Bishops in the Ivory Coast have warned of a new civil war in the run-up to 2020 elections, unless urgent action is taken to ease communal tensions and withdraw weapons in West African state. “A general climate of fear now reigns throughout our population, linked to recurrent intercommunal conflicts, issues of insecurity, illicit forest occupation…
Category: World Report
Congo prelates urge citizens to unite against ‘armed groups’
Congo’s bishops said territory in the east of the country is being ceded to violent extremists, who are using the lack of government control to massacre civilians and plunder resources. “We do not understand why the Democratic Republic of Congo’s armed forces, backed by the United Nations Stabilisation Mission, have not managed to neutralise these…
Archbishop Sheen’s sainthood cause resumes
Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s remains have been transferred from the Archdiocese of New York to Peoria, Illinois, after three years of litigation, clearing the way for the former archbishop’s sainthood cause to go forward. Bishop Daniel Jenky of Peoria announced that Sheen’s remains had been transferred from St Patrick Cathedral, New York, to the Cathedral…
Security of Iraqi Christians still lacking
The security of Christians in Northern Iraq remains “tenuous” and will require close attention in the future, the US State Department’s religious freedom ambassador has told members of Congress. While the situation is “far better in Northern Iraq right now” for Yazidis and Christians, who in 2016 were recognised by the State Department as genocide…
Vatican Roundup
Francis permits seafarers to grant absolution for sins Pope Francis has given priests who minister to seafarers special permission to grant absolution for sins that usually would require the intervention of a bishop or the Vatican itself. “Many seafarers come or will come to priest chaplains with problems on their conscience that make them suffer…
In Brief
The Church is ‘forever young’, new bishop says The new bishop of Madison told the congregation at his installation Mass last week that the Catholic Church “is forever young” and this is “our moment” to proclaim the good news of Christ. “In God’s time, 2,000 years is merely the blink of an eye,” Bishop Donald…
Homeschooling German family granted custody while awaiting appeal
A court in Germany has ruled that a homeschooling Christian couple may retain custody of their children as they await an appeal against the country’s compulsory school attendance law. For nearly 15 years, Dirk and Petra Wunderlich have been engaged in a legal battle over their decision to homeschool their four children, in violation of…
‘Brilliant news’ that forced abortion is stopped
A panel of Court of Appeal judges has halted a court-ordered abortion in the UK, overturning a decision made last Friday in a case involving a mentally disabled woman. On Friday, Justice Nathalie Lieven ordered that a 22-week-pregnant mentally disabled woman be forced to have an abortion, despite the objections of the woman and the assurances…
Satanic Temple member sparks outrage among Christians
A Satanic Temple member who won the right to open a regional Alaska government meeting declared “Hail Satan” during her first invocation, prompting about a dozen officials and attendees to walk out. Last week’s invocation that started the meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough also spurred a protest outside the southern Alaska borough’s administration building…
Venezuelan emigrants could become ‘victims of human trafficking’
The Venezuelan bishops have expressed their concern for the risks to which Venezuelan emigrants, especially women, are exposed. More than four million Venezuelans have emigrated since 2015. Under the socialist administration of Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela has been marred by violence and social upheaval, with severe shortages and hyperinflation. “The Justice and Peace Commission and Caritas…