International

Vatican adds seven invocations to Litany of St. Joseph

The Vatican’s divine worship office announced May 1 the addition of seven new invocations to the Litany of St Joseph. The seven invocations, in Latin, are Custos Redemptoris, Serve Christi, Minister salutis, Fulcimen in difficultatibus, Patrone exsulum, Patrone affli-ctorum, and Patrone pauperum. The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments wrote a […]

Pope to institute formal ‘ministry of catechist’

While millions of laypeople around the world are recognized as catechists in their parish or diocese, Pope Francis is preparing to formally institute the “ministry of catechist.” Pope Francis often has spoken of the importance of selecting, training and supporting catechists, who are called to lead people to a deeper relationship with Jesus, prepare them […]

Pope warns against arrogant pride and despising spontaneous prayer

Prayer is “dialogue with God” and spontaneous spoken prayer is an “anchor” to cling to, remembering that when the apostles who saw Jesus in silent prayer asked him how they should pray, he taught them to recite the Our Father, in which “there is everything”. Therefore “do not fall into arrogant pride and do not […]

Pope allows Cardinals, Bishops to be tried by Vatican tribunals

Cardinals and Bishops accused of criminal offences by Vatican magistrates, can now be tried by the Tribunal of the Vatican City State instead of the Court of Cassation presided over by a cardinal, as had been the case until now. Pope Francis made the change in an Apostolic Letter issued motu proprio, which amends the judicial […]

German legislators consider ending state payments to churches

Germany’s lower house of Parliament is considering re-placing state payments to the nation’s two largest churches. The Catholic and Protestant churches received combined state benefits of more than $650 million in 2020. At a hearing in the interior affairs committee of the Bundestag, or lower house of parliament, they welcomed in principle the intention of […]

Laypeople in Cologne Archdiocese demand local synod

Catholic laypeople in the Archdiocese of Cologne have called for a local synod to address the ongoing crisis in Germany’s most populous diocese. “We must make every effort to reestablish a genuine dialogue between the cardinal, senior members of the diocesan leader-ship and the grassroots of the church,” said Tim-O. Kurzbach, president of the Cologne […]

New Bible translation will use inclusive language

The translation of the Bible to be used in the new edition of the lectionary for Mass in England and Wales is being amended to use gender-inclusive language where contextually appropriate, The Tablet can reveal. For 18 months, the Depart-ment of Christian Life and Wor-ship of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales has been […]

Makoto Fujimura Sings with God, Carries His Cross, and Awaits the New Creation

One of the most formative moments early in my artistic journey was hearing Andrew Peterson’s song “Let There Be Light.” I was in my late teens at the time, just beginning to grapple with the musical gifts that would eventually lead me to a career in composition. But as Peterson crooned the lyrics, “When your […]

Indian bishops slam terror attack on tourists in India’s Kashmir

No action taken against police who assaulted Catholic priests in India