Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has ordered an investigation into the forced conversion of women and girls from the country’s religious minorities, drawing praise from Christian aid groups. Christian Concern International Christian Concern, a group that advocates for persecuted Christians, said December 3 that many of the victims of forced marriages in Pakistan are minors,…
2,000 Queen’s University Belfast students unable to return home for Christmas because of the pandemic are set to receive a care package, thanks to the university’s Catholic chaplaincy and the efforts of local businesses and charities. The operation to distribute the packs launched into action last week, prepared by a team of 20 student volunteers…
The Catholic leaders of the Holy Land are demanding an investigation into an attempted arson attack at a basilica located near the Garden of Gethsemane. The Basilica of the Agony, located on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem next to the Garden of Gethsemane, is also known as the Church of All Nations. It houses…
Actors from the film trilogies The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit have backed a campaign to turn the former home of Catholic author J.R.R. Tolkien into an educational centre. Project Northmoor is seeking to raise nearly €5.4 million to purchase the house where Tolkien wrote his most famous novels. As of December 4,…
A Brazilian nun who has advanced to the finals of TV cookery show MasterChef said she received “divine help” and was praying the entire time she was cooking. She said it was the divine help which directed her attention to the fact that the shrimp she was supposed to cook were not deveined. “If I…
People gathered in Trier’s cathedral the evening of December 1 to pray for the victims of a lone attacker who ploughed his SUV into Christmas shoppers, killing five people and seriously injuring about a dozen others. A 9-week-old baby and her father were among those who died; the mother and the family’s 18-month-old were among…
A new report by the All Party Oireachtas Life and Dignity Group (OLDG) highlights a “horrific” lack of pain relief for babies in late-term abortions. Evidence The report, ‘Late-Term Abortion and Foetal Pain – Proposing a Humane Response’, examines scientific evidence from around the world that shows unborn babies feel pain before 20 weeks. The…
Pope establishes Worldwide Prayer Network as Vatican entity The Vatican announced December 3 that Pope Francis has established the Worldwide Prayer Network Foundation as an entity with canonical and Vatican juridical identity. Formerly known as the “Apostleship of Prayer,” the Worldwide Prayer Network works “to coordinate and animate the vast spiritual movement, always very dear…
The Irish Bishops Conference have called on parishes to support charities as Covid-19 takes a toll on donations. In a statement from the conference, the bishops appealed for people to bring “the hope and joy of Christ’s birth to people who are sick, isolated, lonely or poor”. “A simple act of kindness can make such…
Chai Brady, Ruadhán Jones and Jason Osborne There is widespread relief at a return to public Mass in the Republic, with many parishes now looking to the challenge of having as many people as possible present for Christmas Mass. Catholics in the North, however, will have to wait until December 11 before a return to…
Ruadhán Jones