Bishops lack confidence in dealing with media

A financial scandal in Germany has shocked the country’s faithful, writes Paul Keenan

France – A fraud conviction previously handed down on the Church of Scientology in the country has been upheld on appeal. Dating from 2009, the case against the church for organised fraud had left the body facing €600,000 in fines for gaining payments from adherents under false pretences in the 1990s. The case is seen…

Every day at 11 o’clock outside Gangjeong village on the spectacular coastline of Jeju island, a long line of cement trucks, serving the construction site for a military naval base, grinds to a halt.  For the next hour none will enter or leave the compound. Outside the six-metre high metal fence, their way is blocked…

Equality Authority accused of rushing employment amendment process

A Christian exodus of “biblical proportions” from across the Middle East now threatens the survival of the faith in the region, a new report reveals. Persecuted and Forgotten has been compiled by the international charity group Aid to the Church in Need and, among 30 countries covered worldwide, details the deteriorating situation for Christian communities…

Cleric recovering after savage beating

Israel has declared an Italian Catholic nun ‘Righteous Among Nations’ for her life-risking efforts to save Jews during World War II. Mother Josephine Biviglia was abbess of the Sisters of Saint Quirico in Assisi during the war and is reported to have used her position to direct the community convent’s use as a place of…

Hundreds of people gathered in Belfast city centre last Saturday to ‘Witness to Life’ during an event marking the first anniversary of the establishment of a Marie Stopes clinic there. Organised by the pro-life group Precious Life, the event drew participants from across Ireland who back Precious Life’s campaign to force the closure of the…

Pope Francis is proving a ratings winner for Italian broadcasters covering papal events. According to the state broadcaster, RAI 1, the Popeís noon Angelus alone has seen numbers jump by 250,000. Figures released show that numbers tuning in for the Angelus prayers have gone from 1.56 million in 2012 to 2.27 in 2013. Meanwhile, it…