Pope Francis last Sunday announced a consistory in December for the creation of 21 new cardinals from all over the world, representing yet again the Pope’s love of the peripheries and his inclination to reward key allies. Speaking during his October 6 Angelus address, the Pope announced that “on December 8, a consistory will be…
In Belgium, the Pope asked for forgiveness for the abuse and cover-up scandal that rocked the country. At the same time, he condemned abortion – using not new, but harsh words. And this is having an effect. Pope Francis’ harsh words against abortion have apparently triggered a diplomatic crisis between Belgium and the Vatican. Belgium’s…
For centuries Christians have attributed a first-century date to the Shroud of Turin. Nuclear engineer Robert Rucker says that his latest research on the shroud verifies that. “The Shroud of Turin is the second-most valuable possession of the human race next to the Bible itself,” Mr Rucker told CNA. The shroud is currently preserved in the…
The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, has invited the faithful to participate in a day of prayer and fasting on October 7, one year after Hamas launched its brutal surprise attack on Israel. “The month of October is approaching,” Cardinal Pizzaballa wrote in a September 26 letter addressed to the Latin Patriarchate of…
The latest Pew survey found that most Catholics in the US and Latin America still view Pope Francis favourably, although this percentage has declined over the years. In his native Argentina, over the last decade his favourable rating has fallen from 98% to 74%. Chile has seen the second-largest decline, going from 79% to 64%. In Colombia,…
Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Rai expressed “profound sorrow” over the “devastating toll” of Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon, the country’s state news agency NNA reported September 22. In his Sunday homily September 22, he said the “unprecedented” attacks are “devoid of humanity”. NNA reported that Israeli aircraft carried out a total of 111 airstrikes on southern…
The blood of St Januarius liquefied on last Thursday before a Mass in Naples, Italy, where the archbishop said that the blood of the fourth-century martyr is a powerful reminder that “love is stronger than death”. Archbishop Domenico Battaglia of Naples held up an ampoule containing the relic of the saint’s blood in the Naples…
While many Catholic leaders in Nigeria are concerned about the influence of Pentecostalism, Catholics in the southeastern parts of the country are concerned about another trend. In rural parts of the West African country, the number of young people participating in Sunday Mass has plummeted and continues to fall as many of them turn to…
Pope Francis has united two Welsh dioceses to create the new Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cardiff-Menevia, the Vatican announced September 12, the feast of the Holy Name of Mary. Archbishop Mark O’Toole, who will lead the newly formed archdiocese, emphasised the significance of this date in a pastoral letter on the unification. “We are immensely grateful to Pope…
A self-professed Catholic bishop and primate, who was ordained to the priesthood by the excommunicated Zambian Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo in 2009, and who’s built a following in part on the basis of performing exorcisms, has been denounced by both the dioceses of Fatima and Rome as a fraud. Self-professed Bishop Salvatore Micalef, born in a…