The Brussels-based commission representing the Catholic bishops of the European Union is backing tougher steps to combat hate crimes, but warned that current EU proposals could violate religious freedom and have a “chilling and self-censoring effect”. “Hate crimes are more and more common and are cause for increasing concern – a grave phenomenon to be…
Clergy, women religious and laypeople pledged to strengthen existing networks and build new partnerships to fight human trafficking in West Africa during a five-day conference. Recognising that the coronavirus pandemic has not slowed the work of traffickers who force young people into prostitution, pornography, erotic entertainment and forced labour, more than two dozen participants agreed…
Fundamental theological principles provide the framework for any doctrinal questions over the discovery of extra-terrestrial beings, a theologian claimed in a lecture on June 5. While the Church does not have any specific teachings on extra-terrestrial life, theologians can speculate on the existence of these beings and their nature due to the “underlying principles” which…
Another church in Kayah state, a Catholic stronghold in eastern Myanmar, was damaged by indiscriminate shelling by the military. Military fire hit Our Lady, Queen of Peace Church in the village of Doungankha the morning of June 6. Church leaders said there were no casualties as people had fled to relatives’ homes and into the…
A June 7 US Supreme Court decision ruled that hundreds of thousands of immigrants with a temporary immigration status cannot apply for a more permanent way to remain in the country if they first entered without authority to do so. The unanimous ruling applies to those with Temporary Permanent Status, popularly known as TPS –…
Room to improve for Vatican handling of financial crime Moneyval, the European financial watchdog committee, said that while the Vatican has made progress in combatting financial crimes, its investigations into potential crimes committed by senior officials needs more fine-tuning. The group, also known as the Council of Europe’s Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of…
Euthanasia deaths soared last year in Canada The number of Canadians who ended their lives by euthanasia and assisted suicide increased by 17% in 2020, the country’s health department announced on June 7. According to Abby Hoffman, assistant deputy minister of Health Canada, 7,595 people received “medically assisted deaths” last year, a figure which amounts…
Jesus is always praying for each and every person, desiring that his word would help people in their lives and that they never would feel alone, Pope Francis said
Pope Francis declined on Thursday the resignation of Cardinal Reinhard Marx, offered to him last month. In a June 10 letter, the Pope asked the influential German cardinal to continue as archbishop of Munich and Freising. Writing in Spanish, Francis told Cardinal Marx: “If you are tempted to think that, by confirming your mission and not…
Archbishop Michael Miller of Vancouver said he was “filled with deep sadness” after learning of the discovery of the bodies of more than 200 children buried on the site of what was once Canada’s largest indigenous residential school. The Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation May 30 reported an “unthinkable loss” that was “never documented” at…