The Finnish Supreme Court has convicted parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen on one charge related to her expression of her Christian beliefs on marriage and sexual ethics. In the 3-2 decision, the court said Räsänen’s criminal conviction over the distribution of a 2004 pamphlet alongside her Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola was for “making and keeping available to…
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced a new policy to protect women in sports, under which only “biological women” — and not “biological men” who self-identify as women — will be permitted to compete in the women’s category. The new policy, announced on March 26, will take effect starting with the 2028 Los Angeles…
A man has been arrested by police in connection to an attack on the March for Life in Lisbon, Portugal, on March 22 when an improvised explosive device was thrown into a crowd of attendees. According to a statement by the Public Security Police (PSP), at the time of the attack around 500 people were…
The Catholic aid organisation Aid to the Church in Need is warning of a renewed escalation of violence in Nigeria. There has recently been a series of attacks in the north-east of the African country, the organisation announced on March 26 in Munich. It quoted its project partner Joseph Bature Fidelis, a priest from the…
“The Church is either missionary or not Church at all,” said Archbishop Dermot Farrell at the 80th anniversary Mass of Irish Carmelite missionary presence in Zimbabwe on March 22. Joined by the Carmelite priory of Whitefriar Street Church, clergy from Zimbabwe, and a large congregation, Archbishop Farrell celebrated the gift of mission between the two…
Clonard Youth and Young Adult Ministry gathered for their residential retreat at Greenhill YMCA in Newcastle, Co. Down over the weekend, as part of their Empower 2 Transform (E2T) programme, a regional partnership youth programme delivered across Northern Ireland through YMCA Ireland, Youth Link NI, Youth Initiatives NI, and Mencap NI. The E2T programme aims…
A large congregation gathered to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Irish Carmelite Order’s missionary presence in Zimbabwe on Sunday, March 22 at Whitefriar Street Church in Dublin. The Mass was celebrated by Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell, and music from the Zimbabwean Catholic musicians present expressed the energy, joy and faith that the community…
Ten years after Pope Francis issued a controversial document on families, Pope Leo XIV will meet with bishops from around the world to discuss the text’s application for today. Amoris Laetitia, Francis’ apostolic exhortation on marriage and the family, followed two contentious synods at the Vatican dominated by debate over divorce. Pope Leo on Thursday…
The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, said last week that “the manipulation of God’s name to justify this and any other war is the gravest sin we can commit in this time.” The cardinal was commenting in response to the words of US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who quoted Psalm 144 during…
Icelandic police have confirmed that they are examining comments made by a Catholic priest about homosexuality that may violate the country’s laws against conversion therapy. The Reykjavik police said they would investigate the remarks made by Fr Jakob Rolland to Icelandic state broadcaster RÚV in early March, to determine whether criminal proceedings should be opened…