In Brief Pakistan will issue 50,000 commemorative 50 rupee coins in honour of German-born Catholic nun and physician Sister Ruth Martha Pfau who dedicated her life to eradicating leprosy in the country. Known as Pakistan’s Mother Teresa, Sister Pfau died in Karachi on August 10 at the age of 87. She was given a state funeral, an honour…

In Brief A 3D virtual tour of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem – the site of Jesus’ tomb – will open next week in the National Geographic Museum in Washington DC. The tour opened on November 15 and will continue until August 15 next year. Academic dean and theology professor at St John’s Seminary in…

Pope Francis will celebrate the Catholic Church’s first World Day of the Poor this Sunday by celebrating a morning Mass with people in need and those who assist them. After Mass, he will offer lunch to 500 people in the Vatican audience hall. As the Year of Mercy was ending in November 2016, Pope Francis…

In Brief Last month thieves in France robbed and desecrated ten churches in the Diocese of Annecy, in the France’s Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region. The perpetrators are believed to be two men who gained access by forcing open the church doors with a crow bar. In Sainte Marie Madeleine de Morzine parish, the criminals broke open and desecrated…

Vatican Concerned by the damage caused by smoking, Pope Francis has banned the sale of cigarettes in Vatican City. Starting in 2018, the Vatican “will cease to sell cigarettes to employees,” Greg Burke, Vatican spokesman said. “The reason is very simple: The Holy See cannot contribute to an activity that clearly damages the health of…

Vatican The existence of nuclear weapons creates a false sense of security that holds international relations hostage and stifles peaceful coexistence, Pope Francis said. “The threat of their use as well as their very possession is to be firmly condemned,” the Pope told participants at a conference on nuclear disarmament hosted by the Vatican. For…

Hypocrisy, like that of the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ time, is not the only temptation that continues to plague religious communities, Pope Francis said. Pride also is a great danger. “We disciples of Jesus should not seek titles of honour, authority or supremacy,” the Pope has said. “I tell you, it personally pains me…

The US Catholic Church stands “in unity” with the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, and the larger community after a shooting during Sunday services took the lives of at least 25 people and injured several more. “A Culture of Life cannot tolerate, and must prevent, senseless gun violence in all its forms,” said Cardinal Daniel DiNardo…

Catholic universities need to study the root causes of forced migration and ways to counter the discrimination and xenophobic reactions it provokes in so many traditionally Christian nations, Pope Francis said. “I would also like to invite Catholic universities to teach their students, some of whom will become leaders in politics, business and culture, a…

The threat of violent extremism remains in the predominantly Catholic Philippines even after the end of a five-month siege by terrorists in a southern city, said Catholic and Muslim officials. Father Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the Philippines bishops’ Public Affairs Committee said that according to some analysts and the president, “terrorist cells are already…