Vatican City, July 20, 2020: Pope Francis has named Italian surgeon Giovanni Battista Doglietto as director of the Vatican health fund known as Fondo di Assistenza Sanitaria (FAS). The July 19 appointment follows the departure of the previous FAS director Stefano Loreti, who held the position since January 2017. Doglietto,Continue Reading
Kochi, July 20, 2020: The Syro-Malabar Church has a new center in Rome to serve its faithful and coordinate activities in the eternal city. Cardinal Angelo de Donatis, the vicar general Pope Francis for the diocese of Rome, issued a decree on July 8 to hand over Santa Anastasia MinorContinue Reading
Freiburg, July 16, 2020: A German archdiocese is pressing ahead with plans to dramatically reduce the number of its parishes despite the Vatican’s decision to block a similar plan in another diocese. CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German language news partner, reported July 15 that Archbishop Stephan Burger intends to turn theContinue Reading
Chattanooga, Tennessee, July 16, 2020: A statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary was attacked at a parish in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the third reported incident against a statue of Mary occurring in the same weekend. “What a strange time [we live in],” Bishop Richard Stika of Knoxville tweeted on July 13.Continue Reading
Nairobi, July 14, 2020: The government of Kenya has awarded a Catholic nun for providing food to street children during the emergency created by the Covid-19 pandemic. Sister Winnie Mutuku was one of the persons who received the Uzalendo Award. This news was announced on June 1 and the awardContinue Reading
By Devin Watkins New York, July 14, 2020: The coronavirus pandemic is wreaking havoc on the health and diets of millions of people around the world. Strict lockdowns have upset all levels of the food chain, from production and distribution to shopping and food consumption. Several United Nations agencies teamedContinue Reading
Johannesburg, July 13, 2020: Zindzi Mandela, daughter of South African liberation hero Nelson Mandela and anti-apartheid activist Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, has died, according to officials. She was 59. State broadcaster SABC said on Monday Mandela, who has been serving as South Africa’s ambassador to Denmark since 2015, died in a hospitalContinue Reading
Matters India Reporter Yangon, July 13, 2020 — In a common message released 13 July 2020, Myanmar’s religious leaders have appealed to civilian, ethnic, military and religious leaders to “seize the opportunity” to give peace a chance ahead of country’s November elections. The message was signed by Myanmar’s first cardinalContinue Reading
Vatican City, July 12, 2020: Pope Francis on July 12 said he’s “pained” by Turkey’s decision to convert Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia back into a mosque. Speaking at a service in the Vatican, the Pope added that his “thoughts go to Istanbul.” Hagia Sophia was built as a Christian cathedral nearlyContinue Reading
Istanbul, July 12, 2020: The World Council of Churches has called on Turkey”s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to reverse his decision to turn the celebrated Hagia Sophia museum back into a mosque. In a letter to Erdogan, the Council, which counts 350 churches as members, said the move would sowContinue Reading
