Philadelphia seminary sees record number of new entrants St Charles Borromeo seminary in Philadelphia has received its largest class of seminarians in a decade, with 20 of the 52 seminarians coming from the Archdiocese of Philadephia alone.  The rise in numbers is all more striking since it comes before the archdiocese, home to 1.5 million Catholics, launches a major new initiative to…

Islamic State militants in Syria have stepped up their onslaught on the country’s religious diversity and history with the destruction of an ancient pagan temple and a Christian monastery. The first-century AD temple of Baalshamin in Palmyra was destroyed on August 23, according to Syria’s head of antiquities Maamoun Abdulkarim, although the Britain-based Syrian Observatory…

Although the Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone is largely contained, its effects continue to be felt, according to Makeni’s Bishop Henry Aruna. “Our biggest sorrow is the aftermath of Ebola,” said Dr Aruna, explaining that the country’s Church plays a key role in caring for orphans and others left suffering after the epidemic which killed…

Egypt’s Catholic Church has welcomed new anti-terrorism laws, but urged the country’s government against violating personal freedoms. “Recent bomb attacks have shown terrorism is a major problem here, so we really need strong laws to help the police and Interior Ministry combat it,” according to Fr Hani Bakhoum Kiroulos, patriarchal vicar of the Coptic Catholic…

A 20-year sentence for a communist-era prison commander has come too late to represent real justice, according to the head of the Romanian bishops’ conference. This summer 89-year-old Alexander Visinescu was convicted for crimes against humanity, but Bucharest’s Archbishop Ioan Robu said he was surprised how long the process had taken and deeply regretted that…

The father of Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Catholic woman facing the death penalty for alleged blasphemy, has filed a High Court petition demanding the right to visit his daughter after being consistently denied access since her 2010 conviction. Sardar Mushtaq Gill, the lawyer for Bibi’s father, Soran Masih, said “It is Masih’s fundamental right to…

The president of the Central African bishops’ conference is one of three religious leaders who has been honoured for promoting interfaith reconciliation in the Central African Republic. Shortly before receiving the 2015 Sergio Vieira De Mello Prize in Geneva, Archbishop Dieudonne Nzapalainga of Bangui said that the award belonged neither to him nor his fellow…

Catholics must strive to show mercy toward non-traditional families, according to Chicago’s Archbishop Blase Cupich. Speaking after receiving his pallium from the papal nuncio to the United States, the archbishop described the Church as “a community that goes after the lost sheep”, and said that the task for the Church is “not just to find…

Pope keeps out of Falklands dispute Pope Francis has no intention of intervening between Britain and Argentina over the Falklands Islands’ disputed ownership, the Vatican’s press office has clarified.  During a general audience on August 19, a group of Argentinians gave Pope Francis a sign reading: “It is time for dialogue between Argentina and the United Kingdom about the Falkland…