More than 4,000 people have signed a petition requesting that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cease blaming the Catholic Church for the country’s residential school system. The residential school system was set up by the Canadian government, beginning in the 1870s, as a means of forcibly assimilating indigenous children and stripping them of familial and…
A Belarusian bishops’ spokesman downplayed a police raid on Minsk’s Catholic cathedral, although a prominent lay Catholic warned arrests elsewhere suggested the move could signal further police action. “We don’t really know what the police were seeking,” Father Yuri Sanko, spokesman for the Minsk-based bishops’ conference, told Catholic News Service July 8, four days after police arrived…
Pope offers condolences after assassination of Haiti’s president In a telegram addressed to the Apostolic Nuncio in Haiti, Pope Francis said “Upon hearing the news of the heinous assassination of His Excellency Mr Jovenel Moïse, President of Haiti,” he offers his condolences “to the Haitian people and to his wife, who was also seriously wounded…
Polish Catholic bishops’ leader: Church supports those opting for Covid-19 vaccine The president of Poland’s Catholic bishops’ conference said last Thursday that the Church supports those who opt to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki issued the statement July 8 as the Polish government seeks to expand its vaccination program ahead of a potential fourth wave…
Ten days after undergoing intestinal surgery, Pope Francis was released from Rome’s Gemelli hospital, the Vatican confirmed
Pilgrims and well-wishers gathered at Rome’s Gemelli hospital to greet Pope Francis as he made his first public appearance in a week after undergoing intestinal surgery. Appearing on the 10th floor balcony of his suite of rooms at the hospital July 11, the Pope was greeted with applause and shouts of Viva il Papa (Long…
More churches across Canada have been destroyed or damaged by fires that police are describing as suspicious or suspected arson. Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Morinville, Alberta, investigated a fire at St Jean Baptiste Church, a 100-year-old building that went up in flames early June 30. The fire in Morinville, about 20 miles north of…
Catholic campaigners have demanded action to curb growing online pornography and child abuse in the European Union, as the bloc’s Catholic bishops welcomed new legislative proposals but also urged tighter controls. “Internet access and digitisation have greatly increased during the coronavirus pandemic, and we’re deeply concerned about the effects on children of harassment, abuse and…
Following the sudden collapse of a multi-storey building with people trapped inside, many Catholics around South Florida have fled to a common refuge: the comforting presence of Mary. So it was that several schools in the Miami Archdiocese reacted to the June 24 fall of the Champlain Towers South condo in Surfside by praying the…
Hosting a day of prayer for Lebanon with Catholic and Orthodox leaders July 1, Pope Francis said that the country should no longer be used to serve “unscrupulous interests”. “Stop using Lebanon and the Middle East for outside interests and profits,” the Pope said. “The Lebanese people must be given the opportunity to be the…