Catholics in a northern Philippines archdiocese marched in support of Church leaders accused of conspiring to overthrow President Rodrigo Duterte. About 3,000 Church workers, students and parishioners from the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan carried placards last week with messages expressing support for Archbishop Socrates Villegas and other accused Church leaders during a July 31 prayerful demonstration,…
New Jersey’s new law allowing assisted suicide, effective at the beginning of this month, “points to an “utter failure” on the part of government and indeed all society, said Bishop James Checchio of Metuchen. It is the failure “to care truly, authentically and humanely for the suffering and vulnerable in our midst especially those living…
A Catholic diocese in Congo has boosted measures to protect its congregations against Ebola, after the latest outbreak was declared an international emergency by the World Health Organisation. “The Goma Diocese is joining the general preoccupation with preventive precautions,” said a statement issued by Msgr Jacques Letakamba, diocesan chancellor. “Washing will now be obligatory for…
Abuse reports confirmed about famed Jesuit in Chile While deceased Jesuit Fr Renato Poblete Barth was known publicly as a champion of the poor in Chile, an internal investigation funded by the Jesuits revealed that the famed clergyman abused more than a dozen women over a span of nearly 50 years. The results of the…
Fire destroys ‘treasured’ historic church in Texas The Church of the Visitation in Westphalia, a nearly 125-year-old wooden church with bell towers on each side, burned to the ground last week. The fire, which began in the morning, is still under investigation. Parishioners ran into the burning church to save what they could, including its…
As up to 150 migrants are feared to have drowned in a shipwreck off the coast of Libya, Pope Francis made an appeal to the international community on Sunday to act decisively to ensure the safety and dignity of migrants. “I learned with pain the news of the dramatic shipwreck that occurred in recent days…
An injection of $1.1million (€1m) will benefit humanitarian programmes, the resettlement of refugees and internally displaced people, and peacebuilding efforts in violence-ravaged communities in South Sudan under a programme initiated by the Italian bishops’ conference. Spread over three years, the gift coincides with South Sudan’s eighth anniversary of independence and will aid the country’s recovery…
Indonesian authorities released the names of a couple whom they believe to have orchestrated a January terrorist attack on a cathedral in the Philippines. Dedi Prasetyo, spokesman for Indonesia’s National Police, said last week that Rullie Rian Zeke and his wife Ulfah Handayani Saleh had detonated suicide bombs at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral…
Almost four months after a fire destroyed the roof of Notre-Dame de Paris, officials are concerned that the building is still at risk of collapse. Now instead of a fire threatening the 850-year-old building, it is the record summer temperatures that may further erode the stonework. France, and most of Europe, is in the midst…
A senior Catholic Church official called on Philippine legislators to work for the benefit of the people and not blindly follow what President Rodrigo Duterte wants, including his plan to reinstate the death penalty. Rodolfo Diamante, executive secretary of the Episcopal Commission on Prison Pastoral Care, urged members of Congress “not to pass measures just…