Paris/Rome (KNA) For papal adviser and Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, there is no way back to a Christian Europe. Christians are increasingly becoming a minority in Europe today, said the Archbishop of Luxembourg in an interview with the newspaper “La Croix” (Thursday) in Rome. Politically, this has led to a lack of ideas. Eighty years ago,…
Desert Church found with 1500 year old Christian murals
Jerusalem (KNA) During excavations south of the Bedouin town of Rahat in the Negev Desert, Israeli archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a 1,500-year-old church. They found drawings of contemporary ships on parts of the remains of the wall, which could have been made by Christian pilgrims, according to the Israeli Antiquities Authority (Thursday). According…
Parolin: Vatican needs direct dialogue with China’s authorities
Sabine Kleyboldt (KNA) Rome (KNA) Personalities from the Church and academia have emphasised the importance of relations between the Vatican and China at an international congress. Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin emphasised on Tuesday in Rome that a direct dialogue between the Holy See and the Chinese authorities was needed. The Council of Shanghai,…
Jerusalem Patriarch deplores extent of destruction in Gaza
Gaza/Jerusalem (KNA) According to the Latin Patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the city of Gaza is partly destroyed beyond recognition. The biggest problems for the civilian population, apart from the ongoing war, are medical care, the hygienic situation and the distribution of humanitarian aid, the Italian religious said on Monday in Jerusalem. He had previously visited…
Marian apparitions have existed since early Christian times
Alexander Brüggemann (KNA) Since the 18th century, Marian apparitions have been categorised as “private revelations”. As such, they raise theological problems, since according to Church teaching, God’s revelation came to an end with the death of the last apostle. The Magisterium therefore makes a sharp distinction between revelation and private revelation. The latter can only…
Six months in prison for sex at the altar
Traunstein (KNA) A 39-year-old man from Upper Bavaria had sexual intercourse with his wife on the altar of a church in the summer of 2022. The Traunstein district court has now handed him a six-month prison sentence for disturbing the practice of religion. The court confirmed corresponding newspaper reports from Thursday. The woman had previously…
Rabbi Goldschmidt calls for a fight against hatred of Jews
This year’s International Charlemagne Prize goes to Pinchas Goldschmidt, Chairman of the European Rabbinical Conference. He uses his acceptance speech to make a fiery plea in favour of human rights. Aachen (KNA) The Chairman of the European Rabbinical Conference (CER), Pinchas Goldschmidt (60), has called for a resolute fight for democracy and human rights and…
Catholic bishops adopt statutes for synodal committee
The tug-of-war is over: The reform dialogue of the Catholic Church in Germany can continue in the Synodal Committee. However, the concerns in the Vatican are likely to remain for the time being. Bonn (KNA) The last formal hurdle for the continuation of the reform dialogue of the Catholic Church in Germany has been overcome:…
How Donald Tusk’s government is changing Poland at high speed
Stefan Meetschen (KNA) Restructuring of the public media, school lessons without homework, four drafts for a more liberal abortion law – since the majority of Poles voted for a change of policy last October, the centre-left government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk (Civic Platform, part of the Civic Coalition electoral alliance) has been doing…
Israel calls up reservists again after threats from Iran
An escalation between Israel and Iran has been considered a possible scenario since the beginning of the Gaza war. Following the killing of high-ranking Iranian military personnel by the Israelis, Tehran has now threatened to retaliate. Jerusalem (KNA): Following threats from Iran, Israel has strengthened its air defence and called up reservists. In addition, weekend…