International

How Amazon synod laid groundwork for reforms

Pope Francis was never going to fall into the trap set for him by his opponents over the Amazon Synod. His response, contrary to the initial reaction, propels the Church on a path of ongoing reform. It’s just not in the way people expected. After bishops from the region voted overwhelmingly in favour to ordained […]

Coronavirus: Holy Mass suspended in northern Italy

Several Catholic dioceses in northern Italy have suspended Mass and other activities to help contain the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by coronavirus. The northern regions of Italy saw a dramatic uptick in coronavirus cases over the weekend, prompting some regions to suspend all events or gatherings of any form, in public or […]

Germany’s synodal assembly draws praise, criticism from participants

The first Synodal Assembly on the future of the Catholic Church in Germany drew both praise and some criticism, with many of the 230 participants lauding what they called a special atmosphere in the debates on key reforms. Cardinal Reinhard Marx, president of the German bishops’ conference, said the spirit of the talks had been […]

Letter from Rome: The shadow pontificate is drawing to a close

It was only a matter of time. Pope Francis has finally lost his patience and gotten rid of Arch-bishop Georg Ganswein as prefect of the Papal Household. According to German weekly Die Tagespost, the Pope put the 63-year-old on “indefinite administrative leave.” He did so, the paper said, because of the German prefect’s involvement in […]

Forum examines religious persecution 75 years after Auschwitz liberation

As the world recognizes the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazis’ infamous Auschwitz concentration camp, the vows of “never again” after the Holocaust’s horrors became known threaten to be swallowed up by religious persecution against Christians, Muslims and other groups, said panellists at a Feb. 5 forum at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. […]

Belgian Catholic universities to help train imams

Belgium’s Catholic universities of Leuven and Louvain will begin educating imams this year in six-year programs that aim to transmit “knowledge of the fundamental values of the Belgian State and the resulting legal principles.” Courses in Dutch will begin in Leuven in February and in French at Louvain in the autumn. Once one bilingual university, […]

Archbishop bans receiving host in the hand

A Catholic Archbishop in Uganda has decreed that Holy Communion can in future be received only by mouth, and not in the hand. The conservative Archbishop of Kampala, the Most Rev Cyprian Kizito Lwanga, said this was because of “many reported instances of dishonouring the Eucharist that have been associated with reception of the Eucharist […]

Pope’s top aides say door still open on married priests, women deacons

Although Pope Francis’s highly anticipated document on the Amazon bypasses the hot-button issues of women deacons and married priests, a number of the Pope’s close advisors have said the door is not definitively closed on either front. In his post-synodal apostolic exhortation, Querida Amazonia (Beloved Amazon), Pope Francis appears to leave the question of married […]

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Youth taught to use social media to become Good Samaritans

Pakistan’s oldest priest passes away at 97