By Junno Arocho Esteves Vatican City, Feb 5, 2020: The Vatican donated thousands of protective masks to several Chinese provinces affected by the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus. In an email to Catholic News Service Feb. 3, the Vatican press office confirmed a report that appeared in the Chinese newspaperContinue Reading

Ending decades of free entry to Indian tourists visiting Bhutan, the government in Thimphu has decided to levy a daily ₹1,200 ($17) fee for “regional tourists” from India, the Maldives and Bangladesh, beginning July 2020. The fee, called a Sustainable Development Fee (SDF), is meant to help the government dealContinue Reading

Moscow, Feb 4, 2020: The Russian Orthodox Church has proposed a stop to the practice of having priests bless weapons of mass destruction, though sprinkling holy water on planes and ships is still deemed appropriate. The Church on February 3 published a draft document outlining its role in blessing OrthodoxContinue Reading

Kaduna, Feb 03, 2020: A Nigerian seminarian kidnapped with three others in Nigeria has been murdered by his abductors. Michael Nnadi, aged 18, was separated from the others along with the wife of a medical doctor, Philip Atagi, and killed by the bandits who took them hostage and demanded ransoms.Continue Reading

The headline at dailymail.co.uk was certainly striking: “Nuns forced to become PROSTITUTES after they were ‘abandoned’ by the Catholic Church have been sheltered at a secret Vatican residence for more than a year, cardinal reveals.” The headline was based on an interview with Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, the prefectContinue Reading

Canada, Jan. 31, 2020: Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman who spent years on death row after being convicted of blasphemy, has published a book about her experiences and her new life. Ms Bibi released a memoir, Enfin Libre, or Finally Free, written with French journalist Anne-Isabelle Tollet. She wasContinue Reading

Stockholm, Jan 31, 2020: Teen climate activist Greta Thunberg and the global protest movement “Fridays for Future” were nominated on January 30 for the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize by two Swedish lawmakers. “Greta Thunberg is a climate activist, and the main reason she deserves the Nobel Peace Prize is thatContinue Reading