International

Women Process With Monstrance, Sparking Scandal

Female pastoral workers in a German parish are triggering outrage among faithful Catholics after the women processed with the Blessed Sacrament on the feast of Corpus Christi. Marita Franzen and Sandra Ostermann, who hold the position of gemeindereferentin (pastoral officer) in the Catholic parish of St. Joseph and St. Medardus in Lüdenscheid, were photographed carrying the sacred monstrance […]

Pope charges new doctrine czar to spurn ‘immoral methods’ in defense of the faith

In what’s likely to be seen as a classic example of the adage that “personnel is policy,” Pope Francis on Saturday tapped an Argentine archbishop widely seen as a close ally and ghostwriter for several major papal documents as the Vatican’s new doctrinal czar. In a July 1 statement, the Vatican said the mandate of […]

Pope says imitating Jesus is more than ‘rigid observance’ of rules

Honoring Saints Peter and Paul, the patrons of Rome, on their liturgical feast day, Pope Francis said understanding and imitating Jesus is not a matter of following doctrinal formulas or the “rigid observance” of rules and norms. Rather, it means letting go of preconceived convictions and daily being transformed by his love in order to […]

Pope Francis names 21 new cardinals, including Archbishop Fernández

Pope Francis said on Sunday that he will create 21 new cardinals, including the Vatican’s recently appointed doctrinal chief Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández, at a consistory on Sept. 30. The 86-year-old pope made the announcement from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square after reciting the Angelus prayer on July 9. This is the full list: […]

Over half million Germans left Catholic Church in 2022

522,821 German Catholics left the Church in 2022, the German bishops’ conference announced on June 28–up from 359,338 in 2021, 221,390 in 2020, and 272,771 in 2019. There are 20,937,590 Catho-lics in Germany, nearly one-quarter of the nation’s population. With the loosening of pandemic restrictions, Sunday Mass attendance increased from 4.3% in 2021 to 5.7% […]

Report claims 700 Christians killed as ‘farewell gift’ to Nigeria’s ex-president

A leading Nigerian human rights organization has published a report claiming that largely Muslim Fulani herdsmen killed about 700 Christians in May as “farewell gifts” to former President Muhamadu Buhari. Buhari handed over power to new President Bola Tinubu on May 29, but the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law in a […]

New report: More than 50% of people live in a country with serious religious persecution

More than half of the global population lives in a country in which state or non-state actors actively persecute people for their religious beliefs, according to the 2023 Religious Freedom in the World report. The report was released on the first day of Religious Freedom Week, in which the U.S. Catholic bishops have invited Catholics […]

In snub to Russia, Ukraine’s Orthodox Church moves Christmas to Dec. 25

In a decision seen as an act of defiance towards the Russian Orthodox Church, which also has the effect of promoting closer ties with Roman Catholics and other Western branches of Christianity, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine has decided to move Christmas to Dec. 25. Traditionally, Ukrainian Christians, the bulk of whom are Orthodox, have […]

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Pope: Red Cross’ humanitarian work shows that fraternity is possible

New Vatican document lists ‘grave violations’ of human dignity