Argentine President Alberto Fernández sent a bill to Congress to decriminalise abortion, despite Catholic objections. In anticipation of the abortion bill being proposed, Argentina’s bishops blasted the president’s plans for decriminalisation as “untenable and inappropriate” – both on ethical grounds and the timing during a pandemic. President Fernández presented the bill November 17 and said…
Government restrictions on religion are at their highest since tracking began in 2007, the Pew Research Center has said in its new report, finding that 56 countries reached “high” or “very high” levels of restrictions on religion in 2018. “In 2018, the global median level of government restrictions on religion – that is, laws, policies…
A Polish cardinal recently sanctioned by the Vatican for sexual abuse has died at the age of 97. Cardinal Henryk Gulbinowicz died the morning of November 16, the Polish bishops’ conference announced. Earlier this month, the apostolic nunciature in Poland announced disciplinary measures against the cardinal on November 6 as the result of an investigation…
The U.N. migration agency renewed its call for increased search and rescue efforts after another tragic shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea claimed the lives of 74 migrant men, women and children. According to the U.N. International Organisation for Migration, also known as IOM, a boat carrying more than 120 people capsized off the coast of…
Filipinos appealed for help as a fifth tropical storm or typhoon hit their country in a three-week period. These included the strongest typhoon since 2013 and the biggest floods since 2009. The latest, Typhoon Vamco – or Ulysses as it is known in Philippines – left at least 42 dead and 20 missing. Rescue workers…
Pope Francis calls Joe Biden to congratulate him on election success Pope Francis called President-elect Joe Biden early November 12 to congratulate him on winning the U.S. presidential election. “The president-elect thanked His Holiness for extending blessings and congratulations and noted his appreciation for His Holiness’s leadership in promoting peace, reconciliation and the common bonds…
World Youth Day 2023 organisers urge youth to join ‘great national movement’ The organisers of World Youth Day 2023 invited young Portuguese Catholics this week to prepare for the event by taking part in a two-day nationwide mission. They urged youngsters to join a “a great national movement that intends to bring hope and joy…
Christians top the list for countries where they face either governmental or social hostility, according to a new report issued November 10 by the Pew Research Center. Christians have topped the list each year since Pew started collecting data in 2007. The number of countries where Christians face some form of hostility rose from 143…
The Vatican Secretariat of State’s report on Theodore E. McCarrick provides a glimpse into how a number of witnesses and victims of the former cardinal’s abuse sought numerous ways to alert church officials and were disturbingly aware their allegations might trigger repercussions. Over its 460 pages, the report also reveals how much difference 30 years…
With Joe Biden now elected as the nation’s 46th president, it is “time for our leaders to come together in a spirit of national unity,” said Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. They also must “commit themselves to dialogue and compromise for the common good,” he…