Pope Francis has granted his confirmation to the election of His Excellency Raphael Thattil, Bishop of Shamshabad, as Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly (India) and “Father and Head of this beloved Church sui iuris.” A Church “sui iuris” (Latin – literally, “of its own law”) is “a community fo the Christian faith, which is joined together by…
Paris (KNA) The French Bishops’ Conference is unanimously in favour of the Vatican document on the blessing of homosexual couples. The declaration issued by the Vatican’s authority on the faith in December is seen as an encouragement to priests to “generously bless those who turn to them and humbly ask for God’s help”, according to…
The US Department of State among others has demanded the release of Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa and other imprisoned Nicaraguan religious leaders following a wave of detentions targeting Catholic clergy over the Christmas season. The January 2 statement described Bishop Álvarez and the other religious leaders – including Bishop Isidoro Mora of Siuna –…
The Archbishop of Malta and close confidant of Pope Francis, Charles Scicluna, has called for a “serious discussion” about celibacy. The Catholic Church should consider revising its rules to allow Catholic priests to marry, Archbishop Scicluna told the Times of Malta newspaper. “This is probably the first time I’m saying it publicly and it will…
Munich (KNA) According to Aid to the Church in Need, at least 132 Catholic priests and religious were killed, abducted or imprisoned in 2023. This is according to the international aid organisation’s own research published in Munich on Wednesday. That is eight more people than in the previous year. As it is difficult to obtain reliable…
ROME: A Catholic cleric around 60 gets a major Vatican gig, where, among other things, he issues controversial pronouncements on sexual morality. At a certain point, it’s revealed that years before, he wrote a book in which he dealt with sexually explicit topics such as orgasms, creating scandal among sensitive souls who believe it’s inappropriate…
Hanover (KNA): An independent team of researchers will present the first nationwide study on sexualised violence in the Protestant Church and Diakonie at the end of January. The results will be presented at a press conference in Hanover on 25 January, the Hanover University of Applied Sciences and Arts announced on Wednesday. The study offers…
Banja Luka (KNA) With a military parade and drone show, ethnic Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina celebrated a controversial holiday to mark the founding day of Republika Srpska on Tuesday evening. The day of remembrance has divided the south-east European country for years. The Bosnian Constitutional Court has repeatedly declared the celebration illegal in the country’s Serb…
Freiburg (KNA) The German Cardinal Walter Kasper (90) has once again criticised the reform plans of the German Catholic bishops. The former Bishop of Rottenburg-Stuttgart and Curia Cardinal told the online platform “communio.de” that the establishment of a Synodal Committee, which is to prepare the appointment of a new decision-making body with equal representation of…
Manila (KNA) More than two million people attended the procession with the historic “Black Nazarene” statue of Christ in the Philippine capital Manila on Tuesday. It was the first procession with the life-size statue since 2020; in previous years, the traditional procession was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. More than 15,000 security personnel and…
John L. Allen Jr.