The international community and national authorities must work together to liberate those areas occupied by Islamic State as soon as possible, according to an extraordinary synod of the Chaldean Bishops, and should “put in place the necessary measures to protect Christians and other Iraqis, so they all return to their homes and live in safety…

Indian Church leaders have criticised the heavy-handed tactics of police who arrested almost 200 protestors assembled at New Delhi’s Sacred Heart Cathedral to protest against recent attacks on churches. Among those arrested were the archdiocesan vicar general Fr Susai Sebastian, civil rights activist and former All India Catholic Union president John Dayal, and Divine Word…

Rome’s first official red-light district is to be established in April, after Mayor Ignazio Marino gave his backing to council proposals. Although soliciting, pimping, and operating brothels are illegal in Italy, Italian law does not ban the sale of sex. Roughly half of Italy’s 70-100,000 prostitutes are believed to be foreign nationals, with two-thirds working…

Pope’s promotion of spiritual purification is ‘painful and liberating’ In reforming the Roman Curia, “Pope Francis is promoting a spiritual purification of the temple, which is both painful and liberating, with the aim of making the glory of God, light of all, shine again in the Church,” according to Cardinal Gerhard Müller. Writing in L’Osservatore…

Catholic and Orthodox patriarchs called for an end to financing terrorists and suggested that borders be closed when necessary to prevent their movement. The leaders also appealed for the creation of a Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem, based on a long-standing proposal for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian crisis and pleaded…

Philippine Catholic leaders called for the peace process to move forward between the country’s largest Muslim rebel group and the government, days after a deadly encounter between fighters of the two sides in the country’s south. The 12-hour battle on January 25 happened during a crucial stage in peacebuilding efforts between the rebel Moro Islamic…

A Dominican friar, exiled from his friary in Mosul by the Islamic State last year, is working to preserve Christian manuscripts through digitisation to ensure the memory of Iraq’s Christian past survives. Iraqi native, Fr Najeeb Michaeel, OP, founded the Centre for the Digitisation of Oriental Manuscripts in 1990 to foster the collection and recording…

Homeless people in Rome will soon be able to head to the Vatican for a free shave and haircut. According to the Italian news agency ANSA, haircuts and shaves will be available to those less fortunate on Mondays. In Italy, barbershops are traditionally closed on Mondays, allowing for volunteer barbers to donate their time. The…

Pontifical council consider challenges for women Violence against women, cultural pressures regarding women’s physical appearance, attitudes that subjugate women or that ignore male-female differences and the growing alienation of women from the Church in some parts of the World are themes the Pontifical Council for Culture is set to explore. The council has chosen to discuss the theme, ‘Women’s Cultures:…