Zambian Church pleads for end to xenophobic ‘chaos’

Zambia’s bishops have urged South African leaders to do more to stop xenophobic attacks, and a South African archbishop has warned of a rising tide of hatred and violence in the country. “Xenophobia and its resultant chaos are not just criminal but cruel, barbaric and abominable,” Zambia’s bishops said in a September 7 statement titled,…

Belfast march hears clear message: not in our name

An estimated 20,000 people took to the streets of Belfast on Saturday to oppose moves from Westminster to impose abortion on the North. Holding signs with the simple message ‘not in our name’, protesters heard calls to lobby their politicians in a bid to restore the assembly and executive as a way to stop the…

Catholic charities storm in after Hurricane Dorian destruction

With Hurricane Dorian leaving widespread destruction in the Bahamas last week, Catholic agencies are coordinating response efforts for those affected by the storm. “The devastation, especially on Abaco and Grand Bahama, is significant,” said Nikki Gamer, media relations manager for Catholic Relief Services. Dorian slammed into the Bahamas as a Category 5 hurricane on September…

Costa Ricans take to the street to defend life

Thousands participated in Saturday’s March for Life in the Costa Rican capital, urging that the president not sign a technical regulation for the performance of therapeutic abortion. The event was organised by Wake Up Costa Rica, Democracy in Action, and the Autonomous University of Central America. Joining the march were politicians who urged President Carlos…

RTÉ star Miriam lights candles for fans

RTÉ star Miriam O’Callaghan has said she regularly lights a candle in her local church on the way home from her morning radio show, and prays often to the Virgin Mary. In an interview in the Sunday Independent published over the weekend Ms O’Callaghan said she didn’t always have the habit of lighting a candle,…

French Church upgrades abuse investigation process

The chief Paris prosecutor and the French capital’s archbishop have struck an agreement allowing faster investigations into alleged sexual abuse by clergy. Last Thursday’s accord came as more people in France are coming forward about past sexual wrongdoing by priests, and after repeated scandals pushed the French Catholic Church to step up efforts to address…

We must push back against laws on assisted suicide

Modern-day palliative care approaches and hospices have made it such that uncontrolled symptoms at the time of death are rare, writes Chris Garrett   Caesar Augustus died peacefully at the age of 75 in the arms of his third wife Livia; unusual for that time given the bloody and traumatic deaths of some other Roman…

Internet giant honours heroic German nun

A German nun known as ‘Pakistan’s Mother Teresa’ has been honoured by Google with a ‘Google Doodle’ on what would have been her 90th birthday. Sr Ruth Pfau, who died in 2017, is credited with eradicating leprosy from Pakistan. Born in Leipzig in 1929, she converted to Catholicism in her 20s and was inspired to…