Polish Catholic leaders have condemned a new wave of anti-Semitism in the country amid tension over a government-backed law on responsibility for the Holocaust. Archbishop Wojciech Polak of Gniezno, Poland’s Catholic primate, called anti-Semitism “a moral evil and a sin”, saying attempts to divide people or pit them against each other “in a nationalistic context…
On the eve of the fifth anniversary of Pope Francis’ election, retired Pope Benedict XVI has defended the continuity of the Church’s teaching under his successor and dismissed those who criticise the Pope’s theological foundations. In a letter sent to Msgr Dario Vigano, prefect of the Vatican Secretariat for Communication, Pope Benedict applauded the publication…
India’s top court has ignited a new religious debate after permitting passive euthanasia, allowing patients to prescribe in their “living will” the withdrawal of medical support if they slip into an irreversible coma. Leaders of India’s Catholics, Muslims and Hindus have opposed the Supreme Court verdict, which says the right to life also includes the right…
Speaking at a presentation of a book on Humanae Vitae, Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Mueller, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, stressed that attempts to change the Church’s teaching are “a crime against the Church”. “The current attempt,” he said, “to put in contrast the last three pontificates, with the pretext…
Church leaders have offered their condolences upon the death of theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who although did not believe in God, fostered a fruitful dialogue between science and faith. The British-born scientist who died today at the age of 76 was an esteemed member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. The academy, which Pope Pius…
Speaking on the topic of the Lord’s prayer, Pope Francis has said that forgiving those who have caused pain or offense is not easy. At his weekly general audience today, the Pontiff said that ability to forgive is “grace that we have to ask for”, because the peace offered by Christ cannot take root in…
Pope Francis’ exhortation on the family should prompt discussion and even debate, but accusing him and others of heresy is completely out of place, said German Cardinal Walter Kasper. “A heresy is a tenacious disagreement with formal dogma. The doctrine of the indissolubility of marriage has not been called into question on Pope Francis’ part,”…
Increased participation of women in decision-making within the Church is a continuing process that still needs time, according to Cardinal Kevin Farrell. Speaking during a question-and-answer session in Rome after the presentation of the book A Pope Francis Lexicon, Cardinal Farrell said that a greater role for women in the Church “is going to take…
Under a billowing white tent in North Carolina, Christian leaders and close friends said goodbye to ‘America’s pastor’, the Rev. Billy Graham, during a private funeral service. The 28,000-square-foot tent was reminiscent of the ‘canvas cathedral’ in which the Southern Baptist preacher conducted his 1949 Los Angeles Crusade that propelled him onto the national stage.…
Pope Francis has condemned the trend to ask parishioners for a financial contribution in order to have Mass for a loved one, saying that to make a personal offering is fine, but the liturgy should never have a price tag. The Pontiff spoke today during his general audience this week as part of his ongoing…