The German Synodal Way has voted to adopt “implementation texts” related to same-sex blessings, lay preaching during Mass, and a request for Pope Francis to re-examine the discipline of priestly celibacy in the Latin-rite Catholic Church. The votes took place during the first two days of the fifth synodal assembly in Frankfurt, Germany. The assembly…
Isolating Syria from the international community through sanctions “benefits no one” and complicates relief efforts to the millions left homeless after earthquakes devasted the country, said a top Vatican official who visited Turkey and Syria. “We are still in the middle of this tragedy because it is not certain that the tremors are over,” said…
The Society of Jesus said it will open a new internal procedure on Jesuit Fr Marko Rupnik after receiving abuse accusations with a “very high” degree of credibility against the artist. According to a February 21 statement on the Jesuit website, the accusations the religious order received span from 1985 to 2018 and include claims…
Following a devastating arson attack on a historic church in Germany — and several prior incidents in Paris, France — a European watchdog has raised concerns over hate crimes targeting Christian churches on the continent. The 1,000-year-old Church of the Elevation of the Cross in Wissen, a community in the Westerwald region, was severely damaged…
The legislative effort to delay broadening Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) eligibility to individuals solely afflicted with a mental illness by a year is forging ahead, but there are signs Canadians are not comfortable with moving forward. Bill C-39 passed the House of Commons February 15, and one day later it was read for the…
The three Abrahamic religions — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam — now share a common place to worship in the predominantly Muslim United Arab Emirates with the opening of the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi. Such was the dream of Pope Francis and Grand Imam Ahmed Al-Tayeb, who in 2019 signed a historic pledge calling…
Petition for release of Nicaraguan bishop given to embassy in Mexico The Actívate and Solidart platforms have delivered a petition with 11,000 signatures to the Nicaraguan embassy in Mexico City condemning the human rights violations committed by dictator President Daniel Ortega and demanding the release of the Bishop of Matagalpa, Rolando Álvarez. Members of both…
Newly-discovered asteroid named after a pope The Vatican Observatory announced the naming of four newly-discovered asteroids after notable Catholics, including Pope Gregory XIII, who began the tradition of papal astronomers and observatories. Christopher Graney, a scientist at the Vatican Observatory, said in a press release that the Working Group for Small Bodies Nomenclature (WGSBN) of…
A court has acquitted a Catholic priest and a pregnancy counsellor of crimes in connection with the “harassment of abortion clinic clients”. District Judge David Wain February 16 dismissed charges against Fr Sean Gough and Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, in a matter of seconds, in a hearing at Birmingham Magistrates Court. Ms Vaughan-Spruce, co-director of March for…
An independent commission’s report on the sexual abuse of children in the Catholic Church in Portugal “points to the urgent need to combat whatever fosters silence from those who have been impacted by abuse,” said Cardinal Seán O’Malley of Boston. Silence “impedes effective prevention and the administration of justice,” said the cardinal, who is president…