Bishops in Pakistan have called for prayer after an angry mob vandalised several Christian homes and churches in the district of Faisalabad August 16 following allegations of blasphemy and desecration of the Koran. In a brief social media post, the Pakistani bishops on their “Catholics in Pakistan” Facebook page said that “on 16th August, an…

Summer is traditionally a time for lazy vacations, yet at the Vatican it’s business as usual, with Pope Francis engaging in at least four noteworthy acts all in one day – from decisions on indulgences to seminary formation, to a surprise meeting with Bill Clinton. Though it was not announced beforehand, Pope Francis met with…

While maintaining its stance against IVF, the Vatican issued a new document May 30 sounding an alarm about declining birth rates and touting alternatives to methods of artificial reproduction the Church sees as morally unacceptable. The text also reiterates the Church’s traditional opposition to contraception, despite speculation in some quarters that Pope Francis might be…

In a decision seen as an act of defiance towards the Russian Orthodox Church, which also has the effect of promoting closer ties with Roman Catholics and other Western branches of Christianity, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine has decided to move Christmas to December 25. Traditionally, Ukrainian Christians, the bulk of whom are Orthodox, have…

A top aide to Pope Francis said there’s a need for dialogue with the German bishops after a recent vote in favour of blessing same-sex unions, insisting that the move does not align with official Catholic doctrine. “A local, particular Church cannot make a decision like that which involves the discipline of the universal Church,”…

In yet another sign of Pope Francis’s consistent outreach to Islam, the Vatican announced February 23 that it had established full diplomatic relations with Oman, further extending the Holy See’s relations with the Arab and Muslim worlds. In a joint statement, both sides said the move was born of a desire to promote “mutual understanding…

Just a week after the Vatican’s first auditor general and his deputy filed a $9.6 million lawsuit for wrongful dismissal, the Vatican’s legal system has seemingly sought to hamstring the claim by refusing to certify the plaintiffs’ chosen lawyer. Speaking to journalists November 17, Libero Milone, the Vatican’s first auditor general, who appointed in 2015…

In 1935, an aspiring painter and member of a prominent Jewish family in Turin by the name of Carlo Levi was sentenced to exile in Italy’s neglected southern region of Basilicata for his anti-fascist sentiments. Basilicata, at the time, was considered more or less Italy’s equivalent of Siberia, which is to say, a prison all…

Ukraine’s ambassador to the Holy See has hinted that a possible papal trip to his country could happen before the Pope’s visit to Kazakhstan in mid-September, when he is expected to meet with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill. Pope Francis met with the Ukrainian Ambassador to the Holy See, Andrii Yurash, on Saturday for a private…