Plans to convene a national dialogue forum in the face of a political crisis were announced by Kenya’s bishops, as they say the country’s ordinary people are on the brink of despair. The forum will assemble all sectors to set an agenda for honest discussions and resolutions for the country. Urgent matters to be addressed…
In Brief Defense of the unborn, racial division and immigration were the prominent topics of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops this week. The Church in the US has at times been a part of the problem of racism despite fighting it for many years, according to one bishop. Bishop George Murry, head of the…
In Brief Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminister, backed the Patriarch of Jerusalem in his campaign to preserve the place of Christians in the Holy Land as it exists now. Greek Orthodox Patriarch, Theophilos III, warned Cardinal Nichols that the current ‘Status Quo’ agreement that protects land tenure in Jerusalem is at risk, as a…
In Brief A diocese in northern Vietnam has begun construction of a church dedicated to Dominican martyrs, replacing the ruins of an earlier one destroyed during a US air raid in 1967. Bishop Joseph Vu Van Thien of Hai Phong celebrated a special Mass to begin the construction of the new church at the Hai…
In Brief Pakistan will issue 50,000 commemorative 50 rupee coins in honour of German-born Catholic nun and physician Sister Ruth Martha Pfau who dedicated her life to eradicating leprosy in the country. Known as Pakistan’s Mother Teresa, Sister Pfau died in Karachi on August 10 at the age of 87. She was given a state funeral, an honour…
In Brief A 3D virtual tour of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem – the site of Jesus’ tomb – will open next week in the National Geographic Museum in Washington DC. The tour opened on November 15 and will continue until August 15 next year. Academic dean and theology professor at St John’s Seminary in…
Pope Francis will celebrate the Catholic Church’s first World Day of the Poor this Sunday by celebrating a morning Mass with people in need and those who assist them. After Mass, he will offer lunch to 500 people in the Vatican audience hall. As the Year of Mercy was ending in November 2016, Pope Francis…
In Brief Last month thieves in France robbed and desecrated ten churches in the Diocese of Annecy, in the France’s Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region. The perpetrators are believed to be two men who gained access by forcing open the church doors with a crow bar. In Sainte Marie Madeleine de Morzine parish, the criminals broke open and desecrated…
Catholic Church officials have quelled speculation that the placement of a memorial for the 1987 Enniskillen bombing on Church ground was blocked because there was a poppy in the design. Monsignor Joseph McGuinness from the Diocese of Clogher said the memorial was a way to provide comfort and solace and bring the community together in…
Vatican Concerned by the damage caused by smoking, Pope Francis has banned the sale of cigarettes in Vatican City. Starting in 2018, the Vatican “will cease to sell cigarettes to employees,” Greg Burke, Vatican spokesman said. “The reason is very simple: The Holy See cannot contribute to an activity that clearly damages the health of…
Chai Brady