Twenty-four students from 18 countries graduated from Rome’s Jesuit university last week, and will return to their dioceses to strengthen or kick-start child protection policies. The graduates studied in the Centre for Child Protection’s intensive programme at the Pontifical Gregorian University. The ceremony, at the Gregorian University, included a panel discussion with five post-doctoral students…
Pope Francis and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the responsibility of the international community to address poverty and hunger worldwide. In the meeting on June 17 in the Vatican, they discussed the G20 meeting in Hamburg, climate change and the threats of global terrorism. A statement released by the Vatican said: “Special remembrance was reserved…
The Vatican has released an online questionnaire for young people in preparation for the Synod of Bishops on youth in 2018. The survey aims to better understand the lives, attitudes and concerns of young men and women aged 16-29 around the world. The answers to the questionnaire will provide the basis for a working document…
Church agencies are helping London Catholic school students cope with the trauma of the Grenfell Tower fire. With pupils confirmed missing and the death toll rising the tragedy devastated the local community. John Paul Morrison, the Director of Education for the Archdiocese of Westminster, said the archdiocese was offering counselling to students. “What they have…
Pope Francis expressed his “closeness” to the people of Portugal after deadly forest fires killed over 60 people. After reciting the Marian prayer last Sunday in St Peter’s Square, the Pope mentioned the disaster, which occurred in the south-east of Coimbra. Three days of national mourning were declared after a severe heatwave, with temperatures in…
The Catholic Church in Southern Africa will celebrate 200 years of existence for a whole year beginning this month. An inaugural Mass of Thanksgiving will be held in Cape Town’s St Mary’s Cathedral of Our Lady of the Flight into Egypt on June 25, which will begin the celebrations. On June 7, 1818, Pope Pius…
A Catholic nun has been charged with abducting tribal girls for religious conversion in India. Sr Beena Joseph, a member of the Carmelite Sisters of St Teresa congregation, was on her way to the Madhya Pradesh state capital of Bhopal from the eastern state of Jharkhand along with four tribal girls. She was accused of taking…
The acidification of oceans will have drastic environmental consequences, speakers told a UN conference last week. Over 3,500 people representing countries, UN agencies and non-governmental organisations attended the conference on sustainable development. Cardinal Peter Turkson from Ghana said that effective regulations to safeguard the world’s oceans are being blocked by “those who are profiting most…
The Pope has ordered priests in Nigeria to accept the appointment of a new bishop or they will be suspended. Pope Francis has given priests 30 days to send letters promising obedience to him. Anyone who doesn’t will lose their current office. Bishop Peter Ebere Okpaleke was appointed Bishop of Ahiara by then-Pope Benedict XVI…
There is still work to be done to help the victims of clerical abuse find healing a US report has found. The 14th annual report on diocesan compliance with the US Catholic Church’s “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” shows that Church leaders have taken steps to help many find solace and…