Mercy and faith have shaped Latin American culture for centuries, Pope Francis said on arriving in Ecuador on the first day of his July 5-12 tour of Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay, insisting that the Gospel continues to hold the key to our contemporary challenges. Speaking after a 12-hour flight from Rome, the Pontiff took part…

Staff Reporter An unlikely row has broken out between pop star Katy Perry, the Archbishop of Los Angeles and a group of elderly nuns. The singer reportedly wanted to buy the Los Feliz villa that served as the convent for the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Los Angeles. However, according to reports,…

Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church has expressed sympathy and support for the country’s armed forces after a series of jihadist attacks in north Sinai.  In an official statement, the Church said it supported the military’s struggle “against the forces of evil that threaten security in the region and in the world”, and invoked God’s help “to…

“The world of today still yearns for the Good News of Jesus Christ.”

Criticism of Cardinal George Pell’s record on abuse is “tremendously unfair”, according to his successor in Sydney, Archbishop Anthony Fisher.  Pointing out that the cardinal was the first Australian bishop to take real steps to tackle abuse, Dr Fisher speculated that a large part of Cardinal’s Pell’s problem is that for a long time he…

Archbishop Eamon Martin shows his pallium to his mother, Catherine, after his investiture with the pallium by papal nuncio Archbishop Charles Brown in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh. Archbishop Eamon later took to social media to say his mother had given him some tips on how to keep it clean. “Mama gives me washing instructions for…

In a world where profit is consistently put before both people and the planet, climate economics has everything to do with ethics and morality, according to a leading activist ahead of a Vatican conference. The Canadian Naomi Klein, best known for her criticisms of corporate capitalism and globalisation, had been invited to Rome to speak…

“We hope for some kind of reasonable leadership within the Orange Order”

If structural issues in South Africa’s mining industry are not tackled soon, the country will see a repeat of the 2012 Marikana massacre, according to the head of South Africa’s episcopal conference’s Justice and Peace Commission. Bishop Abel Gabuza, responding to the publication of an inquiry report, warned that another Marikana could happen “if we…

Fr John Carroll, parish priest of Ferns, blesses the boats at Ferrycarrig, Co. Wexford before the annual regatta organised annually in the South East.