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Plight of Afghan women haunts Pakistani nun

A Pakistan-born Catholic nun who worked in Afghanistan until the Taliban takeover says the plight and lack of freedom of women in the country still trou-ble her. Women are considered inconsequential in Afghanistan, said Sister Shahnaz Bhatti from the Sisters of Charity of St. Jeanne-Antide Thouret, who fled the troubled Central Asian country following the […]

Maria Ressa, a Nobel Peace Prize against Duterte’s ‘war’

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Philippine journalist Maria Ressa, founder of the news website Rappler, and Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov. In announcing the award, the Nobel committee chair, Berit Reiss-Andersen, said: “Free, independent and fact-based journalism serves to protect against abuse of power, lies and war propaganda. “Without freedom of expression and freedom of […]

Good News for Iraq’s Christians: More Autonomy

This week, the Christian enclave of Ankawa in Erbil, the capital city of Iraqi Kurdistan, was designated by the autonomous region’s prime minister as an official district with administrative autonomy. Starting next week, Christians will directly elect their own mayor and be in charge of security, among other matters. Prime Minister Masrour Barzani called Ankawa […]

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 […]