A surge in kidnappings has hit Nigeria’s Catholic clergy, with two more priests abducted within the past two weeks. Fr Christian Ike – the parish priest of St Matthew’s Church in Ajalli, Anambra State, was taken on June 16 alongside Fr Ogbonnia Aneke after a church service. The kidnapping was confirmed by the Chancellor of…
The head of the Vatican’s communications department is defending his office’s use of an accused sexual abuser’s art on its website. The Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication of the Holy See, Italian layman Paolo Ruffini, offered his defence last Friday, in response to questions from journalists attending his keynote address at the annual Catholic…
German development aid is under scrutiny. But Bill Gates has a clear opinion on the matter: The money from Germany saves many lives. Frankfurt (KNA) Bill Gates (68) has taken up the cudgels in favour of development cooperation. “The fact is that development cooperation – if implemented correctly – can do an incredible amount of…
The Pope faces being investigated after allegedly authorised the unlawful wiretaps of phones in the sale of a London property. The alleged authorisation is said to have taken place during a Vatican investigation into the “corrupt” sale of a €300 million property in London. It comes after the legal team for British financier Raffaele Mincione filed a complaint…
Syro-Malabar Church leaders in India are threatening to excommunicate priests who do not comply with facing the altar during Mass by July. The Syro-Malabar Church, with an estimated following of 4.25 million worldwide, is the second largest of the eastern Churches in communion with Rome. Ever since its synod decided in 2021 to adopt a…
The Cathedral of Prato, Italy, was the setting last Saturday for the ordination of a former punk band guitarist and policeman. Fr Giulio Vannucci, who has long hair and a beard and who earlier in life was part of the group i Quanti, a local punk band, was ordained along with Fr Michele Di Stefano,…
With the Diocese of San Diego facing about 450 lawsuits over alleged sexual abuse of minors by priests, religious, and laity, Cardinal Robert McElroy has informed the clergy and faithful that today the diocese will file for bankruptcy for the second time. The announcement comes about 16 months after Cardinal McElroy said the diocese was…
Wiesbaden (KNA) The number of abortions in Germany remains at a high level. Around 28,200 abortions were reported in the first quarter of 2024. This was just under 2.3% more than in the first quarter of 2023 (27,600) and 11.4% more than in the fourth quarter of 2023 (25,300), according to the Federal Statistical Office…
After two days occupying the apostolic nunciature in Bogotá, protestors agreed to leave. They were protesting the violence of paramilitary groups against community leaders and Indigenous peoples and will now hold a meeting with the government about potential solutions. The group of about 15 activists got into the area on June 4, during a march…
Less than a week after Pope Francis called on people to recognise migrants as “a living image of God’s people on their way to the eternal homeland,” voters across Europe dealt a potentially serious blow to that vision by rewarding far-right, anti-immigrant parties in elections for the European parliament. While mainstream, pro-EU forces are still…