Brussels, Belgium: For the first time in 200 years, beer is being brewed at a historic Catholic abbey in Belgium. The Grimbergen Abbey Brewery opened on May 27 at Grimbergen Abbey near the Belgian capital, Brussels. The Norbertine monastery, founded in 1128, was forced to abandon beer-making when the abbeyContinue Reading
Sokoto, Nigeria: Fr. Joe Keke, who was kidnapped along with slain Fr. Alphonsus Bello when a parish of the Diocese of Sokoto was attacked last month, has been released, the diocese said on June 3. Fr. Chris Omotosho, communications director for the Sokoto diocese, said June 3 that Fr. Keke,Continue Reading
Washington: The preliminary discovery last week of the remains of 215 Indigenous children – students of Canada’s largest residential school – has prompted nationwide outrage and calls for further searches of unmarked graves. Here’s what we know so far. The announcement gave an early look at an ongoing investigation byContinue Reading
Washington D.C.,: The U.S. Embassy to the Holy See announced on June1, that it was displaying the rainbow LGBT “Pride” flag for the month of June, which is celebrated as LGBT “Pride” month. “The United States respects the dignity and equality of LGBTQI+ people. LGBTQI+ rights are human rights,” theContinue Reading
New Delhi: The Covid-19 variant first found in India will henceforth be referred to as the “Delta variant,” the World Health Organization (WHO) announced May 31. India had on May 12 objected to it, identified as B.1.617 till now, being labeled the “Indian variant.” The world health body had earlierContinue Reading
Vatican City: Pope Francis on May 31 described basketball as “a sport that lifts you up to the heavens.” He made the remark during a May 31 audience with members of the Italian Basketball Federation, basketball’s governing body in Italy, which is celebrating its centenary. He said: “I would likeContinue Reading
China scrapped its decades-old one-child policy in 2016, replacing it with a two-child limit which has failed to lead to a sustained upsurge in births. The cost of raising children in cities has deterred many Chinese couples. The latest move was approved by President Xi Jinping at a meeting ofContinue Reading
A new podcast that likens St. Teresa of Calcutta to a cult leader is full of “untruths and false accusations,” the former legal counsel for St. Teresa told CNA on May 28. The podcast, titled “The Turning: The Sisters Who Left,” discusses Mother Teresa and the religious order she founded,Continue Reading
Oakland: A gun-wielding man allegedly robbed Bishop Michael Barber of Oakland of some money and his episcopal ring near the city’s cathedral on May 22, the very day the cathedral held a previously scheduled vigil against gun violence. “A man pulled a gun on me, pointed it at me, andContinue Reading
Geneva: A Swiss Catholic bishop has announced that he is appointing lay people in place of episcopal vicars in his diocese. Bishop Charles Morerod, who has led the Diocese of Lausanne, Geneva, and Fribourg since 2011, revealed the decision in a May 25 interview with the Swiss Catholic Church’s websiteContinue Reading