New Delhi (KNA) Indigenous ethnic groups and human rights activists in northern India are condemning the sealing off of the border with Myanmar and the end of freedom of movement without visas and passports to the neighbouring country. According to media reports, the sealing off of the border with a fence primarily affects the predominantly…
Zurich/Notre Dame (KNA) According to the German historian and theologian Ulrich L. Lehner, all the problems of the Catholic Church in the abuse crisis were already known in the 17th and 18th centuries. “The Jesuits liked to present themselves as a particularly chaste order,” said the author of the book from the renowned University of…
A Catholic priest who gave a benediction during former president Donald Trump’s rally Saturday told people they needed to pray for Trump moments before Trump was shot and wounded. Fr Jason Charron, a Ukrainian Catholic pastor, told CNA a group of about 15 to 20 people called him over to a barricade within the rally site…
Vatican City/Bern (KNA) A letter from Jewish rabbis to Pope Francis has caused a stir. The Vatican newspaper “L’Osservatore Romano” published extracts from the friendly letter on Thursday evening. On the political level, there had been criticism from the Israeli side shortly beforehand of statements made by the Pope’s chief diplomat Cardinal Pietro Parolin on…
Tobias Käufer (KNA) The socialist government of President Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela has called on the staff of the United Nations Human Rights Office to leave the South American country within 72 hours. This emerged from a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry in Caracas on Thursday. At a press conference, Foreign Minister Yvan Gil…
Kathmandu (KNA) The World Social Forum (WSF) began in Nepal on Thursday under the motto “Another world is possible”. 30,000 participants from 1,200 social movements and 100 countries will be discussing topics such as human rights, climate justice, food and democratisation in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu until Monday. “In fact, humanity is on the brink…
Former Taoiseach John Bruton, who was laid to rest on Saturday at the age of 76, has been praised as a compassionate statesman and a committed Christian. A regular contributor to The Irish Catholic, here are a selection of his views the defining issues in Ireland over the last decade. Former Taoiseach hits out at…
Sacraments must be celebrated ‘validly’ – bishop The sacraments need to be celebrated “validly” as well as nicely, Bishop Kevin Doran has said after the Vatican released a new document on the importance of the celebrating the sacraments well. Gestis verbisque (Deeds and Words), released by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF),…
Publishers and authors have described the announcement that Veritas, the publishing arm of the Irish bishops’ conference, is to wind down this year with the loss of 80 jobs as a “huge loss”.
Parishes and dioceses across the North are promoting foster care as the Health & Social care Northern Ireland (HSCNI) has warned of “significant challenges” in identifying families from a Catholic background willing to foster or adopt children.
Ruadhán Jones