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Chinese bishop who suffered years of forced labour dies at 98

A Chinese underground bishop who was sentenced to 10 years of forced labour in the 1980s for bringing Catholics on pilgrimage to the Marian Shrine of Our Lady of Sheshan died at the age of 98. Joseph Zhu Baoyu, bishop emeritus of Nanyang, made headlines in February for reportedly being the oldest person to recover […]

In new biography, Benedict XVI laments modern ‘anti-Christian creed’

Modern society is formulating an “anti-Christian creed” and punishing those who resist it with “social excommunication,” Benedict XVI has said in a new biography, published in Germany on May 4. In a wide-ranging interview at the end of the 1,184-page book, written by German author Peter Seewald, the Pope emeritus said the greatest threat facing […]

Liturgists say online Mass is fine, but no substitute for the real thing

This year’s Holy Week celebrations resulted in a major spike of new viewers tuning in to watch Vatican liturgies – an increase from 1.5 million online viewers last year to 5.5 million this year – and a trend matched by ordinary parishes throughout the world forced to go virtual during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet as […]

Role of German bishops in Second World War ‘shameful’

In preparation for the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, the German bishops conducted an in-depth study of the behaviour of their predecessors under the Nazi regime. On 29 April, the German bishops’ conference presented the conclusions they had come to in a declaration entitled “German bishops during World War II.” […]

Poll: The ‘Trump bump’ is over, especially among white Christians

President Trump’s job approval ratings among some faith groups jumped in March as the number of coronavirus infections began to spread across the country. But that “Trump bump” has all but disappeared. A new poll released on April 30 from PRRI shows Trump’s approval has fallen on average by 6 percentage points and is now more in […]

Polls Show Faith Is Getting Americans Through The Coronavirus Crisis

Two separate polls show that Americans are relying more on their faith to help persevere through the coronavirus pandemic. The Pew Research Centre, in a survey released on April 30, showed that nearly one-fourth of all Americans say their faith has grown stronger during the pandemic, while only 2 percent said it had grown weaker. […]

Pope Francis calls people of all religions to pray for end of pandemic

Pope Francis urged people of every religion to fast and pray on May 14 for an end to the coronavirus pandemic and “other pandemics” of hunger and war. “Today all of us, brothers and sisters of all religious traditions, pray in a day of prayer and fasting, of penance, called by the Higher Committee of […]

Priest, nurse fortify Nigerian villagers against lockdown hunger

God willing, Father Edward Inyanwachi will soon again celebrate Mass for the members of his rural southeastern Nigerian parish. Until then he’s trying to keep them from starving. The pastor of St Patrick Parish and two mission churches in the Diocese of Abakaliki in Nigeria’s impoverished Ebonyi State. Over the last two months, he has […]