The US bishops’ chairman on international justice and peace May 19 lauded the government’s decision to ease sanctions on Cuba. “We commend the Administration’s renewed interest in restarting US engagement with Cuba. Recognising that points of contention remain between our two countries, Cuba’s punitive isolation has not produced the economic and social change that the…
A Catholic diocese and nuns are working to reduce the number of women who die in childbirth and the number of children who die young, and a hospital administrator said it does not take expensive technology. The Medical Missionaries of Mary run Mile Four Hospital for the Diocese of Abakaliki. Many of the sisters are…
New South Wales has become the sixth and final Australian state to legalise euthanasia and assisted suicide. Its legislation forces health care and elder care organisations with religious objections to allow the practice on their premises. “If a civilisation is to be judged by how it treats its weakest members, the New South Wales parliament…
Patrons of World Youth Day 2023 announced Pope St John Paul II and Blessed Carlo Acutis will be among the patrons of World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon. Cardinal Manuel Clemente, the Patriarch of Lisbon, unveiled the new patrons on May 18, the anniversary of the Polish pope’s birth. The 73-year-old cardinal said that the Virgin Mary…
Cardinal Joseph Zen, retired bishop of Hong Kong, reassured Catholics he is fine after being detained and held by national security police for his support of anti-government protesters. “I have spoken with Cardinal Zen,” Hong Kong Bishop Stephen Chow Sau-yan wrote on his Facebook page. “He told me to let his friends know that he…
Biden administration officials issued a statement against violence May 9 following protests outside the homes of two Supreme Court justices in the Washington area as well as a spate of vandalism and disruptions targeting locales of groups that oppose abortion, some of which include Catholic churches. Referring to US President Joe Biden by the Twitter handle…
A Catholic archdiocese in Nigeria May 11 announced the death of a priest who was kidnapped in March. The Archdiocese of Kaduna said on May 11 that Fr Joseph Akete Bako died more than a month after he was seized on March 8, reported ACI Africa. Fr Christian Okewu Emmanuel, chancellor of the archdiocese, said: “It is with a…
The president of the German bishops’ conference has expressed his belief that Church teaching needs further development, in response to critique of the synodal path in that country. The statement came in the latest instance of epistolary exchange between Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg and Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver. “Our Church needs change in…
Pope Francis to visit three cities in Canada in July The Vatican confirmed Friday that Pope Francis will visit three cities in Canada during the last week of July. The Pope will travel to Edmonton, Quebec City, and Iqaluit on July 24-30, the Holy See press office said on May 13. The Pope had announced…
A Catholic prelature in Brazil’s Amazon has decreed that its parishes will not accept donations from any person or company that displaces minorities or damages the earth. Bishop José Ionilton Lisboa de Oliveira of Itacoatiara has prohibited parishes, pastoral communities, groups and movements linked to the prelature – similar to a diocese – from receiving…