Pope Leo XIV is planning to visit Lebanon this year on his first foreign visit, Cardinal Béchara Boutros Raï said, a trip that would give history’s first American pope a chance to speak in broad terms about peace in the Middle East and the plight of Christians there. A visit to Lebanon could be the…
Frida Hennig
Bishop Leahy condemns attacks on Indian Community
Bishop of Limerick Brendan Leahy has strongly condemned recent attacks on members of the Indian community in Ireland, calling them a “dreadful misrepresentation” of the true Irish welcome and the Christian values that should define the nation. Speaking at the Syro-Malabar Community’s annual retreat in Limerick, he praised the Indian community’s deep faith, family values,…
EWTN to carry Pope Leo XIV’s first-ever digital visit with America’s Catholic youth
EWTN Global Catholic Network announced it will serve as the exclusive media partner providing news coverage, broadcast, and digital streaming of Pope Leo XIV’s first-ever digital visit with American Catholic youth during the 2025 National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) hosted by the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM) on November 21, 2025. The historic…
Argentina’s bishops criticise Javer Milei’s economic policies
In a message issued for the Festivity of St Cajetan the Bishops’ Conference affirmed on August 5 that no economic policy can be considered successful if it implies unemployment, in a direct reference to President Javier Milei’s continuous measures of austerity. Since Milei took office in December of 2023, he approved numerous policies in order…
Greek Catholic bishop in Ukraine: Only 37 parishes remain active
Maksym Ryabukha, the Greek Catholic bishop of the Exarchate of Donetsk in Ukraine, describes himself as a “bishop on wheels” because he frequently travels to visit parishes and accompany his faithful in the midst of war. “This allows me to see the depths of human life,” he said. One of the youngest bishops in the…
Longtime anti-euthanasia activists awarded USCCB’s ‘People of Life’ award posthumously
Longtime anti-euthanasia activists Rita and Mike Marker were honoured August 11 at the 2025 “People of Life” awards by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities during the Diocesan Pro-Life Leadership Conference in Arlington, Virginia. The awards recognise Catholics who have answered St John Paul II’s call in Evangelium Vitae…
Dysart Church celebrates bi-centenary on August 24
Dysart Catholic Church in south Co. Roscommon is welcoming visitors from overseas and around Ireland to take part in its celebration of 200 years of Catholic worship. The celebration will take place on Sunday, August 24 at 3:00pm, beginning with a Mass of Thanksgiving led by Bishop Kevin Doran. Following Mass and the unveiling of…
Holy Family Church Ardfinnan celebrates 60 years
On Friday, August 15, exactly 60 years after the opening and blessing of the Holy Family Church Ardfinnan, Co. Tipperary, parishioners and clergy gathered to celebrate Mass and mark the anniversary. PP Fr Michael Toomey paid tribute to past and current parishioners in his homily: “Tonight is an occasion for us to give thanks to…
German bishops divided sharply over same-sex blessing guidelines
German bishops are divided sharply over implementing blessing guidelines for same-sex couples, with a comprehensive survey by katholisch.de revealing stark divisions across the country’s 27 dioceses, three months after the publication of the controversial pastoral handout. Five dioceses — Cologne, Augsburg, Eichstätt, Passau, and Regensburg — have explicitly refused to implement the handout, all referencing the Vatican’s…
Bishop Mark Brennan gives blistering critique of indiscriminate immigration enforcement
As officials carry out mass deportations across the United States, Bishop Mark Brennan of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, is criticising the Trump administration’s policy of deporting “as many immigrants as possible” without “distinguishing between true criminals and law-abiding persons”. In a recent statement addressing Catholics in his diocese, Bishop Brennan said “some of you have told me that…