Germany’s Protestant Church has complainedd of the “merciless commercialisation” of Christmas and the early opening of festive markets in some cities. “What remains of the rhythm of life, the rhythm of the liturgical year, when everything is available all the time and thus arbitrary?” said a spokeswoman of the Evangelical Church in Germany. Continue reading
Master Just and Barabas, both Catholics musicians, credit “God’s plan” for the success of their musical duo, Toofan. The Toofan story started in Togo in 2005 when the two football- and music-loving adolescents hired out a small studio with little more than a microphone and a computer to record their first hit, “Eperviers.” Continue reading
Late night USA television host Stephen Colbert is open about his faith but revealed in an interview that he became “convicted of [his] atheism” before returning to Catholicism. The CBS star told Father James Martin on his Catholic talk show “Faith in Focus” last Thursday night that there was a time in his life he turned Read more
A previously-unknown 1,500-year-old painting of Jesus’ face has been uncovered at a Byzantine church in Israel’s Negev desert. The discovery in the ancient Byzantine village of Shivta has thrilled archaeologists. Although the painting is fragmented, experts from Israel’s University of Haifa were able to make out the facial outline. The painting, which is believed to Read more
It took about a week for visitors to the massive Catholic cathedral in Cologne, Germany, to notice a small addition to its ornate Gothic entrance — a carved stone figure of Pope Francis leaning forward like a gargoyle. Continue reading
The church youth group had sold enough fireworks to pay for their Easter camp over the four-day sales period. Nations Church senior pastor Peter Tate says this was far more effective than selling cheese rolls or chocolate He said while some members of his congregation did not like them, there was nothing against fireworks in Read more
The bishop of the Belleville Diocese in southern Illinois told fifth- and sixth-grade students that there is no Santa Claus and they should not celebrate Halloween, according to parents. “It was something that shouldn’t have been said,” one parent said Wednesday of the bishop’s remarks to the fifth- and sixth-graders. Read more
Some people say Catholic puns leave them feeling “incensed”. If you think incense jokes are just “thurible, the go no further. But this kind of humour appeals to you, here are fifty-one more “Catholic” jokes.
The Church of England has launched an evangelism drive. Part of its strategy is to attract young agnostics by “planting” churches, an American model where members of a healthy church set up new churches one elsewhere. According to Ric Thorpe, the Bishop of Islington 2,400 church plants are planned by 2030. Continue reading
The Catholic Church is larger than any other single religious institution in the United States, with over 17,000 parishes that serve a large and diverse population. Here are seven facts about American Catholics and their church. Continue reading