Pope Francis and Brazil’s President Lula embrace during visit Pope Francis said a meeting with Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at the Vatican June 21 took place in an atmosphere of “great sympathy and friendship,” the Vatican said. The two can be seen embracing in photos shared by the Brazilian president’s photographer. Pope…
Ugandans woke up June 17 to the shock of a school massacre in which at least 39 students and two community members were killed. Just before midnight local time June 16, rebels suspected to be members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) swooped into the Lhubiriha Secondary School in the town of Mpondwe, near the…
The priest and artist Fr Marko Rupnik, accused of the physical and psychological abuse of numerous religious sisters, was dismissed from the Jesuits this month, according to the religious order. The Society of Jesus said in a June 15 statement Fr Rupnik was expelled due to his “stubborn refusal to observe the vow of obedience”. Fr Rupnik…
Calling on Catholics to pray for the victims of a stabbing at a local playground, French Bishop Yves Le Saux of Annecy said the horrific attack was an indication of growing societal violence. “This tragedy raises questions about the violence that runs through our society, and commits us to work even harder together to fight…
Charges and countercharges of illegal activity have further escalated a bitter public dispute between the Diocese of Fort Worth and a monastery of Carmelite nuns in Arlington, Texas. The latest salvo in what has become a protracted legal and public relations battle was launched by the diocese on June 7 when it released a pair…
The Society of Jesus (Jesuits) has announced it has hired a law firm and a specialised association to clarify the alleged cases of abuse that occurred in its schools in Catalonia, Spain, and to accompany the complainants. The Jesuit delegate in Catalonia, Enric Puiggròs, has announced that the congregation has taken action in relation to…
The destruction of a dam and hydroelectric power plant in a Russian-occupied area of Ukraine marks a “dastardly and diabolical act” that “defies imagination,” Archbishop Borys Gudziak, metropolitan of Ukrainian Catholics in the US, told OSV News. On June 6, damage to the Russian-occupied Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, located in Ukraine’s Kherson region, released some…
A Catholic parish priest accused of “offending state authorities” in Belarus said he understood the hardships facing prisoners of conscience after just four days in jail. “I wouldn’t wish this on anyone – not a single hour in such a place,” said Fr Andrej Kulik, rector of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary parish…
Nicaraguan dictatorship withholds over $500,000 donated to Church A recent investigation by the Nicaraguan newspaper El Confidencial revealed that the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega has withheld more than half a million dollars that was donated to the Church in Estelí by the US bishops’ humanitarian aid agency Catholic Relief Services (CRS). The independent media reported…
Pope Francis making normal progress in recovery from abdominal surgery Pope Francis is “steadily improving” two days after he underwent abdominal surgery to correct an incisional hernia, a Vatican spokesman said Friday. According to Matteo Bruni, the Pope rested during the night and on the morning of June 9 was able to eat breakfast and…