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Number of new Catholic seminarians in Poland falls by nearly 20% year on year

Nearly 20% fewer candidates for the Catholic priesthood have enrolled in Poland’s seminaries this year, compared to 2020. Fr. Piotr Kot, chairman of the Conference of Rectors of Major Seminaries, told the Polish Catholic news agency KAI on October 12 that 356 seminarians began their studies in 2021. Last year, he said, there were 441 […]

Pope Francis greets Colombian nun freed 4 years after kidnapping by Islamists in Mali

Pope Francis greeted a Colombian nun on October 10, shortly after she was freed four years after being kidnapped by Islamists in Mali. The Pope blessed Sr. Gloria Cecilia Narváez Argoti before a Mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica launching a worldwide synodal process. Sr. Gloria, a member of the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of […]

Science Closes In on Covid’s Origins

Where did Covid-19 come from? The answer can be found in the SARS-CoV-2 virus itself. To get to the truth, we need only unleash the power of science. Based on experience with SARS-1 in 2003 and MERS in 2012, we know that many people are infected by a host animal long before a co-ronavirus mutates […]

Pope Francis: All religious traditions must resist ‘temptation to fundamentalism’

Pope Francis asked leaders of world religions to resist “the temptation to fundamentalism” for the sake of peace at an interreligious gathering Thursday in front of the Colosseum. Peace “summons us to serve the truth and declare what is evil when it is evil, without fear or pretence, even and especially when it is committed […]

Grand Imam Al-Tayeb: “Fratelli tutti” important for Muslims too

The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar speaks to Vatican Media about his relationship with Pope Francis: “From the first minute of our meeting I had confirmation that he is a man of peace and humanity. The encyclical is an appeal to create a true fraternity where there is no room for dis-crimination on the basis of […]

Pope Francis to declare St. Irenaeus a Doctor of the Church with title ‘Doctor of Unity’

Pope Francis said on October 7 that he plans to declare St. Irenaeus of Lyon a Doctor of the Church with the title “Doctor unitatis,” meaning “Doctor of Unity.” The Pope made the announ-cement in a speech to the St. Irenaeus Working Group, a group of Catholic and Orthodox theologians who conducted a study together […]

Merkel meets Pope, Draghi in farewell visit to Rome

German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed climate change and clerical abuse with Pope Francis on October 7 in a fare-well trip to Rome that included talks with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi. Merkel, who is bowing out after 16 years in power, also visited St Peter’s Basilica and will lunch at a restaurant in central Rome […]

Church’s inability to put abuse victims first is ‘moment of shame,’ says pope

The Catholic Church’s inability to make victims of sexual abuse its top concern is a cause for intense shame, Pope Francis said. In the wake of a major report investigating the extent of sexual aggression and abuse against minors in the church in France, the Pope said, “I wish to express to the victims my […]