International

Iraqi cardinal: Innocents will ‘be the fuel’ for fire after drone strike

Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Sako, responding to a U.S. drone attack in Baghdad that killed Iran’s top general, said “wisdom is required to avoid the ‘volcanic eruption’ we are about to face.” Speaking during the Epiphany Mass in Baghdad on Jan. 6, he said the current crisis resulted from the “upsetting escalation, as well as […]

Nigerian diocesan spokesman: Bridal party beheaded en route to wedding

Father Francis Arinse, communications director of the Catholic Diocese of Maiduguri, confirmed that a bride-to-be, Martha Bulus, and her bridal party were beheaded on Dec. 26 at Gwoza, in northeastern Nigeria’s Borno State. Arinse told Catholic News Service that Bulus and her companions were traveling from Maiduguri to her on Dec. 31 wedding when they were killed. […]

Pope shows up unannounced at funeral of lay woman and friend

Despite the ethereal air that has often surrounded popes over the centuries, Francis is famous for projecting ordinary humanity. Usually that everyman ethos expresses itself in warmth and approachability, though every now and then we also get a glimpse of grumpiness, as happened on New Year’s Eve when Francis slapped away an overly clingy woman […]

Catholic leaders join New Yorkers in march against hate

Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York and Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn joined about 25,000 New Yorkers who took to the streets for a Jan. 5 “Solidarity March” in protest of anti-Semitism. “When there’s an attack on you, there’s an attack on all of us,” Cardinal Dolan said in remarks at the rally in […]

Bishop, former chaplain to queen, to be received into Catholic Church

A former chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II is to be received into the Catholic Church. Bishop Gavin Ashenden of the Christian Episcopal Church will become a Catholic Dec. 22 in Shrewsbury cathedral. He said he had reached the conclusion that only the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches “have the capacity to defend the faith” from […]

Islamists in Nigeria kill Christian hostages

The Islamic State group in Nigeria released a video on December 27 claiming to show the killing of 11 Christian men. The Dec. 26 video shows masked militants be-heading 10 blindfolded captives, and shooting an eleventh. The west African province of Islamic State, which broke off from Boko Haram in 2016, said the killings were […]

Europe needs a “climate change on religious freedom,” says EU Special Envoy

According to the latest report of the Observatory on Intolerance and discrimination Against Christians in Europe, there have been in the last year about 500 cases of anti-Christian discrimination on European soil. Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world. In Europe, the persecution might be subtle or take place in the form of […]

Catholic homilies shortest of all denominations, study finds

A new analysis from the Pew Research Centre shows that many Catholic priests are holding to Pope Francis’ advice to keep their homilies on the shorter side, especially compared to Protestant denominations. An analysis of nearly 50,000 sermons, given across a variety of Christian denominations during the months of April and May this year, found […]

Page 131 of 220« First «...10 20 30...129 130131132 133...140 150 160...»Last »

Youth taught to use social media to become Good Samaritans

Pakistan’s oldest priest passes away at 97