International

Magdalene and the Tibetan church, an “oasis of coexistence” even for the Chinese state media

The China News Service (CNS) (chinanews.com.cn) describes the Catholic community of Yanjing as an “oasis of coexistence” between religions and a “place of encounter” between cultures Catholic community in the Tibet Autonomous Region. The second largest news agency of the People’s Republic of China, which disseminates news in Chinese and English, recently posted a detailed […]

Nigerian Christians brace for election as Islamic clerics call all-Muslim ticket ‘a jihad’

Islamic religious leaders have backed an all-Muslim presidential ticket as a political “jihad” ahead of the Feb. 25 elections. Nigeria’s Christian leaders are calling for both full engage-ment in the country’s democratic process, and faith in the viability of the country’s future, ahead of elections scheduled for Feb. 25, after Islamic religious leaders ha-ve backed […]

Francis Refused Twice To Become Bishop in the Peripheries

During a February 2 meeting with Congolese Jesuits (LaCivilta Cattolica.com, February 16), Francis said that “when they proposed me to be auxiliary bishop of San Miguel, I did not accept.” He was also asked to become bishop of an area in Corrientes, northern Argentina. The nuncio encouraged him to accept saying that there were the […]

Müller and the Ancient Mass: the Pope Belittles the Bishops and Damages Pastoral Care

The recent rescript approved by Francis and the Prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Cardinal Roche, continues to arouse reactions. The new document, which reinforces the motu proprio Traditinis custodes, establishes that the use of a parish church or the erection of a personal parish for the celebration […]

Continent by continent, Pope’s Synod on Synodality gathers steam

Around the world, Pope Francis’s Synod on Synodality is moving full steam ahead as bishops gather at the continental level to discuss the concerns and priorities of their local churches, ahead of a major gathering in Rome later this year. Formally opened by Pope Francis in October 2021, the Synod of Bishops on Synodality is […]

Egyptian Christians in Libya face ‘toxic mix of racism and religious hostility’

After the release of a group of Egyptian Christians abducted in Libya, a leading human rights organization said that “Christians from sub-Saharan Africa face a toxic mix of racism and religious hostility” in the North African country. The six men, all from the village of Alharja South in the southern Egyptian region of Suhag, had […]

Pope Francis reaffirms bishops must get Vatican approval to allow Latin Mass

Pope Francis has unequivocally confirmed that bishops must obtain authorization from the Holy See before granting permission to celebrate the pre-Vatican II Mass in parish churches and before allowing priests ordained after July 16, 2021, to use the 1962 Roman Missal. The latest instruction also makes clear that bishops cannot take the law into their […]

Ukraine’s Catholic leader says Biden visit generated new hope

Ukraine’s top Catholic prelate says the surprise visit of US President Joe Biden on Monday has given the country’s people new hope on the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion. Speaking via Zoom with a handful of Italian journalists, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, said “the Russian army has literally […]

Father Sahaya Thatheus Appointed Bishop of Simla- Chandigarh

Bishop Ignatius Mascarenhas Retires After 16 Years of Episcopal Ministry