This week, Rome marks the 50th anniversary of Pope John XXIIís encyclical Pacem in Terris. Between October 2 and 4, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace is hosting a major conference on tenets of the encyclical, not least its educational aspect. This, the council’s president, Cardinal Peter Turkson said ahead of the conference, “is…

The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch has appealed to international aid agencies to reach a community of nuns and orphans in their charge trapped in the Syrian village of Maalula. Most Rev Ignatius Zakka has called for help on behalf of some 40 nuns and children now trapped in worsening conditions in the monastery of…

D&C Congress ‘filled with faith’ Cathal Barry Over 1,700 people from the diocese of Down and Connor packed out the impressive Waterfront Hall in Belfast at the weekend for their inaugural diocesan congress. ‘Living Church’ was an appropriate title for the first congress of its kind in Down and Connor, which drew together the faithful…

A new book on the life of Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio before his elevation to the papacy reveals his efforts to shield Argentine citizens from the Argentine regime during the Dirty War Years. Prompted to investigate the cardinal’s past by allegations made against him as soon as he became Pope Francis, journalist Nello Scavo of the…

Milestone means 110 cardinals with conclave vote

A parliamentarian in Kabul has called for those who convert from Islam to Christianity to be killed. Nazir Ahmad Hanafi made his proposal, he stressed, to halt the growing number of Christians in the country, which is blamed on the presence of American troops. “The Afghan people continue to convert to Christianity. This is an…

“It is important to bring the solicitude and the presence of the Church into the world of communications so as to dialogue with the men and women of today and bring them to meet Christ…The God in whom we believe, who loves all men and women intensely, wants to reveal himself through the means at…

Kenya – Members of the Christian and Muslim faiths have joined in condemning the recent terror attack on the Westgate mall in Nairobi and to insist that communities are dedicated to good relations for the good of their country. “We, religious leaders, are engaged in a robust dialogue to ensure that these relations are not…

A shift in ‘values’ is causing division, writes Michael Higgins

Central African Republic – The United Nations must intervene in the country, the Bishop of Bangassou has said. In a message sent to the UN in New York ahead of a debate on the deteriorating state of affairs in the African nation, Bishop Juan Jose Aguirre Muno states that the controlling Seleka group is now…