Europe has a “twofold moral responsibility to protect the rights of its citizens and to ensure assistance to and acceptance to migrants”, Pope Francis has said. Speaking in the Vatican’s Regal Room in his annual New Year address to members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, the Pope reflected at length on…

The Belgian family of an elderly cancer sufferer who wanted to die by euthanasia is suing a Catholic care home for refusing to allow a lethal injection on Church-run premises. Mariette Buntjens died days later after receiving the injection from a doctor in a private residence. The woman’s daughter Nadine Engelen claims the Sint-Augustinus rest…

American bishops have welcomed President Barack Obama’s executive action on gun control, introducing a range of measures to regulate the sale of firearms. Miami’s Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski, chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, said in a statement that “For a long time now, the bishops…

France’s future must be built with mutual respect, recognising everyone’s contribution, the country’s bishops have said. In a statement to mark the anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attacks in which 17 people were killed, the bishops asked whether lessons had been learned since then, saying that while “it is certainly urgent to listen to our…

First video prayer message calls for broad peace efforts Pope Francis has urged people of faith from around the world to work together for justice and peace. Sharing for the first time as a video message the traditional papal prayer intentions for the month, the Pope called for dialogue among religions and asked that people “not stop praying for it and collaborating with…