The persecution of Christians is at its highest point in three decades, according to the latest report from advocacy group Open Doors. The World Watch List, released by Open Doors on January 18, reported that, overall, the number of Christians facing persecution worldwide remained steady in 2022 at approximately 360 million. In a list of…
The archbishop of Paris has banned French Msgr Tony Anatrella, a longtime Vatican consultant on issues of sexuality, from all public ministry and ordered him to a life of prayer after a Vatican investigation into allegations he sexually abused young men he was counselling. Msgr Anatrella, who will be 82 in February, had been a…
A spokesman for Scotland’s Catholic Church has welcomed the British government’s veto of legislation allowing teenagers to change their sex on legal documents via a simple self-declaration, and criticised Scottish politicians’ “obsession with gender politics”. “We didn’t support this bill, and we were against clauses which have now been questioned by the UK government,” said…
At the World Economic Forum, Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska and Ukrainian Catholic Archbishop Borys Gudziak of Philadelphia discussed the physical, psychological and emotional trauma of war, forgiveness, and their dreams for Ukraine’s future. The panel discussion with Archbishop Gudziak was hosted by Ukraine House Davos in collaboration with the January 17 “Ukraine Is You”…
Buddhists visit Vatican to meet with Pope Interreligious dialogue can combat climate change by tapping into the “profound richness” of faith traditions to promote a sense of “ecological responsibility” and conversion, Pope Francis said. Welcoming a delegation of Cambodian Buddhists to the Vatican January 19, the Pope called for “dialogue at all levels” to seek…
Young people told to ‘Open hearts to other cultures’ Pope Francis told young people to always “look to the horizon” and open their hearts to other peoples and cultures. In a video message to the 400,000 participants registered for World Youth Day 2023, the Pope encouraged young people not to “put up walls” that close…
The death of Australian Cardinal George Pell was a shock because just five days earlier he had concelebrated the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI and “seemed in good health,” said Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals. In his homily at Cardinal Pell’s funeral Mass January 14 in St Peter’s Basilica, Cardinal…
Dozens of abductees are still being held in captivity following the Christmas Day attack on Angwan Aku Village in Kaduna, a state located in the north of Nigeria, a Catholic priest in the West African country has told ACI Africa in an interview. On Christmas Day 2022, militant Fulani herdsmen and other terrorists attacked Angwan Aku village,…
A Catholic priest burned to death on Sunday after bandits set fire to his parish rectory in northern Nigeria. The body of Fr Isaac Achi was found among the charred parish building of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church on January 15, according to the Catholic Diocese of Minna, Nigeria. He died after armed bandits…
Peru’s bishops have called on the country’s government to stop violence that claimed at least 18 lives in anti-government protests January 9-10 and has left more than 40 people dead and hundreds injured since early December. After expressing their condolences to the families of those killed and promising pastoral accompaniment to the wounded, the bishops…