A university in England has refused to recognise a Catholic priest as a chaplain over comments that he posted on social media. The University of Nottingham, in central England, confirmed August 25 that it had declined to give official recognition to Fr David Palmer, a priest of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.…
Religious sisters from the Missionaries of Charity and 14 disabled children from an orphanage in Afghanistan arrived safely last Wednesday at Rome’s international airport. A Catholic priest and five sisters from the order founded by Mother Teresa arrived on one of two evacuation flights from Kabul that landed in Rome on August 25 carrying a…
Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott urged Catholics to write to their local state legislators because proposed euthanasia laws in New South Wales would fundamentally undermine the relationship between doctors and patients by legitimising doctor-assisted suicide in the state. “It would turn doctors from healers into killers, and that would be a tragedy for the…
After nearly 1,000 abuse claims were filed against the Diocese of Buffalo in the last two years, the diocese’s Bishop Michael Fisher called it a “tragedy of epic proportions”. The time window to file civil lawsuits in old cases of child sex abuse in New York expired on August 14. A total of 924 claims were…
With the approval of Pope Francis, the Vatican has ordered the dissolution of an Italy-based community, which had its headquarters in Verona and communities in Medjugorje and Brazil. The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life determined the Regina Pacis Community was to be “suppressed”, citing problems with a lack of…
Pope Francis names religious sister to no. 2 position in Vatican’s social development office Pope Francis last Thursday named Italian economist and Catholic religious sister Alessandra Smerilli as secretary of the Vatican’s social development office on an interim basis. Sr Smerilli was appointed ad interim secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development following…
German bishop says he’s sceptical about exempting priests from celibacy A German bishop who co-chairs the Synodal Path’s forum on priests said he is “sceptical” about exempting Catholic priests from celibacy. Bishop Felix Genn of Münster said he accepted that people were deciding not to become priests because they did not feel called to celibacy,…
Redemption is the work of God, not of human beings, so be careful and do not listen to “fundamentalists” who claim holiness comes through following certain laws, Pope Francis said during his weekly general audience
Afghanistan’s terrified Christians are bracing for a new round of persecution in the wake of the Taliban’s takeover of the country, Christian leaders and aid organisations warn. “We are telling people to stay in their houses because going out now is too dangerous,” one Afghani Christian leader told the aid organisation International Christian Concern (ICC.)…
Caritas Pakistan has alerted its diocesan units bordering neighbouring Afghanistan to help refugees fleeing the Taliban’s takeover of the country, reported ucanews.com. Thousands of Afghans have entered Pakistan via the Chaman border crossing, one of the most active trade and travel routes between the countries, according to media reports. However, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad…
Ruadhán Jones