Pope Francis has urged churches in Europe to step up efforts to combat intolerance, discrimination and xenophobia against migrants and refugees. The Pope’s words came in a meeting with national migration directors under the auspices of the Council of European Bishops Conferences (CCEE). He said he was saddened to see that Catholic communities in Europe were…

  The Buddhist community in Bangladesh has announced it will downsize an upcoming religious feast to express solidarity with Rohingya Muslim refugees. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled ethnic violence in majority-Buddhist Myanmar during recent weeks. There are fears that, as in the past, the small Buddhist population of majority-Muslim Bangladesh could be subjected to…

The inclusion of the leader of a breakaway group among the signatories of a letter accusing Pope Francis of “promoting heretical interpretations” of Amores Laetitia, his exhortation on marriage and the family, has been described as “a tactical error” by a prominent papal biographer. Billed as the first ‘filial correction’ of a Pope since 1333,…

Holy See signs and ratifies anti-nuclear weapon treaty The Holy See has ratified and signed the new UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The high-level Vatican diplomat who signed the treaty told a UN conference that the Catholic Church supports efforts “to move progressively toward a world free of nuclear weapons”. Archbishop Paul…

Church officials fear that newly revised religious affairs regulations released by the Chinese government, supposedly aimed at protecting national security, will be used to further suppress religious activities. Earlier in September, Premier Li Keqiang announced that a state council order on the new regulations would take effect on February 1. Anthony Lam, executive secretary of…

A Kenyan cardinal has called on politicians to restrain their supporters in the lead up to Kenya’s second election after the previous vote tally was annulled. Cardinal John Njue, the current Archbishop of Nairobi, called for dialogue instead of violence. As tensions grow between the current Jubilee government and its main opposition the National Super…