Pope Leo XIV highlighted religious women’s and men’s work making “the mission and mystery of the Church visible in our world.” “All Christians are called to be builders of Christ’s communion, formed in a synodal Church in which everyone cooperates in the same mission according to their own charism and ministry,” he said during the Leadership…
Fr Kieran O’Mahony OSA remembered as gifted teacher of Scripture
Tributes have been paid to Augustinian priest and biblical scholar Fr Kieran O’Mahony OSA, who died peacefully at Our Lady’s Hospice, Harold’s Cross, on August 18. Fr O’Mahony was widely known for his work in Scripture and for helping Catholics engage more deeply with the Bible through teaching, preaching and writing. Only weeks before his…
Nigerian bishop in Muslim-majority region says being ‘creative minority’ is key to diocese’s mission
The pioneer bishop of Nigeria’s Diocese of Katsina said the young diocese is building its future around the vision of becoming a “creative minority,” seeking to transform society through education, faith formation, interreligious dialogue, and witness rather than being discouraged by its small Catholic population. Speaking to ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, at the…
Pope appeals for peace in Ukraine as reports of civilian casualties multiply on both sides
Pope Leo XIV appealed for peace in Ukraine on Sunday, August 9, noting “painful reports” of innocent people killed and injured in both Ukraine and Russia. “Tragic incidents continue,” Pope Leo said, “indeed, they are multiplying, resulting in ever-increasing civilian casualties, including children.” The latest reports say Russian attacks on energy infrastructure and civilian-populated areas…
Christians in West Bengal face new round of intimidation, threats
A Catholic community in India’s West Bengal state is facing down intense intimidation, including demands that Claretian missionaries ministering to the faithful in Nazat village abandon their work and instruct their people to return to their ancestral religions. The incidents follow a string of violent attacks on Christians and churches in the eastern Indian state…
New York Catholic church suffers fourth vandalism attack in 2 years with destruction of Mary statue
A Catholic parish in New York has suffered what the Diocese of Brooklyn says is the fourth incident of vandalism in two years after a man destroyed a statue of the Blessed Mother in an early-morning attack. The destructive episode at St Rita Roman Catholic Church in the neighbourhood of Long Island City in Queens…
Letters: Ukraine, synodality, Christians in Israel and working from home
It is up to the Ukrainians to decide their course of action, and us to support them Dear Editor In a thoughtful piece on Catholic ‘just war’ principles, Breda O’Brien wrote that an entirely just war might never have been fought. And she finds fault even with some aspects of Ukraine’s valiant defence against Russia’s…
Cardinal Grech’s address to the Consistory of Cardinals
I gladly and gratefully take the floor to share some reflections on what has begun to unfold throughout the Church during these years of the synodal journey. The fact that, during this consistory, the theme of synodality has been broached so extensively is a clear confirmation not only that an increasing number of people are…
Letters: Faith, family and the challenges facing the Church
The loneliness of the long-distance believer Dear Editor, Like so many of my friends, I find myself alone at weekly Mass in our small local church. Lately my granddaughter, who has recently made her First Holy Communion joins me; ‘girl Friday’ to my ‘Robinson Crusoe’, both cast adrift on our island of obligation, striving to…
Four key insights from Magnifica Humanitas
St Augustine uses the image of two cities to define the central conflict that runs throughout history between the self-love that constitutes the City of Man and the divine love that forms the City of God. Unsurprisingly, the first Augustinian Pope, Leo XIV, shapes Magnifica Humanitas, his first encyclical, around this image: “Humanity, created by…










