Following a rampage of a radical Jewish gang in the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City on the evening of January 26, the Assembly of the Catholic Ordinaries in the Holy Land called on political and religious authorities to bring civil and religious life in Jerusalem back to “greater serenity”. “This is only the latest…
A sacristan was killed and a priest wounded during a suspected terrorist attack January 25 on two Catholic churches in Spain. As reported by Europa Press, according to police sources, the sacristan of the Church of Our Lady of La Palma was murdered and the pastor of St Isidore Church was wounded. Both churches are…
Peru’s bishops pleaded for peace as violent protests against the country’s current president and legislature have claimed the lives of dozens of people. “We deplore the violence that has been unleashed because violence only begets more violence,” the Peruvian bishops’ conference said in a message published January 20. “The death of more than 50 Peruvian brothers and…
When Fr Michael Mithamo King’ori lost his sight as a deacon, he thought his dream of becoming a priest was lost. But nothing is impossible for God, and on January 15, Archbishop Anthony Muheria of Nyeri ordained Fr Mithamo King’ori as the first-ever blind Kenyan Catholic deacon to become a priest. Fr Mithamo King’ori could…
On the feast of St Francis de Sales, the patron saint of journalists, Bishop Francisco Javier Acero, an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Mexico, remembered and asked for prayers for the members of the media who have been murdered in Mexico and for their families. According to the National Human Rights Commission of Mexico,…
Ukraine’s religious leaders renew invitation to Pope to visit Kyiv Ukraine’s religious leaders asked Pope Francis to visit Kyiv, said Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kyiv-Halych, the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. In a meeting with the Pope January 25, members of the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religions once again extended the invitation to…
Christian baker loses appeal over transgender cake case A Colorado appellate court has ruled against a baker who appeared in court once again for declining to make a cake that contradicts his religious beliefs. While Jack Phillips’ successful US Supreme Court case concerned his refusal to make a same-sex wedding cake, he now faces a…
Amid continuing controversy over strict limits on behaviour outside abortion clinics in some English cities, a man faces a fine for praying silently outside one clinic in memory of his dead son. “I would never have imagined being in a position to risk a criminal record for praying silently,” Adam Smith-Connor said, according to the…
The persecution of Christians is at its highest point in three decades, according to the latest report from advocacy group Open Doors. The World Watch List, released by Open Doors on January 18, reported that, overall, the number of Christians facing persecution worldwide remained steady in 2022 at approximately 360 million. In a list of…
The archbishop of Paris has banned French Msgr Tony Anatrella, a longtime Vatican consultant on issues of sexuality, from all public ministry and ordered him to a life of prayer after a Vatican investigation into allegations he sexually abused young men he was counselling. Msgr Anatrella, who will be 82 in February, had been a…