edited by Brandon Scott Sacramental Confession has healing abilities that priests should especially emphasise to help bring God’s love and consolation to a world damaged by two years of the coronavirus pandemic. That is the advice for confessors from Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, who stressed the urgency of their work for humanity. “In the season of…
edited by Brandon Scott Pope Francis encouraged Catholics to celebrate Christmas with a focus on Jesus Christ’s closeness, not on the consumerist, commercial aspects of the holiday. “Let’s not live a fake Christmas, please, a commercial Christmas,” the Pope advised. “Let us allow ourselves to be wrapped up in the closeness of God, this closeness…
edited by Brandon Scott Bishop Antonio Staglianò of the Diocese of Noto in the Italian island region of Sicily left parents dismayed after he told a group of children that Santa Claus did not exist, subsequently sparking a week of backlash from parents and international media. After Bishop Staglianò’s comments on the Christmas character caused…
Dennis Sadowski As an author and lecturer, Fr Donald B. Cozzens, a Cleveland diocesan priest and former seminary rector, shared candid insights on the priesthood, challenging the Church to confront clericalism and renew its structure. Despite criticism privately and publicly from fellow clergy, Fr Cozzens maintained that it was his love of the priesthood that…
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.…
Michael Kelly