Turkey – As the flow of refugees from Syria continues, the Knights of Malta have opened a camp to cater for displaced people in Kilis, just across the border from the conflict-ravaged nation. By way of illustrating the continuing need for aid for Syrian civilians, the Knights revealed that on the first day of the…

Poland – The Catholic bishops of the country has offered an official apology for the abuse of children by predatory clerics. Insisting that the modern Church has made progress in ensuring the safety of children, the bishops stated: “We apologise for those clergy who have harmed children and are doing everything in our power so…

Spain – The Church has beatified 522 martyrs who lost their lives during the countryís civil war. The event took place on October 13 in the eastern city of Tarragona and involved the elevations of 515 Spaniards, three French, and a citizen from Cuba, Colombia, the Philippines and Portugal. Several thousand priests, monks and nuns…

Vatican – The Vatican is set to establish a cricket competition. Following a successful friendly between students of the Pontifical Urbaniana University and the Maria Mater Ecclesiae International Pontifical College, it has been announced that the sport will be extended to a further 20 fixtures, involving six teams comprised of student and seminarian sports people,…

Vatican – Vatican state has announced its adoption of new rules further regulating its financial affairs. Announcing the enactment of new regulations as part of Law XVIII, which are designed to deal with transparency, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, Secretary for Relations with States, said the rules are important in counteracting money laundering and the financing of…

Vatican – The 12th Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Family will take place in Rome this October 23-25. The event will focus on the theme 'Family, Live the Joy of Faith' and will include a pilgrimage of families to the tomb of St Peter for the Year of Faith. "We wish to…

“The lack of security that prevails in Libya has as a consequence that most religious communities that came to work in public health at the request of the Libyan authorities have been asked to leave the country.” Archbishop Vincent Landel of Rabat, Morocco, reports the grim situation for Christians in Libya during his recent visit…

The Pro Life Campaign (PLC) has accused The Irish Times of “a rush to judgement” in linking the death of Savita Halappanavar to the issue of Ireland’s abortion laws. In the wake of the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) report on the October 2012 death of the expectant mother at Galway’s University Hospital, the…

A parish priest in Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim has described as “exasperating” the sixth act of vandalism against his church since the start of the year. Speaking to The Irish Catholic following his discovery of the latest paint attack on St Mary’s Star of the Sea, Fr Anthony Alexander expressed his sadness at the repeated targeting…