Category: News

West Bank priest criticises US embassy opening in Jerusalem

Opening a new US embassy in Jerusalem this week without resolving conflict in the region will have “extreme results”, according to a Catholic priest based in the West Bank. Violence broke out between Palestinian protesters and Israeli soldiers during fierce protests. International media reported that in Gaza, at least 52 Palestinians were killed, including five…

Bishops in South Africa condemn mosque murder

South Africa’s bishops condemned an attack on a mosque near Durban in which a man was killed and another two injured. Mechanic Abbas Mohamedelo Essop died after his throat was cut in the attack on the mosque in Verulam, about 20 miles north of Durban. Three men armed with guns and knives set the mosque…

Stability needed in Holy Land to save environment

It’s hard to discuss detrimental environmental effects of using the diesel fuel needed to run generators in Gaza when people only have three hours of government-provided electricity a day, Tahani Abu Daqqa, former Palestinian Minister of Culture, has said. Catholics are influenced by the environment in which they live, so while Catholics living in Israel…

Believed assassination attempt on Cameroon archbishop

The Church in Cameroon said shots were fired at the residence of Archbishop Samuel Kleda, president of the bishops’ conference, after he criticised policies by the government of President Paul Biya. “Projectiles were shot at the Archdiocese of Douala headquarters, breaking its windows,” the local vicar general Msgr Dieudonne Bayemeg said in a statement. “There…

Papal Nuncio opens new Sandyford pastoral centre

There was a celebratory mood in Dublin’s Sandyford parish at the weekend when the Pope’s representative in Ireland the Papal Nuncio Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Okolo visited the parish. Dr Okolo – a native of Nigeria – spoke at the 11am Sunday Mass about the huge impact that Irish missionaries had on his homeland. Speaking at…