Germany’s Catholic bishops agreed this week to a uniform system for compensation payments to abuse survivors. Bishop Georg Bätzing, president of the German bishops’ conference, announced the agreement September 24 at the end of the bishops’ plenary meeting in Fulda, central Germany. Under the new system, survivors of abuse by Church workers will be entitled…
Sudanese people can now “worship and practice their various religious beliefs without fear”, said the general secretary of the Sudanese bishops’ conference. The official, Fr Peter Suleiman, welcomed Sudan’s decision to separate religion and state. In early September, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and Abdel al-Hilu, leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North rebel group, signed…
Good Samaritan letter reiterates condemnation of assisted suicide and euthanasia On Tuesday, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith announced the publication of a letter approved by Pope Francis on June 25 and entitled ‘Samaritanus bonus (The Good Samaritan): On the Care of Persons in the Critical and Terminal Phases of Life’. It bears…
St John Paul II relic stolen in Italian church robberies A relic of St Pope John Paul II has been stolen from a cathedral in central Italy, while a church in Sicily was also robbed and the Eucharist desecrated. A gold reliquary with a relic of the blood of St John Paul II was discovered…
When asked by his superior if he wanted to leave Aleppo during the Syrian Civil War, Fr Edward Tamer replied that he would remain with the people “to die with them and for them”. Now, having survived the worst of the violence of the war, the Franciscan friar has died of Covid-19 at the age…
Congolese bishops are expressing solidarity with Denis Mukwege, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning gynecologist who has received death threats over his continued call for justice and accountability over war crimes. The doctor – who shared the 2018 prize with victims of sexual violence in Congo – has been repairing women torn apart by rape in the…
An advocacy group for Christians and other religious minorities living in the Middle East this week praised an agreement between Israel and Bahrain, which comes on the heels of a similar agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. “While there are many contentious issues left to be discussed in the Middle East Peace Process…
Euthanasia legislation is headed for the Spanish Senate and, if passed, would be a defeat for human dignity and would affirm a self-centred view of life that proposes death as a solution to one’s problems, the Spanish bishops’ conference said. “To insist on ‘the right to euthanasia’ is typical of an individualistic and reductionist vision…
In the second known instance in the United States, a man who believed himself to be a validly baptised Catholic and ordained priest had to “re-receive” all of his sacraments, including ordination, after discovering that his baptism was invalid. Fr Zachary Boazman, a priest of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, thought he was validly ordained…
Pope prays for slain Italian priest remembered as a ‘martyr of charity’ Pope Francis expressed his sorrow after the murder of an Italian priest who was remembered for his care and concern for migrants and refugees. Before concluding his weekly general audience on September 16, the Pope led the Faithful in silent prayer for Father…