Canadian Church reflects on Pope’s ‘pilgrimage of penance’ The Canadian bishops have released a reflection on Pope Francis “words of healing and reconciliation” during his ‘penitential pilgrimage’ to Canada last July. The Canadian Conference of Catholic bishops’ message marking the National Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples, celebrated in Canada on December 12…
The Biden administration may not force Catholic organisations and medical professionals to perform gender-transition surgeries or provide insurance coverage for them, the US Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has said in a recent ruling that cited religious freedom grounds. “The federal government has no business forcing doctors to violate their consciences or perform controversial procedures…
France’s Catholic bishops have set up what they believe to be the world’s first major national church court, replacing a previous network of local tribunals, although sexual abuse cases involving children will still be referred to the Vatican. “As a community of believers, the Church has developed a comprehensive legal system, which includes the right…
A group of Spanish Catholics sent a petition to the Madrid cardinal and Pope Francis’ ambassador, asking help to prevent the removal of a giant cross and a Benedictine monastery from a civil war cemetery and memorial outside Madrid. “These Benedictines carry out an invaluable task: They pray for the people buried there, for peace…
Six months after the Pentecost Sunday attack on Sts Francis Xavier Owo Catholic Parish in Ondo Diocese, which left 39 Catholic worshipers killed and more than 80 injured, there have been arrests and promises but no prosecution, Bishop Felix Femi Ajakaye has lamented. “December 5, 2022, is the sixth month of the evil attack, the…
Church must take workers’ problems seriously, Pope says All workers should feel welcomed by the Church and know that their needs and problems are taken seriously, Pope Francis said. In fact, labour and employment are experiencing “a phase of transformation that needs to be accompanied,” he told members of Italy’s Movement of Christian Workers during…
Fans pray for Pelé’s recovery More than a hundred Santos Soccer Club fans gathered in front of the hospital in Brazil where Pelé, one of the greatest soccer players of all time, is undergoing treatment, to pray for his recovery. The ACESSA.com website reported that fans formed a circle, lit candles, held hands, and prayed…
Peru’s bishops called for national unity and urged citizens to stand up for democracy and the rule of law as the president closed Congress and was subsequently impeached and arrested. In a statement December 7, the bishops’ conference said it “emphatically and absolutely rejects the rupture in the constitutional order. The defence of democracy is…
Christmas this year marks the first time in its history that the European Parliament has allowed a Nativity scene to be set up at its headquarters in Brussels. Until now, officials of the European institution had considered it “potentially offensive.” The efforts of Isabel Benjumea, a member in the EU’s House of Representatives from Spain,…
A top court in the southern Indian state of Kerala has ordered police protection for the apostolic administrator of an archdiocese in the Eastern rite Syro-Malabar Church, which is embroiled in a bitter liturgical dispute. The High Court of Kerala granted the request December 5 in a lawsuit by Archbishop Andrews Thazhath, administrator of the…