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
Pope Francis celebrated Mass on Sunday for Burmese Catholics, urging them not to lose hope as their homeland is engulfed by violence. In his homily in St. Peter’s Basilica May 16, the pope encouraged people not to fall into despair as security forces in Burma repress protests following a militaryContinue Reading
Vatican City: The Vatican has told the bishops of England and Wales that it is amending the Code of Canon Law so that “crimes against minors are considered under a different title than crimes against the obligations of celibacy on the part of clerics.” The Pontifical Council for Legislative TextsContinue Reading
Vatican City: The Vatican’s human development office has created a working group on the topic of the expulsion of criminal organizations from the Catholic Church. The group was created in honor of Rosario Livatino, a Catholic judge killed by the mafia in Sicily in 1990, who was beatified in theContinue Reading
A German Catholic group appealed Saturday to the country’s bishops to unite with Rome amid a day of protest at the Vatican’s “no” to same-sex blessings. The initiative “Maria 1.0” called on the bishops to stop the blessing celebrations for same-sex partnerships planned by some priests for May 10. InContinue Reading
Colombo: A Sri Lankan Catholic archbishop appealed to the country’s Muslims on April 21 to reject extremism and join Catholics in determining the truth behind Easter Sunday suicide bombings in 2019 that killed 269 people. Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo made the appeal during a commemoration of the second anniversaryContinue Reading
Manila: The Philippines posted the most number of baptized young children in the world in 2019 and remains the most Catholic country in Asia, according to Annuario Pontificio, the Vatican’s statistical yearbook. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) quoted the Catholic News Service as reporting that more thanContinue Reading
Victoria: Four new nuns have joined the Sisters of St Joseph of Cluny in Seychelles 33 years after the Vice-Province received its last member. The nuns, all from Tanzania – took their first vows at the St Joseph of Cluny convent in Victoria recently and have been formally accepted inContinue Reading
Vatican City: Pope Francis has expressed his condolences after three people were killed in an attack on a United Nations convoy traveling in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Luca Attanasio, the Italian ambassador to Congo, died of his wounds from the attack. Vittorio Iacovacci, an Italian Carabinieri officer, and MoustaphaContinue Reading
Washington D.C.: According to new rules which will reportedly take effect on May 1, China’s state-run Catholic Church and bishops’ conference will select, approve, and ordain episcopal candidates—with no mention of the Vatican’s involvement in the process. China’s new “Administrative Measures for Religious Clergy” will go into effect on MayContinue Reading
