everyday supplies. Meanwhile, the political…

Italy has deported two Moroccan nationals for their parts in causing disturbances in churches. Interior Minister Angelino Alfano confirmed that a 25-year-old man who was arrested for throwing a crucifix to the ground in a church in Venice had been expelled alongside a 69-year-old who stormed into a church in Trentino shouting abusive comments about…

With a visit Saturday morning to the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy in Lagiewniki and then a Mass at Krakow’s sprawling Sanctuary of St John Paul II, Pope Francis paid homage to his storied predecessor Saturday morning and to St Faustina Kowalska, whose legacies hang over his Year of Mercy. Popes pay tribute to their predecessors…

A photo of slain Father Jacques Hamel is seen among fl owers at a makeshift memorial in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, near Rouen, France. Photo: CNS

Prayers for an end to terrorism “We come to you today to ask you to keep in peace the world and its people, to keep far away from it the devastating wave of terrorism, to restore friendship and instil in the hearts of your creatures the gift of trust and of readiness to forgive.” These were the words of Pope…

Members of the Muslim faith in France have attended Masses in a show of solidarity after the murder of Fr Jacques Hamel. Heeding a call from the French Council for the Muslim Religion, members joined with worshippers at Masses in defiance of the message of separation communicated by so-called Islamic State (ISIS) as it inspires…