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South Korean Christians discontent with online worship

Church-goers in South Korea, where religious services are typically characterized by large in-person gatherings, are growing increasingly dissatisfied with online worship, an inevitable reality at times given the government’s social distancing directives and the protracted coronavirus pandemic. According to a survey conducted by a publication operated by a Protestant denomination, more respondents said online worship […]

Muslim volunteers bury Christians who died from the coronavirus

Groups of Muslim volunteers are burying Christians who have died from the coronavirus. This is seen as a great example of interfaith harmony, and videos of their work have gone viral in Bangladesh. According to World Health Organisation data, almost 160,000 cases have been reported in Bangladesh with about 2,000 deaths, including a dozen Christians. […]

Bishops: concern over the increase in violence against religious minorities

“Despite the current Covid-19 pandemic, which is posing its share of challenges in Pakistan, religious intolerance and discrimi-nation in recent months have increased”: is the complaint of the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), within the Pakistan Catholic Bishops’ Conference. The statement sent to Agenzia Fides states: “Recently, Nadeem Joseph, a Chri-stian from Peshawar, […]

Facing $9 million deficit, Lourdes launches online pilgrimage

As Europe slowly but steadily re-opens after coronavirus closures, Catholics across the continent are being allowed back to Mass. However, organized groups of pilgrims in large numbers are still a long way off, leading the famed Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes to organize an online pilgrimage and crowd funding drive to try to make […]

Amazon conference is ‘experiment in Church structure’

Following the decision on 29 June to establish an Amazon Ecclesial Conference, its president, Cardinal Cláudio Hummes, former archbishop of São Paulo, Brazil, and its vice-president, Bishop David Martínez de Aguirre, of Puerto Maldonado in southern Peru, have shed further light on the significance of the new body and how it will be structured. A […]

Humanity Is Facing ‘Tsunami of Humanitarian Crises’

The head of the Vati-can’s coronavirus taskforce said that humanity is facing “a tsunami of humanitarian crises” caused by the con-vergence of medical, eco-nomic and environmental factors. This tsunami “has spread and spared no human life and no institution,” said Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Turkson, who also heads the Vatican department for Integral Human Development, and […]

Pope weaves ‘Tale of Two Cities’ on Hong Kong and Hagia Sophia

Cue the soundtrack from film adaptations of the Dickens classic, because what Pope Francis has given us, ladies and gentlemen, is a Tale of Two Cities… only the settings aren’t London and Paris, they’re Beijing and Ankara. We’re in the middle of July, which means most of Italy, including the Vatican, is down-shifting in preparation […]

Survey of bishops reveals how pandemic has shaken diocesan, parish life

Nearly every bishop responding to a survey said the coronavirus pandemic has seriously affected the celebration of the sacraments and rites and sacramental preparation programs in their dioceses. Confirmations, first Communions, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and other sacramental preparation were the ministries most often cited by the bishops as being affected, according […]