A Catholic bishop in Belarus accused President Alexander Lukashenko of “insult and slander” after the government official charged the Church’s exiled leader with planning to “destroy the country” and called for a bar on foreign clergy. Auxiliary Bishop YuryKasabutski of Minsk said in social media post November 3 that he believed President Lukashenko’s words about…
Louisiana voters by a wide margin November 3 passed a measure declaring there is no state constitutional right to abortion, while Colorado voters defeated a proposal to ban abortion beginning at 22 weeks of pregnancy. Unofficial results show that the Louisiana measure, known as the Love Life Amendment, passed 62.1% to 37.9%. It will add…
Covid-19: Vatican Museums, Pontifical Villas close again to public A statement issued by the Holy See Press Office November 4 said the Vatican Museums will be closed to the public from November 5 to December 3, in compliance with the Italian government’s latest anti-Covid regulations. The statement also said that, due to the current health…
US Supreme Court looks for compromise in Catholic foster care case The Supreme Court, now with a full bench, seemed willing to find a compromise during November 4 arguments about a Catholic social service agency shut out from Philadelphia’s foster care program for not accepting same-sex couples as foster parents. In the case, which pits…
Cardinal Christian Tumi, who was kidnapped by gunmen on the evening of November 5 in Cameroon, has been freed. “Glory be to God. Cardinal Tumi has been freed by the Separatist fighters. He is fine and in good health,” Bishop George Nkuo of Kumbo diocese announced on the afternoon of November 6. The 90-year-old archbishop…
As France begins its second lockdown this year, French bishops are filing an urgent appeal to continue public Masses, arguing that the most recent coronavirus restrictions “violate freedom of worship”. The French bishops’ conference announced Monday night that it would file a “référé liberté” with the Council of State regarding the lockdown decree issued last week. This…
Guatemala’s president has said he will block US abortion provider Planned Parenthood from setting up an office in the country. This week he denounced the group, saying it promoted abortion. “I am a faithful defender of life and I am emphatic in indicating that in my government I will not endorse the creation, registration or…
French police have arrested six men in their investigation into last Thursday’s attack on the Basilica of Notre-Dame de l’Assomption in Nice. Among those in police custody is a 29-year-old Tunisian man believed to have accompanied the alleged attacker, Brahim Issaoui, from Tunisia to the Italian island of Lampedusa on September 20, Agence France-Presse reported on November…
In a statement released last weekend, the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales asked the government to produce evidence necessitating a suspension of public worship, as is required by the latest Covid-19 guidance. It was signed by both the President of the bishop’s conference, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, and the Vice-President, Archbishop Malcolm McMahon OP. They…
Facing protests across the country after a court ruling prohibiting abortion for foetal abnormalities, the Polish president said Friday he would propose a bill permitting abortion in cases of fatal foetal abnormality. Andrzej Duda said October 30 he would introduce a bill to allow abortion “when prenatal tests or other medical indications show a high…