A report issued last week declared the treatment of Christian minority women and girls in parts of Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia a “human rights catastrophe”. The study, “Hear Her Cries”, published by the charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) last week, said that “at its most extreme”, forced conversions could amount…
An international Christian legal group has denounced the US State Department’s decision to remove Nigeria from this year’s watchlist of countries with the most egregious violations of religious freedom, in a period where the country is arguably at its most unsafe for Christians. “Persecution against Christians and other religious minorities around the world must end,”…
Bishop Xavier Novell, who unexpectedly resigned in August as bishop of Solsona, Spain, entered into a civil marriage with Silvia Caballol on November 22. Catalan media sources reported that the marriage ceremony took place on that Monday at the courthouse in Suria, Barcelona province, and was attended by only two witnesses. According to this same…
Staff reporter Ahead of today’s visit by Pope Francis to Cyprus, Fr Jerzy Kraj, Vicar General of Holy Cross Franciscan Monastery in Nicosia, said the Pontiff’s decision to visit the tiny Catholic community is a concrete application of “his message to go to the peripheries, to encounter small communities and to encourage them”. When the…
The Australian Archdiocese of Brisbane has announced that all archdiocesan employees, including clergy, contractors and some volunteers, must be fully vaccinated by December 15 in accord with the state’s mandate unless they have a medical exemption. “As we view the situation in Australia and internationally, it is clear that vaccination is the most effective way…
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, said last week that the death of 27 migrants attempting to cross the English Channel is “a tragic summons to action”. Cardinal Nichols, appealed on November 25 for “focused international cooperation” to prevent further deaths in the waters between France and the UK.…
Pope Francis prays for Wisconsin parade victims Pope Francis is praying for the people injured and killed by an SUV that ploughed into marchers during a Christmas parade in the Milwaukee suburb of Waukesha, the Vatican press office said last Tuesday. A message sent to Archbishop Jerome E Listecki of Milwaukee said that the Pope was…
Church in Italy criticises first legally assisted suicide in country The Catholic Church in Italy said that life must be “protected and defended” after local health authorities in Italy approved the country’s first legally obtained assisted suicide. The ethics committee of the health service of the Italian city of Ancona ruled on November 23 that…
According to newly published data from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the number of hate crimes against Christians in Europe rose sharply in 2020. The OSCE data, published November 16, documented 980 incidents against Christians, including arson attacks on Catholic churches, desecration and robbery of Eucharistic hosts, assaults on priests, and…
US authorities have confirmed that at least five people have been killed, with a Catholic priest, parishioners, and Catholic schoolchildren among the 40 injured when an SUV ploughed into marchers during a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on Sunday. The Archdiocese of Milwaukee also clarified that one of the priests in the diocese was among…