Chilean president Sebastián Piñera signed into law a bill permitting people aged 14 or older to change their name and gender in the civil registry. The law defines gender identity as “the personal or internal conviction of being a man or woman, in the person’s self-perception, which may or may not correspond with the sex…
The bishops of the Central African Republic (CAR) have set aside the day before Advent as a day of mourning and prayer for victims of ongoing violence in the country. December 1, is significant, as it marks the anniversary of CAR’s establishment as a republic after French colonial rule. In a statement, the bishops urged…
Philippine Catholic bishops are standing by Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan after he was targeted by President Rodrigo Duterte’s recent tirades. The controversial president accused the Kalookan prelate of giving Church donations to his family. Duterte also said he thought the bishop might be into drugs and threatened him with hanging. Archbishop Romulo Valles, head of the Catholic…
Advent Sunday: ‘Pray for children in Syria’ Pope Francis lit a candle, a symbol of hope, to pray for children affected by violence and war in Syria and across the Middle East. “Advent is a time of hope. At this moment I would like to make the hope for peace of the children of Syria, beloved Syria, mine,” the Pope prayed…
Hannah Brockhaus Learning to pray well is a continual process, but should always start from a place of humility, as Jesus demonstrated in the Gospels, Pope Francis said today. “Even if we have been praying for so many years, we must always learn!” the Pope said. “The prayer of man, this yearning that is…
Aggressive nationalism is to blame for a rise in violence and other intimidation against religious minorities – and the West is failing to convert words of concern into action, according to a report by the charity Aid to the Church in Need. Assessing all 196 countries around the globe, the Religious Freedom in the World…
The International Union of Superiors General has called on women religious who have suffered abuse to come forward and report it to their congregations and Church and state authorities. “If the UISG receives a report of abuse, we will be a listening presence and help the person to have the courage to bring the complaint…
A Kenyan priest serving in Cameroon has been shot and killed by soldiers. Fr Cosmas Omboto Ondari was shot dead in Manyu, Cameroon, just days after the murder of another Kenyan priest, Jesuit Fr Victor-Luke Odhiambo, in South Sudan. According to the St Joseph Missionary Society Mill Hill Missionary’s Formation Centre in Cameroon, Fr Ondari,…
An effort by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of Greece to start severing ties between the state and the Greek Orthodox Church, including taking priests off civil service payrolls, has opened up divisions within the church which has played a dominant role in the country’s life for centuries. Mr Tsipras and the head of the Orthodox…
Just over half of all Belgians (52%) say they are Catholics, according to a survey carried out by the Church for its first-ever annual report, but fewer than one in ten attends Mass a minimum of once a month. Since it is the first report of its kind in Belgium, it makes no comparison between…