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…
Vatican restricted East Timor archbishop after abuse allegations After a Dutch newspaper published an investigation into abuse allegations against retired Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo of Dili, the Vatican said it had become aware of the allegations several years ago and placed restrictions on him. The newspaper De Groene Amsterdammer said it began its investigation…
Multiple challenges determine Catholic agencies’ response in Africa A humanitarian official who works in Southern Africa said Churches must offer a unified regional response to the problems crippling development in the region. Mwila Mulumbi, the Zambian country representative of CAFOD, spoke to the assembly of the Interregional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa, IMBISA, in…
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Vatican News reported. While the Vatican press office issued no statement regarding Cardinal Parolin’s September 22 meeting, the Russian foreign ministry tweeted a video of the two officials shaking hands and exchanging…
The dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua has expelled the Religious Sisters of the Cross, thus continuing its attacks against the Catholic Church in Nicaragua. “Today, victims of the harassment and threats of the dictatorship, the Religious Sisters of the Cross (founded in Mexico) who had been in Matagalpa for years doing spiritual work…