As Russia’s war in Ukraine drags on and joint funerals are held for the soldiers who died, Catholic military chaplains say they still see faith, hope and humanity in the soldiers with whom they minister. “It is a very special vocation to be a man of God among those who are called to defend, to…
The UK government announced June 16 that it is imposing sanctions on the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office said in a June 16 statement that Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia was being “sanctioned for his support and endorsement of Putin’s war”. The announcement came after European Union member states failed…
Italian bishops ease pandemic restrictions Italy’s bishops updated their pandemic prevention guidelines, easing many restrictions as new cases of Covid-19 continue to decrease after large spikes in January and February and as the severity of the disease diminishes. In a statement released June 15, the leadership of the Italian bishops’ conference said that, since the…
Donations to the annual Peter’s Pence collection, which supports the work of the Roman Curia and funds the charitable activity of the Pope, held steady in 2021, but the total still was significantly lower than in 2018, the Vatican said. Peter’s Pence donations and income from investments totalled €46.9 million in 2021, while the expenses…
The words “Jane’s Revenge” have been a calling card in recent incidents of vandalism of pro-life pregnancy centres across the country, but now the name has popped up again at the bottom of a new “communique” that was released threatening “open season” on pro-life clinics. The White House has condemned the threat June 15, according to…
Cardinal-designate calls liturgical tensions a ‘tragedy’ Cardinal-designate Arthur Roche, prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, described as a “tragedy” the tensions within the Latin rite of the Catholic Church over the way the Mass is celebrated. In a wide-ranging interview broadcast June 16 by Vatican News, the cardinal-designate said the tensions…
Because of continuing problems with his knee, Pope Francis has postponed his planned trip to Congo and South Sudan July 2-7, said the Vatican press office. Matteo Bruni, director of the press office, did not mention whether the Pope’s planned trip to Canada in late July was still set. “At the request of his doctors,…
A Catholic leader June 9 criticised the European Parliament for voting in favour of a motion denouncing the leaked US Supreme Court draft opinion on abortion. Fr Manuel Barrios Prieto, the secretary general of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), told Vatican News that the vote showed “a certain tendency in the…
Police arrested a suspect in connection with recent bombings in northeast India, including one at a Catholic school. Thounaojam Rishi Luwangcha, 46, was taken into custody June 7. Officials also confiscated a cache of explosives, detonators and wires similar to the ones used in the explosions, Ksh Shivakanta Singh, superintendent of police in Imphal West,…
Cardinal injured in 2021 earthquake hospitalised after Haiti accident Cardinal Chibly Langlois was injured in a traffic accident in Haiti on June 8, according to local media reports. The 63-year-old bishop of Les Cayes was reportedly not in critical condition but was taken to the hospital on June 8 for a possible broken arm after the incident…