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…
Category: World Report
Cardinal Kasper renews criticism of German synodal path
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…
First mega-procession of the “Black Nazarene” after the pandemic
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…
UN estimates 14.6 million people in need of aid in Ukraine
Geneva (KNA): United Nations aid organisations will present this year’s aid programme for Ukraine and war refugees in neighbouring countries on Monday. This was announced by a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva on Tuesday. It is expected that more than 14.6 million people in Ukraine, 40…
“Contextual” theology and Fiducia Supplicans
The Catholic Difference George Weigel In the apostolic letter Ad Theologiam Promovendam (To Promote Theology), issued by Pope Francis on Nov. 1, 2023, the Church was urged to do theology contextually: as the motu proprio put it, theology must be “fundamentally contextual…capable of reading and interpreting the Gospel in the conditions in which men and…
AI poses ‘grave risks’ Pope says in Peace Day message
Carol Glatz All forms of artificial intelligence should be used to alleviate human suffering, promote integral development and help end wars and conflicts, not increase inequality and injustice in the world, Pope Francis said in his message for World Peace Day 2024. “Artificial intelligence ought to serve our best human potential and our highest aspirations,…
The Pope’s 2023: A year of health challenges, travel and the synod
Cindy Wooden Pope Francis’ 2023 was a year of important trips made or postponed, a predecessor’s funeral and his own 10th anniversary as Pope, a call to the world to act on climate change and a call to the Church to strengthen its mission by learning “synodality”. The Argentine pope, who was born on December…
Francis’s company at St Mary Major captures contrasts and contradictions of papal history
Pope Francis revealed his intention to be buried at Rome’s Basilica of St Mary Major, reflecting his intense personal devotion to Mary and the famed icon of Salus Populi Romani contained in its Borghese chapel. Francis thus will become the sixth pontiff to be interred in the basilica, joining Pius V, Sixtus V, Paul V, Clement IX…
US basketballer chooses Christ along with his children
Former NBA star Devin Harris recently revealed in an interview with US magazine The Atlantic that he and his three children converted to Catholicism. The move seems to have come following an academic interest in the Catholic Faith, with many commentators noting that Mr Harris’s university thesis was on the famous 15th Century Dominican friar,…
Vatican panel celebrates declaration of human rights anniversary
Jonathan Luxmoore As the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is celebrating its 75th birthday, the Vatican’s Permanent Representative in Geneva, Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, organised a symposium that aimed to focus on both human rights and care for creation. The December 8 symposium, co-sponsored by the Sovereign Order of Malta, Caritas in Veritate Foundation, and the…




George Weigel



John L. Allen Jr.

