Following demands for an apology and a threat he might “file an official complaint with the Holy Father,” the German Bishops’ Conference president met with a Vatican cardinal in Rome this week. Bishop Georg Bätzing sat down with Cardinal Kurt Koch October 4 to apparently clear the air over what the German Bishop Bätzing had…

Catholic leaders in Africa have called for the removal of the unpayable debts, saying that the burdens were sinking their countries further into poverty. They said the continent was struggling with an unprecedented confluence of crises and urged international leaders to prioritise actions that enable Africa’s recovery. The faith leaders wrote an open letter to…

Tourist detained after toppling busts at Vatican Museums tourist who toppled two ancient Roman busts in the Vatican Museums has been handed over to Italian police, the Vatican said. The vandalism occurred October 5 when the tourist, identified by several Italian media outlets as an American man, threw down two marble busts from their pedestals…

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega blasted Catholic leaders as a “gang of murderers,” in comments amping up persecution of the Church and scorning Pope Francis’ call for dialogue in the Central American country. In a fiery address, Ortega took aim at Nicaragua’s Catholic bishops for promoting democracy as an exit from the country’s political crisis, alleging…

Russia’s bishops said Catholics face dilemmas responding to a mass call-up for the war in Ukraine, and they urged President Vladimir Putin’s government to recognise conscientious objection. “The confrontation in Ukraine has grown into a full-scale military conflict and already claimed thousands of lives, undermining trust and unity between countries and peoples, and threatening the…

The patriarchs and leaders of Christian Churches in Jerusalem praised Jordan’s King Abdullah II for turning a spotlight on what they say is “the deteriorating situation of Christian basic human rights” in the city and throughout the Holy Land. The king, in his speech to the UN General Assembly September 20, said, “Today, Christianity in…

The head of the Pro-Life Union of Greater Philadelphia said the FBI’s arrest of a prominent Catholic pro-life activist known for his sidewalk counselling outside a Philadelphia abortion facility is “a horrendous stunt to intimidate pro-lifers”. Mark Houck, 48, was arrested at his home in rural Bucks County, Pennsylvania, the morning of September 23 for…

After only two days, the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court adjourned the trial of Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, 90, and four co-defendants, until October 26. The trial began September 26 and had been scheduled for five days, but the magistrate adjourned the trial when defence lawyers attempted to cross-examine police witnesses called by the…