Vatican City: Pope Francis’ Council of Cardinals met online Dec. 1 to continue work on the new apostolic constitution to govern the Roman Curia, according to a Vatican statement. The seven cardinals and an archbishop secretary are studying “observations, amendments, and proposals received from the dicasteries consulted in recent months”Continue Reading
Bishops in Switzerland lamented a record exodus of Catholics from the Church in 2019. In a statement after their virtual plenary assembly Dec. 2, the bishops acknowledged new figures showing that last year saw the highest annual number of “church exits” on record. They noted that the statistics, compiled byContinue Reading
Berlin: Seventy-six Catholic nuns have tested positive for COVID-19 after an outbreak at a Franciscan convent in northwestern Germany, church authorities said Dec. 1. Another 85 nuns received negative test results at the monastery in Thuine, not far from the Dutch border, the convent’s Mother Superior told The Associated Press.Continue Reading
Rome: Forty-three Italian priests died in November after contracting the coronavirus, as Italy experiences a second wave of the epidemic. According to L’Avvenire, the newspaper of the Italian bishops’ conference, 167 priests have lost their lives due to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic in February. One Italian bishopContinue Reading
By Anugrah Kumar Minya: A mob of Muslim villagers attacked the homes and shops of Coptic Christians in Egypt’s Minya governorate over rumors that a Christian had posted a comment denigrating Islam on Facebook, according to reports. At least one elderly woman was hospitalized for burns suffered in the fireContinue Reading
Rome: Pope Francis on November 26 raised 13 new cardinals to the highest rank in the Catholic hierarchy and immediately warned them not to use their titles for corrupt, personal gain, presiding over a ceremony marked from beginning to end by the coronavirus pandemic. Two new “princes” of the church,Continue Reading
High-ranking Iranian nuclear physicist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who, Israel alleged, led the Islamic Republic’s military nuclear programme until its disbanding in the early 2000s has been “assassinated” in an ambush near Tehran. Fakhrizadeh was shot and injured “by terrorists” in his vehicle in Absard, a suburb in eastern Tehran, and laterContinue Reading
South Dakota: A South Dakota priest has been sentenced to almost eight years in federal prison, after he was convicted of 65 felonies related to stealing donations from Catholic parishes. Ordered to pay more than $300,000 in restitution, the priest said he stole in part because he disagrees with CatholicContinue Reading
Vatican:A Swiss Catholic diocese that elects its own bishop from a shortlist drawn up by the Holy See has rejected all three candidates proposed by Pope Francis, according to local media. The Swiss daily newspaper Tages-Anzeiger reported that the cathedral chapter of the Diocese of Chur failed November 24 toContinue Reading
Mexico City: Pope Francis has recalled Diego Armando Maradona in prayer following the Argentine soccer champion’s death at the age of 60. Maradona died November 25 at his home in Tigre, Argentina, from suspected chronic heart failure. The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, said November 25Continue Reading
