Walter Sánchez Silva (CNA) The Nicaraguan dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and his “co-president” and wife, Rosario Murillo, this week kidnapped and expelled from the country Fr Floriano Ceferino Vargas, a priest of the Diocese of Bluefields. Medardo Mairena, a former peasant leader now in exile, stated on X that “Fr Floriano Ceferino Vargas, parish priest of the…
Dear Editor, As I sit here tonight my wife is in the next room being treated by the palliative care team. She was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour and her life expectancy was estimated to be 3 or 4 months. I struggled for a few weeks trying to help her as she needed to…
KNA Archbishop Scicluna of Malta has warned against using the methods of the World Synod’s spiritual dialogue – an alternation of speaking and meditation without direct discussion – everywhere in the Church: “If, for example, I have to deal with financial experts for the audit of the Archdiocese of Malta, I don’t need to have…
KNA The signals are positive: the Pope’s ambassador to Syria reports that the rebels are respecting religious diversity in the country. The Pope’s ambassador to Syria is relieved about the largely peaceful change of power in the country so far. In an interview with Vatican News, Cardinal Mario Zenari made an urgent appeal to the…
Fr Alan Hilliard The book of Job is an amazingly insightful work which tries to understand the human condition and the possibility of God. He presents insights into friendship, family, property, money and death. In Scripture, we see him being stripped of all he owns and all he knows and is left with nothing.…
Dear Editor, While politicians campaign on issues such as climate change, Trump-economics, migrant pressures, etc., they ignore the writing on the wall; our birth-rate is in free-fall. In many parts of Europe, their birth rate has plunged to less than half that needed for replacement. Our collective unwillingness to make a healthy family life possible leaves…
It was proper for God to crush my dreamy life and move me to Ireland because I was building my own castle instead of joining His, says Angela Suryadana As most girls growing up in the early 90s, my media consumption was dominated by stories of good-looking damsels in distress who were rescued by…
Jason Conroy In 2011, university student Kevin Baker fell two stories and severely fractured his skull. His brain damage was so extensive that the doctors gave him little chance. Even if he survived, he would never be the same again. A few years ago, I saw Kevin give his testimony at the FOCUS student conference…
Fr Alan Hilliard I was speaking to a friend of mine a few weeks ago. She’s been having a difficult time. To put her son through college and to pay off debts she was working two jobs. Eventually she gave up one of the jobs as she had made financial headway. She is a…
Fr Joshua J. Whitfield Jer 33:14-16 Ps 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14 1 Thes 3:12—4:2 Lk 21:25-28, 34-36 Aside from being one of the fathers of monasticism, St Benedict is also one of the more profound spiritual doctors of Advent. At least I have long considered him thus. I think of him every Advent…