Hannah Brockhaus Defending the rights of Indigenous people is a matter of justice and a way to guarantee a sustainable future for everyone, Pope Francis said in a message on Monday. “Land, water, and food are not mere commodities but the very basis of life and the link between these [Indigenous] peoples and nature,” the…
Category: World Report
Latin American Church strategies after Trump’s immigration policies
President Donald Trump’s new policies concerning undocumented immigrants have been causing shock and outrage among many in Latin America. The region’s Church is one of the institutions currently trying to figure out how such changes will impact its work and is establishing strategies to deal with them. The new US president’s pledge to promote “mass…
Catholic leader highlights desperation as eastern DRC war intensifies
As the situation gets worse in the DR Congo, the Director of Communication at Caritas Butembo-Beni has decried the desperation that has enveloped the people of eastern Congo following an upsurge in violence between the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels and the Congolese Armed Forces. M23 took control of the mining town of Nyabibwe last week, located…
Bishop Barron applauds Trump’s order banning minors’ sex-change surgeries
Madalaine Elhabbal / CNA Bishop Robert Barron has released a statement commending President Donald Trump’s recent executive order banning federal funding for “transgender” medical interventions for minors. “I welcome the president’s executive order,” Bishop Barron said in a statement in his capacity as chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life,…
New data looks at clerical abuse of minors in the Philippines
CRUX At least 82 priests and religious brothers associated with the Philippines have publicly accused of sexual abuse with minors, according to a new data provided by BishopAccountability.org, a leading anti-abuse organisation. The database now on their website includes Filipino priests accused of sexually abusing minors in the Philippines, Filipino priests who served part of…
Elon Musk’s brother pitches jubilee year drone show in Rome
Courtney Mares / CNA Kimbal Musk, entrepreneur and younger brother of Elon Musk, met with Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri over the weekend to propose a drone-based musical light show for the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee, according to Italian media. Donning his signature cowboy hat, Musk discussed the concept at the Palazzo Senatorio on January 25,…
Prominent cardinal denies allegations of sexual abuse
Victoria Cardiel / CNA The director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, confirmed on Sunday the disciplinary measures that were taken in 2019 against Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani, archbishop emeritus of Lima, Peru, as a result of “the accusations [of sexual abuse] formulated against him”. Cipriani broke his silence on Friday, January 24,…
Signs of great hope in Syria
There is still much uncertainty in Syria. A month and a half after the ousting of Bashar al Assad and the seizure of power by Abu Mohammed al-Jolani and his Islamist rebel group Haiat Tahrir al-Sham (Hts), on the one hand scepticism seems to prevail, the fear of a leap backwards towards an imposition of…
Never forget Auschwitz horrors, Pope says ahead of 80th anniversary
Ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Pope Francis emphasised that the horrors of Auschwitz “must never be forgotten or denied” while also making passionate pleas for peace in current global conflicts. Speaking after the Angelus prayer on Sunday, the Pontiff noted that this year marks 80 years since the liberation of the German Nazi concentration and…
Catholics and Orthodox hope to celebrate Easter 2025 together
Pope Francis posed Jesus’ profound question “Do you believe this?” to Christians worldwide during an ecumenical vespers service Saturday evening as momentum builds for Catholics and Orthodox to consider celebrating Easter on the same date in this historic anniversary year. Speaking at the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls at the conclusion of the…