The Vatican has named a church in Kazakhstan as the first minor basilica in Central Asia. The Minor Basilica of St Joseph in Karaganda was built at the request of persecuted Catholics who had been exiled to the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic by the Soviet Union. “Our beautiful church was built 40 years ago. At…
The legislature of the Australian state of Queensland has passed a law requiring priests to violate the seal of confession to report known or suspected child sex abuse. Failure to do so can be punished with three years in prison. Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane has said such a reporting requirement would “not make a…
A cardinal said that Europe should be “ashamed” after fire devastated the continent’s largest refugee camp, leaving 13,000 people without shelter. In a September 9 interview with Vatican Radio, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, president of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), lamented the destruction of the Moria camp on the Greek…
Bangladesh Catholic hospitals treat Covid-19 patients with Pope’s ventilators he Catholic Church of Bangladesh has expressed its gratitude to Pope Francis for donating three ventilators in the country’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. Donated through the Apostolic Nuncio, a ventilator was sent to Dhaka and the others were sent to two Catholic hospitals in Dinajpur…
Tabernacle found after theft from Ontario cathedral The tabernacle that was stolen from the St Catherine of Alexandria Cathedral in St Catharines, Ontario was recovered on Wednesday, September 9. A group of parishioners from the cathedral discovered the tabernacle in Centennial Park, which is located near the cathedral. The tabernacle was partially submerged in a…
Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, a Belarusian citizen appointed to Minsk in 2007 after serving as a bishop in Russia, was barred from returning to Belarus after his pastoral letter was read at churches. The letter warned of civil war, as security forces confronted demonstrators protesting the election of President Alexander Lukashenko. Archbishop Kondrusiewicz said he had…
Pope Francis will visit the Italian town of Assisi on October 3 to sign a new encyclical. In a statement released on Saturday, the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, said the encyclical is entitled Fratelli tutti or ‘All brothers and sisters’ on fraternity and social friendship. The title, whose official English-…
US President Donald Trump has released a letter addressed to “pro-life leaders and activists” indicating his intention to advance legislative and administrative priorities against abortion if he is elected to a second term. “As I seek re-election this November, I need your help in contrasting my bold pro-life leadership with Joe Biden’s abortion extremism,” Mr Trump’s…
Catholic leaders in the US have welcomed the news that one of the world’s biggest vaccine producers has decided to discontinue a polio vaccine derived from an abortion foetal cell line. Sanofi-Pasteur will instead use an ethical animal cell line in the production of its polio vaccine. The company, among the three largest vaccine manufacturers…
A group of Catholics in southern India has accused Bangalore Archdiocese of being party to a multi-million dollar financial scam linked to overseas donations. Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore denied the allegations and said he was ready to face any probe. All Karnataka Catholic Christian Association (AKCCA) accused the archdiocese-owned Asha Charitable Trust of misappropriating some three billion…