International

Pope begins Bahrain visit condemning death penalty

In his first formal appointment in the Gulf nation of Bahrain, Pope Francis on November 3 condemned the use of the death penalty, which is still in force in the country and has been condemned by activists who argue that loved ones were un-fairly killed after being convicted in sham trials. Speaking to civil authorities […]

French bishops note anger over case of abusive bishop allowed to retire

The French bishops’ conference overhauled its agenda for its November plenary meeting to deal with “the anger, shame, po-werlessness (and) incomprehension” they and their people felt after discovering that a bishop allowed by the Vatican to retire actually was disciplined for sexual abuse. Archbishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort of Reims, president of the bishops’ conference, announced […]

German church tax should be reformed not abolished,says Munich finance director

Germany’s controversial church tax should be reformed, not abolished, according to Munich archdiocese’s finance director. Writing in the magazine Stimmen der Zeit, Markus Reif argued that Church members, including those with looser affiliations, should be given more say in how the revenue generated by the tax is spent. Catholics in Germany are obliged to pay the Kirchensteuer, or church […]

Collaboration for peace during visit to Gulf-kingdom of Bahrain

Pope Francis met with Muslim leaders in the Gulf-kingdom of Bahrain on November 4 with a message that Catholics and Muslims alike are called to work to promote peace in the world. Speaking at the Grand Mosque on the grounds of Bahrain’s Sakhir Palace on November 4, the Pope told the Muslim Council of Elders […]

Pope Francis calls on religious not to be discouraged by ‘lack of vocations or by aging’

Pope Francis on November 7 asked religious not to succumb to pessimism over a lack of vocations and to pray with him to “deliver us from the presumption of self-sufficiency and the spirit of worldly criticism.” Addressing representatives of the Claretianum Institute of the Theology of the Consecrated Life on the occasion of its 50th […]

Poll: Nearly half of Americans think the US should be a Christian nation

Forty-five percent of Americans believe the U.S. should be a “Christian nation,” one of several striking findings from a sweeping new Pew Research Center survey examining Christian nationalism. But researchers say respondents differed greatly when it came to outlining what a Christian nation should look like, suggesting a wide spectrum of beliefs. “There are a lot of […]

Anglican Converts Warn of Synodal Perils

Drawing on their experience of the Church of England’s synodal process, high-profile Anglican converts to Catholicism are warning of the perils of Pope Francis’ Synod on Synodality. Two former Anglican bishops, Dr. Michael Nazir-Ali and Dr. Gavin Ashenden, who recently came home to Rome, are cautioning against the synod being hijacked by “pressure groups” and the […]

Record number of Swiss Catholics left the Church in 2021

A record number of Swiss Catholics formally left the Church in 2021, according to new stati-stics. The Swiss Institute of Pastoral Sociology (SPI) in St. Gallen said that 34,182 people left the Church last year, around 2,500 more than in the previous record-setting year of 2019. Around 2.96 million people remained members of the Church […]

Eviction-facing Indian Catholics to fight Muslim charity’s claims

Goans oppose tourism project near 16th century basilica