Pope Francis will visit Scotland for a “very short time” in November, a spokesperson for the Scottish bishops’ conference revealed on Monday. The Pope is due to attend the Glasgow-based 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) taking place November 1-12. “The Pope will be in Scotland for a very short time, most of which will…
“Blessed are the peacemakers,” Archbishop Dermot Farrell of Dublin said Sunday, July 11, as he prayed for “all who seek to resolve differences and conflict through peacekeeping, respectful dialogue and negotiation instead of resorting to violence and oppression”. Last weekend saw the National Day of Commemoration held in Collins Barracks, in honour of the men…
More than 4,000 people have signed a petition requesting that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cease blaming the Catholic Church for the country’s residential school system. The residential school system was set up by the Canadian government, beginning in the 1870s, as a means of forcibly assimilating indigenous children and stripping them of familial and…
A Belarusian bishops’ spokesman downplayed a police raid on Minsk’s Catholic cathedral, although a prominent lay Catholic warned arrests elsewhere suggested the move could signal further police action. “We don’t really know what the police were seeking,” Father Yuri Sanko, spokesman for the Minsk-based bishops’ conference, told Catholic News Service July 8, four days after police arrived…
The World Health Organisation and UNAIDS have joined Irish religious orders and charities in calling the Irish Government to “take a stand for fairness” over Covid-19 vaccine inequity. Trócaire, Oxfam Ireland, the Association of Missionaries and Religious of Ireland (AMRI) and other organisations launched the People’s Vaccine Alliance July 8, along with Dr Mike Ryan…
Pope offers condolences after assassination of Haiti’s president In a telegram addressed to the Apostolic Nuncio in Haiti, Pope Francis said “Upon hearing the news of the heinous assassination of His Excellency Mr Jovenel Moïse, President of Haiti,” he offers his condolences “to the Haitian people and to his wife, who was also seriously wounded…
Polish Catholic bishops’ leader: Church supports those opting for Covid-19 vaccine The president of Poland’s Catholic bishops’ conference said last Thursday that the Church supports those who opt to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki issued the statement July 8 as the Polish government seeks to expand its vaccination program ahead of a potential fourth wave…
Ten days after undergoing intestinal surgery, Pope Francis was released from Rome’s Gemelli hospital, the Vatican confirmed
Pilgrims and well-wishers gathered at Rome’s Gemelli hospital to greet Pope Francis as he made his first public appearance in a week after undergoing intestinal surgery. Appearing on the 10th floor balcony of his suite of rooms at the hospital July 11, the Pope was greeted with applause and shouts of Viva il Papa (Long…
The head of Irish Jesuits International has said that the Indian government “literally killed” an elderly missionary priest whose death was announced on Monday. Fr Stan Swamy SJ died while awaiting bail in an Indian prison where he was being held on charges of sedition, believed by many to be politically-motivated claims from the government…
Ruadhán Jones