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Francis: Leaders who talk of peace but sell arms will face ‘wrath of God’

Discussing the Syrian civil war on June 10, Pope Francis said God hears the cry of orphans and widows, and that His wrath will be visited on those who deal in arms trafficking while speaking of peace. “I think with sadness, once again, of the drama of Syria and the dense clouds that seem to […]

US gun ‘idolatry’ demands more prophetic church stand, some Catholics say

A total of 35,141 people die from gun violence in the United States each year, according to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, which averaged deaths over a five-year period through 2018. That’s 96 people each day. According to the centre: 1,24,760 people are shot every year; 17,207 children and teens are shot every […]

US Bishop bars pro-abortion lawmakers from Holy Communion

The Bishop of Springfield, Illinois, has decreed that state legislative leaders may not be admitted to Holy Communion within his diocese, because of their work to pass the state Reproductive Health Act. The bishop also directed that Catholic Legislators who have voted for legislation promoting abortion should not present themselves to receive Holy Communion until […]

Church wounded by internal tensions, pope tells Jesuits in Romania

Pope Francis told Jesuits in Romania that tensions and struggles within the Church have left it wounded and that the only path forward is through humble dialogue, not futile arguments. “I think of the Church as a field hospital. The Church is so wounded, and today it is also so wounded by tensions within it,” […]

Catholics hold traditional Whit Monday ceremony in Germany

Women in traditional white dresses have carried a centuries-old statue of the Virgin Mary to mark Whit on June 10 in an annual ritual in the eastern German town of Rosenthal. Hundreds of Catholic Sorbs, a Slavic minority, held prayers in rural churches in about a dozen areas before walking to Rosenthal for another service. […]

More than a century later, Sagrada Familia gets building permit

After 137 years of ongoing construction, Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia received a building permit on June 6. Construction on the basilica is expected to be completed in 2026. Architect Antoni Gaudí began his work on Sagrada Familia in 1883, and in 1914 stopped all other projects to work exclusively on the basilica, to which he dedicated […]

Most U.S. adults don’t think abuse is more common among Catholic leaders

Despite the slew of abuse allegations and cases surfacing within the Catholic Church, most U.S. adults actually do not think that sexual abuse of children is more common among Catholic priests and leadership than it is among any other adult groups. The abuse crisis also has caused some Catholics to attend Mass less often and […]

New Syriac Catholic bishop hopes Christianity will thrive again in Iraq

Syriac Catholic Auxiliary Bishop Nizar Semaan begins his new mission in Iraq with hope “that Christianity will flourish again” in his homeland. Semaan chose the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Qaraqosh, Iraq, his birthplace, as the site of his episcopal ordination on June 7. Still scarred from the Islamic State group and not yet […]