Lent is a time to reconsider the path one is taking in life and to finally answer God’s invitation to return to him with one’s whole heart, Pope Francis has said. “Lent is not just about the little sacrifices we make, but about discerning where our hearts are directed,” he said, “toward God or toward…

In parts of Africa, mass vaccination against Covid-19 is so far off that it is not even mentioned, warned bishops across the African continent. The malnourished people in the Nuba Mountains, South Sudan are “moving skeletons,” and their compromised immune systems expose them “to all kinds of diseases, not just Covid-19,” Bishop Macram Max Gassis,…

A Catholic missionary priest in Madagascar known for serving the poor living on a landfill has been nominated for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. Madagascar Fr Pedro Opeka, 72, is a Vincentian priest from Argentina who has worked with the poor in Madagascar for more than three decades. He founded the Akamasoa humanitarian association in…

Fr Franz Jalics, a Hungarian Jesuit whose 1976 detainment by Argentina’s military dictatorship raised questions about Pope Francis’ role during his country’s Dirty War, has died at age 93. The priest died on February 13 in Budapest. Jalics found himself reluctantly at the centre of a controversy in March 2013 when Jorge Bergoglio, his former…

California’s strict coronavirus rules banning indoor worship were blocked and revised by a US Supreme Court injunction late February 5 night, drawing praise from figures like Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone. He emphasised the importance of in-person religious gatherings and stressed that the Catholic Church is following “reasonable measures” to limit the epidemic. “This is a very…

An unprecedented alliance of Catholic and Evangelical church leaders are urging the Scottish Government to drop part of its proposed Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill to allow time for “detailed consideration of crucial provisions”. The bill, which would potentially criminalise any criticism of Transgender ideology has been criticised by the Catholic Church, the Free…

Vatican releases programme for papal trip to Iraq Pope Francis said his upcoming trip to Iraq would be an important sign of his concern for the region’s Christians, but also an important opportunity to build fraternity through interreligious dialogue. “In our time, interreligious dialogue is an important component of the encounter between peoples and cultures.…

‘Church shouldn’t stay silent,’ says Russian Catholic official The secretary-general of the Russian bishops’ conference defended his Church’s right to speak out during police repression, as the country’s Catholic archbishop demanded “substantial, concrete answers” to societal problems that are the subject of current massive protests. “Young people have gone out in freezing temperatures and tried…

As Christians pray, fast and give alms during Lent, they also should consider giving a smile and offering a kind word to people feeling alone or frightened because of the coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis said. “Love rejoices in seeing others grow. Hence it suffers when others are anguished, lonely, sick, homeless, despised or in need,”…