A proposed ban on “conversion therapy” for sexual orientation or gender identity in Australia’s Victoria state is far too broad and could target normal prayer and conversations between children and parents, Catholic bishops and Muslim leaders warned this week. “Unfortunately, this bill doesn’t just ban outdated and insidious practices of coercion and harm, which we…
More than 2,700 healthcare professionals have signed an open letter stating that they are “gravely concerned” about the attempt to introduce assisted suicide in Ireland. Opponents of the bill, including the majority of geriatricians, argue that it stigmatises the elderly, sick and disabled. The letter came as submissions close for the second stage of the…
In the midst of the conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, thousands of Eritrean refugees who fled oppression and authoritarianism have been deported back to their home country, said an Eritrean Catholic priest. Fr Mussie Zerai, a priest of the Archdiocese of Asmara, Eritrea, who works with migrants, said the refugees were in Schimelba and Hitsats…
President Joe Biden’s decision to rescind a regulation governing the Title X family planning programme that was enforced by the Trump administration “will force abortion” to be part of the programme and “may be unlawful,” said the chairman of the US bishops’ pro-life committee. “We have long supported efforts to ensure that the provision and…
Recently appointed Archbishop Dermot Farrell has condemned a spate of knife crime in the capital as “inhuman” in a homily delivered over the weekend. Dangerous road Speaking at Mass in the Church of the Holy Spirit in Ballymun, Archbishop Farrell said a person who carries a knife is “travelling down a dangerous road full of…
A challenge by businessman Declan Ganley over Covid-19 Level 5 restrictions on religious services has been adjourned at the High Court to mid-month, according to The Irish Independent. The Co Galway based businessman, a practising Catholic, claims that as a result of the restrictions, he cannot leave his home to attend Mass in breach of…
A German Catholic bishop said last Wednesday that he detected an “authoritarian despotism” in the procedures of the country’s controversial “Synodal Way”. In an open letter issued February 3, Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg criticised the format of an online conference of the Synodal Way. He also challenged the Synodal Way’s executive committee to show greater…
NFL star Harrison Butker initially thought the Faith wasn’t for him, saying during an interview with EWTN, “it pushed me away. I was like…ah this is just, this is just not me. It doesn’t go with the world”. However, it ended up attracting him to it, in his own words, “because it was so different…
Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon has appealed to the people of Myanmar – including the army, which staged a coup February 1 – to remain calm and to work for open lines of communication so democracy can prevail. “When, in 2015, a peaceful transition to the elected government was effected by the army, that…
Pope Francis adds feast of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus to Church calendar Pope Francis has added the memorial of Sts Mary, Martha, and Lazarus to the General Roman Calendar, giving the siblings the combined feast day of July 29. A decree from the Congregation for Divine Worship said on 2 February that Pope Francis had…
Ruadhán Jones