Bratislava: Slovakia’s health minister has announced Jthat only those who are fully vaccinated will be permitted to participate in events when Pope Francis visits in September. The pope will visit four cities in Slovakia on Sept. 12-15, after traveling to Budapest in neighboring Hungary to celebrate the closing Mass ofContinue Reading
Rome Newsroom: Cardinal Joseph Zen published a statement on July 21, saying that new restrictions on the celebration of Traditional Latin Masses are a “blow,” even if they were expected. “Many tendentious generalizations in the documents [of the motu proprio] have hurt the hearts of many good people more thanContinue Reading
Brussels: A hunger-strike by hundreds of migrants in Brussels is threatening to fracture Belgium’s government. Their protest — launched by migrants hoping to get formal residency after living in Belgium for years — began two months, and is straining their health. Six strikers have sewn their mouths shut. Five triedContinue Reading
Yangon: Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Myanmar’s Archdiocese of Yangon has called for united fight against the spread of the coronavirus disease in the already devastated Southeast Asian country. “Please, please stop all the conflicts,” appealed the cardinal in a message as the country marked Martyrs’ Day, a national holidayContinue Reading
Norwich, Conn: The Diocese of Norwich filed for bankruptcy Thursday amid several dozen sexual abuse lawsuits filed related to a former school administered by the diocese. Bishop Michael Cote, in a July 15 video message, said that the bankruptcy will “centralize all litigation and oversee a settlement that ensures thatContinue Reading
Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Kidnappers have freed a Catholic nun seized on her way to a market in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a Catholic charity reported on July 16. Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) said on July 16 that the nun, identified onlyContinue Reading
Saudi Arabia will host another downsized Haj from Saturday (Jul 17), with only residents fully vaccinated against the coronavirus permitted and overseas Muslim pilgrims barred for a second year. The kingdom seeks to repeat last year’s success that saw no virus outbreak during the five-day Muslim ritual. It is allowingContinue Reading
Washington D.C.: Asia Bibi, a Christian woman once sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy in Pakistan but eventually freed, now wants to be a voice for Christians around the world. Bibi, who addressed the International Religious Freedom Summit on July 14 via a video message from Canada, expressed her gratitudeContinue Reading
By Luis Andres Henao and Jessie Wardarski The coronavirus has taken a heavy toll among Roman Catholic priests and nuns around the world, killing hundreds of them in a handful of the hardest-hit countries alone. The dead include an Italian parish priest who brought the cinema to his small townContinue Reading
Colombo: Sri Lanka’s Catholic church has demanded action against former president Maithripala Sirisena and ex-prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe for their failures to prevent the 2019 Easter Sunday suicide bombings that killed 270 people, including 11 Indians. Nine suicide bombers, belonging to local Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jamaat (NTJ) linkedContinue Reading