By Hannah Brockhaus Castelvetro di Modena, Italy, Mar 6, 2020: As Italy weathers the spread of coronavirus, residents of one village appeared to witness their own version of the miracle at the Wedding at Cana. Turning on their faucets Wednesday morning, several Italians discovered their water had been changed toContinue Reading
Palestinian officials on Thursday closed the storied Church of the Nativity in the biblical city of Bethlehem indefinitely over fears of the new coronavirus, weeks ahead of the busy Easter holiday season. The announcement by the Palestinian tourism ministry threatened to devastate the vital tourism industry in the town whereContinue Reading
Vatican City, March 2, 2020: Pope Francis is calling on Catholics to participate in “Laudato si’ Week” in May to encourage care for our common home. “I renew my urgent call to respond to the ecological crisis. The cry of the earth and the cry of the poor cannot waitContinue Reading
Vatican City, March 1, 2020: Pope Francis has established a task force “in order to assist the Episcopal Conferences in the preparation and updating of guidelines for the protection of minors.” The intention to form such a group had already been announced by the Pope at last year’s Meeting forContinue Reading
Vatican City, Feb 28, 2020: Pope Francis has cancelled an event at a Rome basilica but is carrying out the rest of his schedule in his residence, the Vatican said on February 27. “He preferred to remain in the area close to Santa Marta,” the Vatican guesthouse where he lives,Continue Reading
Riyadh, Feb. 27, 2020: Saudi Arabia on Feb. 27 suspended visas for pilgrims wishing to visit Mecca over coronavirus fears, the foreign ministry said. The government is “suspending entry to the Kingdom for the purpose of Umrah and visiting the Prophet’s Mosque temporarily”, the foreign ministry said in a statement,Continue Reading
United Nations, Feb 26, 2020: UN chief Antonio Guterres is closely following the situation in Delhi and stresses that demonstrators should be allowed to protest peacefully and security forces should show restraint, his spokesperson said. Communal violence over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in northeast Delhi has killed at least 20Continue Reading
Paris. Feb. 25, 2020: Asia Bibi, the Pakistani Christian woman who spent years on death row after a 2010 conviction of blasphemy, said Monday that she was seeking political asylum from the French government. “My great desire is to live in France,” Bibi said in an interview with RTL radio,Continue Reading
Vatican City, Feb. 25, 2020: One of the six members of Pope Francis’ advisory Council of Cardinals has acknowledged a bias among the members of the Catholic Church’s all-male hierarchy against giving women more leadership roles, saying he and his peers must “shed this prejudice.” In an NCR interview, IndianContinue Reading
Rome, Feb 24, 2020: Several Catholic dioceses in northern Italy have suspended Mass and other activities this week to help contain the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by coronavirus. The northern regions of Italy saw a dramatic uptick in coronavirus cases over the weekend, prompting some regions toContinue Reading
