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Parish in Manila in hot water for high wedding rates

A Catholic parish in a posh area of the Philippine capital’s business district, Makati, has drawn flak for proposing to charge more than US$1,000 for weddings held in the parish church. A barrage of social media posts has condemned Santuario de San Antonio Parish in Makati’s exclusive Forbes Park village for raising its wedding rates from about […]

Goodbye to the Religious Affairs Bureau: religions are now under the direct control of the Party

The State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA), also known as the “Religious Affairs Bureau,” so far under the authority of the Council of State, has passed under the direct rule of the Communist Party. The move is among a detailed program of reforms on the Party and the state institutions released. The decision to eliminate […]

Catholic church in China has crosses removed

Crosses on Shangqiu South Church (Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus) in China have been removed by the district govern-ment. It is the first Catholic Church in Henan province to have crosses removed. Officials later installed new ones but they were much smaller in numbers and size. A source who asked to be unnamed […]

Church survey says more Filipinos approve of divorce 

More Filipinos support the legalization of divorce in the country, a Church-initiated public survey showed. The survey conducted by Church-run Radio Veritas revealed that 39% of the 1,200 respondents strongly agree with the proposed measure in Congress, while only 35% strongly dis-agreed. 13% of those surveyed said they somewhat agree while another 13% said they […]

Filipino archbishop honoured as ‘hero of the environment’

A Catholic Archbishop in the Philippines has been named a “hero for the environment” for his strong advocacy against mining, especially in the northern part of the country. The Gawad Bayani ng Kalikasan award was given to Archbishop Sergio Utleg of Tuguegarao for his “exemplary deeds and initiatives” to advance environmental protection. The award is given to those […]

Police officer who swapped places with hostage was a practising Catholic

The police officer who died after taking the place of a hostage in France was a practising Catholic who had “experienced a genuine conversion” around 2008. Lieutenant-Colonel Arnaud Beltrame died on March 24 after volunteering to replace a female hostage during a terrorist attack on the Super U supermarket in Trèbes, southern France, on March […]

Pope Francis: people may receive Communion in the hand ‘where permitted’

Despite the chill and gusts of wind in St Peter’s Square, Pope Francis welcomed the beginning of spring with an impromptu lesson about gardening and how to grow into being better Christians. “Does a tree or plant that is diseased bloom well? No! Does a tree or a plant that isn’t watered … bloom well? […]

Christian Democrats in Sweden want to ban mosque from broadcasting call to prayer

A mosque in Sweden that has requested the use of loudspeakers to call Muslims to prayer has ignited a firestorm, with right-leaning groups saying this should be banned while a Jewish leader has come out in defence of religious freedom. Mosques in Europe generally avoid broadcasting the call to prayer for fear of stoking Islamophobic […]