The archdiocese of Vienna has reported a rise in the number of men training for the priesthood. Fourteen new candidates entered the archdiocese’s three seminaries this autumn. Eleven of them are from Vienna archdiocese and the remaining three are from the dioceses of Eisenstadt and St. Pölten. The archdiocese brought its three seminaries together under Read more
Immigration NZ authorities denied a woman New Zealand residency because she gave birth to her rapist’s child. The case came to light in a recently-published decision from the Immigration and Protection Tribunal, which the woman, identified only as IP, appealed to after her bid was denied. The tribunal heard IP, a 22-year-old citizen of the Read more
The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Irinej, died in a Belgrade hospital on Friday after contracting coronavirus, according to a statement from the church. Irinej, who was 90, led an open-casket funeral service for the church’s top cleric in Montenegro, Metropolitan Amfilohije Radović, on November 1. Three days later, Irinej was admitted to Read more
The head of the Catholic Church in Detroit has been chosen to lead a new national group that seeks to guide how Catholics should respond to President-elect Joe Biden and the contentious issue of abortion. Archbishop Allen Vigneron, who leads the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit, was named this week by Archbishop José Gomez of Los Read more
The Catholic and Evangelical churches in Germany are set to lose around €1 billion ($1.18 billion) in taxes paid by the faithful in 2020, according to a report published in Welt am Sonntag on Sunday. According to estimations, both churches can expect to see an average fall of around 8% in their incomes, double the Read more
The Howard League for Penal Reform is helping ex-offenders earn a drivers licence – to keep the trucking industry moving. The League claims the cost of imprisoning a person for a year can fund training for 100 people in Class 2 to 5 licences. That includes learning how to operate heavy-vehicles, road works, farm machinery Read more
As the climate crisis rages around the world, many of the world’s governments continue to cling to energy sources of the past. But faith institutions around the world aren’t waiting for change. They’re committing to a brighter and cleaner future. Together, they’re acting out their values and showing the world once more that faith institutions Read more
Climate Change Minister James Shaw wants to see a new petrol and diesel car ban, to kick in at the same time as the United Kingdom’s ban. During an interview with Stuff on his second-term priorities, Shaw said he would recommend the policy to new Transport Minister Michael Wood as an “anti-dumping measure” as well Read more
Polish Cardinal Henryk Gulbinowicz, retired archbishop of Wroclaw, died on Nov. 16. His death came 10 days after the publication of Vatican disciplinary measures against him related to sexual abuse. Cardinal Gulbinowicz, who was 97 at the time of his death, had been hospitalized on Nov. 10. The Vatican nunciature in Poland had announced on Read more
Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles took aim at president-elect Joe Biden in comments Tuesday. He called it a “difficult and complex” situation that the second-ever Catholic president-elect supports abortion rights. “When politicians who profess the Catholic faith support them there are additional problems,” Gomez, the president of the United States Conference of Catholics Bishops. Read more