Bishops in the Middle East have called for a regional youth gathering similar to World Youth Day to be established for young Catholics in Arab countries. The proposed ‘World Day of Youth of the Arab Regions’ would take place in Jordan as the first host country with the goal of encouraging “mass participation”, according to…
An archdiocese in South Korea has suspended all Masses for two weeks and cancelled the Ash Wednesday liturgy in order to stop the spread of the coronavirus at religious gatherings. Archbishop Thaddeus Cho Hwan-kil of Daegu has banned all Church meetings until March 5 after new cases were reported from Christian congregations in parishes and…
US presidential candidate Joe Biden has highlighted his Catholic Faith in a new campaign advertisement released last week. The Democratic Party representative hopes focusing on religion will boost his ratings after seeing a sharp decline in his poll numbers following recent losses in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary. Mr Biden, who is a…
Women are 14 times more likely than men to be killed by disasters resulting from climate change according to a report released by Trócaire. Released on Tuesday it notes that despite barriers for women engaging in decisions on climate change they “are often at the forefront of tackling climate change and human rights abuses and…
Caoimhe de Barra Over the coming days and weeks, the faces of two women will adorn the walls and tables of homes in parishes all over Ireland. Standing alongside their young children, Angela and Madris are like all other mothers in the world who want to provide futures for their children. But these two mothers…
Thomas Morrissey The Enigma of Arthur Griffith: ‘Father of Us All’ by Colum Kenny (Merrion Press, €19.95) The sub-title ‘Father of Us All’ stems from a declaration of W.T. Cosgrave in 1925 attributing to Michael Collins the statement: “Griffith was the greatest man of his age, the father of us all.” There have been a…
Three former pupils of an Argentine school for the deaf have travelled to Rome to demand the release of records on priests who abused them. Daniel Sgardelis, one of those abused at the Provolo Institute for the Deaf in La Plata, said he wants an international law which would force the Vatican to “stop covering…
Eduardo Campos Lima The search for a new dialogue between black Catholics and the hierarchy is on the agenda with Afro-Brazilian Catholic activists struggling to promote and increase participation of black people in the Church and society. Almost 56% of Brazil’s population has some African descent and, according to a recent survey on religion…
Eight Christians accused of kidnapping 60 children for the purpose of converting them to Christianity have been acquitted in India. The six men and two women were alleged to have attempted an illegal religious conversion of tribal children were freed in Madhya Pradesh on February 18. The adults were on their way to Nagpur with…
Catholic bishops in East Africa have called for increased action to combat the region’s worst desert locust infestation in 70 years. Like scenes from the Book of Exodus, swarms of locusts are ravaging grazing lands and endangering the economies of seven countries heavily dependent on agriculture for food security. Bishop Giorgio Bertin, who heads the Church…