International

World Council of Churches wants Hagia Sophia decision reversed

The World Council of Churches has called on Turkey”s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to reverse his decision to turn the celebrated Hagia Sophia museum back into a mosque. In a letter to Erdogan, the Council, which counts 350 churches as members, said the move would sow division, the BBC reported. The Unesco World Heritage site […]

Isolated Pope Francis Faces Yet Another Setback in Pandemic

The world-wide restrictions on public events to deal with the coronavirus pandemic are the latest blow to Pope Francis, whose pontificate has been struggling in recent years to sustain the progressive hopes that the Argentine raised early in his reign. The pandemic has hindered Pope Francis’ ability to communicate his teachings and promote his causes, […]

Iraq’s Christians ‘close to extinction’

In an impassioned address in London, the Rt Rev Bashar Warda said Iraq’s Christians now faced extinction after 1,400 years of persecution. Since the US-led invasion toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 2003, he said, the Christian community had dwindled by 83%, from around 1.5 million to just 250,000. “Christianity in Iraq,” he said, […]

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 […]

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