France – The country’s Constitutional Council has ruled that mayors do not have a right to claim conscientious objection against performing gay marriage ceremonies. The ruling is a blow to a group of mayors which appealed to the council in the wake of threats by France’s Interior Ministry to imprison, for five years, those refusing…

Britain – The Tower of London was the venue last week for the official launch of The 1535 Society, a new initiative of the Catholic Church aimed at promoting awareness of the role of Catholic martyrs in British history. Together with Bishop Richard Chartres of London, Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster led a ceremony to…

Italy – The name ‘Francesco’ has become the most popular baby name in the country following the choice of that name by the Pope. A study undertaken by Tor Vergata University in Rome found that, while ‘Francesco’ has long been a popular name across Italy, in the months since the election of the new Pontiff,…

Pope Francis welcomed the Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to the Vatican on Monday. The Vatican Press Office reported the Popeís delight at greeting Ms Suu Kyi, "one of the most significant personalities in Asia in the area of peace, democracy and peaceful coexistence", a woman who spent 15 years under house arrest…

Germany – The Vatican has announced that the Vicar General of the German Diocese of Limburg will administer the troubled diocese following the removal of Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, whose €31 million spend on his house caused uproar in the country. According to the Vatican press office, Pope Francis authorised "a period of leave outside…

United Nations – Archbishop Francis Chullikatt, the Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations has called on the international community to seize the opportunity in disarming weapons of mass destruction. During an address to the UN General Assembly last week, the archbishop said recent moves on chemical weapons in…

Vatican – The newly-appointed Vatican Secretary of State, Archbishop Pietro Parolin is recuperating after his recent surgery, the Holy See Press Office has said. In a statement last weekend, the office said: "As is known, he recently underwent a surgical procedure, which took place in Padua in the department of hepatobiliary surgery in the university…

"No cell is so isolated it can exclude the Lord. Tell the prisoners I pray for them. They are in my heart. Pray to the Lord and the Virgin Mary that they can successfully overcome this difficult period of their lives. Tell themÖthat the Lord is not standing outside of their cell, outside the prison.…

Fr Raymond Murray welcomes latest revelations