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The surprising connection between Our Lady of Fatima and Islam

As we approach the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima, one aspect that often goes unnoticed is the subtle connection with Islam – Aleteia new service reports. The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to the three shepherd children near the city of Fatima, Portugal, a place named after both a Muslim princess […]

Franklin Graham calls persecution of Christians ‘genocide’

Franklin Graham, son of the famed evangelical preacher Billy Graham, urged fellow Christians to struggle against a “Christian genocide” that he says has killed in greater numbers than most believers can fathom. Graham, who has been criticized by some evangelicals for calling Islam “evil” and for portraying Presi-dent Trump as aligned with the Christian church, spoke […]

Pope accepts resignation of Melkite patriarch

Two months after bishops of the Melkite Catholic Church declared they had reconciled with each other and found a way to move for-ward together, the Vatican announced Pope Francis had accepted the resignation of Melkite Patriarch Gregoire III Laham. In a letter released by the Vatican May 6, Pope Francis said that in February, the […]

Belgian Catholic psychiatric hospitals ‘adjust’ their view of euthanasia

One of the last substantial barriers to increasing the number of euthanasia cases for non-terminally-ill psychiatric patients in Belgium seems to have crumbled. A religious order in the Catholic Church, the Brothers of Charity, is responsible for a large proportion of beds for psychiatric patients in Belgium – about 5,000 of them. The international head […]

Nigeria exchanges 82 Chibok girls kidnapped by Boko Haram for prisoners

Boko Haram militants have released 82 schoolgirls out of a group of more than 200 whom they kidnapped from the north-eastern town of Chibok in April 2014 in exchange for prisoners. Switzer-land and the International Commi-ttee of the Red Cross helped secure the 82 girls in “lengthy negotiations,” the presidency said on its Twitter account on May […]

Nuns help expand coverage and care in Rwanda’s health system

The dense darkness of night-time in rural northern Rwanda completely obliterates the immense hills that surround the village of Muyanza. But piercing this complete darkness a few times a week are two pinpricks of light, from the headlights of the village’s lone ambulance. When someone needs immediate evacuation to the hospital, the ambulance races up […]

Priests’ group accuses bishops of refusing to support pope’s openness to reform

An internationally renowned group of reform-minded priests in Austria has criticized the world’s bishops for not capitalizing on Pope Francis’ openness to make significant changes in Church ministry and pastoral practice. The Austrian Priests’ Initiative (API) is urging the bishops to take up the leeway the pope has given them to look at such issues […]