Bishops in the Middle East have called for a regional youth gathering similar to World Youth Day to be established for young Catholics in Arab countries. The proposed ‘World Day of Youth of the Arab Regions’ would take place in Jordan as the first host country with the goal of encouraging “mass participation”, according to…

An archdiocese in South Korea has suspended all Masses for two weeks and cancelled the Ash Wednesday liturgy in order to stop the spread of the coronavirus at religious gatherings. Archbishop Thaddeus Cho Hwan-kil of Daegu has banned all Church meetings until March 5 after new cases were reported from Christian congregations in parishes and…

US presidential candidate Joe Biden has highlighted his Catholic Faith in a new campaign advertisement released last week. The Democratic Party representative hopes focusing on religion will boost his ratings after seeing a sharp decline in his poll numbers following recent losses in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary. Mr Biden, who is a…

Three former pupils of an Argentine school for the deaf have travelled to Rome to demand the release of records on priests who abused them. Daniel Sgardelis, one of those abused at the Provolo Institute for the Deaf in La Plata, said he wants an international law which would force the Vatican to “stop covering…

Eight Christians accused of kidnapping 60 children for the purpose of converting them to Christianity have been acquitted in India. The six men and two women were alleged to have attempted an illegal religious conversion of tribal children were freed in Madhya Pradesh on February 18. The adults were on their way to Nagpur with…

Catholic bishops in East Africa have called for increased action to combat the region’s worst desert locust infestation in 70 years. Like scenes from the Book of Exodus, swarms of locusts are ravaging grazing lands and endangering the economies of seven countries heavily dependent on agriculture for food security. Bishop Giorgio Bertin, who heads the Church…

First
 meeting 
between 
China 
and 
Vatican
 for 
70 years A first meeting between The Holy See and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) since 1951 took place in Germany on February 14. Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States, met with PRC State Councillor and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi,…

Catholic Bishop in China overcomes coronavirus A retired priest in China has made a remarkable recovery from the coronavirus just days after being diagnosed with the epidemic. Bishop Joseph Zhu Baoyu of Nanyang, who is 98 years old, fell ill with pneumonia from Covid-19 on February 3. On February 12 he tested negative, but two…

Catholic bishops from around the world are calling on the Cameroon government to hold urgent peace talks with the country’s English-speaking separatists and moderates. Church leaders are urging the country’s president, Paul Biya, to enter into negotiations to find a peaceful settlement that addresses the grievances of the Anglophone community. A Swiss NGO has offered…

Catholic officials in Hong Kong have been forced to cancel all Church programs for the next two weeks and cancel the Ash Wednesday liturgy due to the growing threat of the coronavirus. All public Masses on Sundays and weekdays from February 15-28 and the liturgy of Ash Wednesday have been suspended, said Cardinal John Tong,…