The High Court in London rejected a landmark challenge to a UK law allowing abortion up to birth for disability. In its September 23 ruling, the court declared that a law allowing abortion up to birth for disability was not discriminatory. The challenge was brought by Heidi Crowter, a woman with Down syndrome, and Máire…
Spanish Church leaders are urging prayers and donations for residents of the Canary Islands, after earthquakes and a volcanic eruption devastated parts of the Atlantic island chain. “We welcome the public administration’s speed in ensuring the safety of all those affected and caring for those with greatest vulnerability,” said a September 22 statement from the…
The sisters were praised for embodying the mission of welcome and care, at a thanksgiving Mass held September 19. The Marist sisters are leaving the parish of St Peter’s Cathedral, Belfast, where they had ministered since 1986, invited by then-Bishop Cahal Daly. The first sisters moved in to the parish and lived in the flats…
Catholic lay organisations took to the streets of downtown Fulda under the motto “We remain loud” to express their dissatisfaction with the Catholic Church, on the final day of the German bishops’ annual fall plenary assembly. On September 23, Catholics demonstrated in front of the 18th-century palace where the bishops met and marched to demand…
The Archbishop of Dublin praised the “outgoing Order” for reflecting “spiritual realities”, at the September 25 ceremony. Archbishop Dermot Farrell called on the new knights and dames of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre “to witness to the life of Christ, with its good news and its hope”. The seven new knights were: James…
Catholic leaders from Eastern Europe pledged closer cooperation against sexual abuse by clergy, despite different levels of preparedness, at the region’s first international child protection conference. A statement from the September 19-22 conference said lectures and group sessions had covered “spiritual, theological, legal and pastoral aspects of the crisis”, adding that key themes would be…
The Catholic Women’s Conference held in Cork September 18 was run “by women, for women”, one of the organisers said. Anita Sheahan, outreach minister for the Dominican’s in St Mary’s Church, Cork City, said that more than 100 women attended the conference in person. “It was a great success, the speakers were all fantastic,” Ms…
The Women’s Health Protection Act of 2021, introduced in the US Senate and House June 8 and currently moving through various committees in both chambers, “is nothing short of child sacrifice”, said Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco. The “misnamed” measure, he said, “shows to what radical extremes the supposedly ‘pro-choice’ advocates in our country…
Vatican requires vaccine pass for visitors and employees The Vatican will require all visitors and personnel to show a Covid-19 pass proving they have been vaccinated, have recovered from the coronavirus, or have tested negative for the disease in order to enter the city state beginning October 1. To enter Vatican territory, tourists and other…
St Januarius’ blood liquefies for the second time in 2021 The blood of St Januarius, patron of the Italian city of Naples, liquefied for the second time this year. The miraculous event took place in the city’s Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary during morning Mass on September 19, the saint’s feast day. Before the…
Ruadhán Jones