“This year, in homage and gratitude to you, I am going to decree that the Christmas season [begins] on October 1,” declared Nicolás Maduro, leader of the ruling socialist regime in Venezuela, September 2 on national television. “For everyone, Christmas has arrived with peace, happiness, and security,” Maduro added. According to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo,…
Five years after the Amazon Synod, members of the region’s Church gathered in Manaus, Brazil, in order to discuss ways to implement the changes suggested in 2019 during the meeting in Rome. The need to increase the women’s participation in ecclesial life and alternatives for the Church’s financial challenges in the Amazon were among the…
A European watchdog has warned of serious anti-Christian violence in Europe and called on governments to protect converts from Islam in particular. The Vienna-based Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC Europe) has reported an increase in anti-Christian hate crimes by 44% on the International Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Violence Based…
Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, this week defended a new Ukrainian law that aims to limit the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church in the country because of its support for Vladimir Putin’s invasion and regime. Shevchuk, who has spoken out frequently in Ukraine’s defence since the start of the war, said Russia…
Courtney Mares Pope Francis commended an American chaplain’s work with death row inmates as a ministry that reflects the “deepest reality of the Gospel” in a new book preface on the death penalty. The Pope personally penned the introduction to “A Christian on Death Row: My Commitment to Those Condemned” by Dale Recinella, a lawyer…
Francesca Pollio Fenton Many are familiar with the story of Fr Edward J. Flanagan from the 1938 Oscar-winning film ‘Boys Town’ starring Spencer Tracy. Now a new documentary on the famous priest promises a deeper look into Flanagan’s life when it hits cinemas for one night only on October 8. ‘Heart of a Servant: The…
The French government urged “extreme vigilance” in the face of a “very high” terrorist threat to religious demonstrations and places of worship on the solemnity of the Assumption, one of the most holy days in the Catholic calendar. Gérald Darmanin, the French minister of the interior, warned regional officials in a Tuesday message through the…
Vatican peace envoy Cardinal Matteo Zuppi spoke last week with a Chinese government official about the Russia-Ukraine war. The phone conversation was the most recent step in the Vatican’s continued diplomatic efforts to promote lasting peace in the region. Cardinal Zuppi’s August 14 phone call with Li Hui, China’s special representative for Eurasian affairs, followed…
In Scotland, the bishops’ conference has submitted evidence to the Scottish Parliament Health, Social Care and Sport Committee on a proposal to legalise assisted suicide. Liam McArthur, a member of the Scottish Parliament, introduced the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill earlier this year. It would allow terminally ill adults in Scotland to…
Sr Agnes Sasagawa, a Japanese nun whose purported visions of the Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Akita included stark warnings for humanity and instructions to pray the rosary and repent of sin, died August 15 at age 93. Sr Sasagawa was a convert from Buddhism. A parish priest in Akita, Japan,…