A Zurich city councillor has apologised and reportedly sought police protection against threats after she fired a sport pistol at an auction poster of a 14th-century Madonna and child painting and posted images of their bullet-ridden faces on social media. Green-Liberal party official Sanija Ameti, 32, posted the images on Instagram over the weekend before Read more
World
Pope Francis will not go to Paris for Notre Dame cathedral reopening
Monday, September 16th, 2024Pope Francis definitively ruled out the possibility of visiting France for the reopening of the Notre Dame cathedral on his return flight on Friday from Southeast Asia. During an in-flight press conference on the papal plane on Sept 13, the pope firmly stated: “I will not go to Paris!” French President Emmanuel Macron invited Pope Read more
Rights groups decry drug executions in Saudi Arabia
Monday, September 16th, 2024Human rights groups on Sept 12 condemned a sharp increase in the use of the death sentence in Saudi Arabia for drug offences after 42 people were executed for such crimes this year. The rights groups, many of them Saudi and Egyptian, said they were “gravely fearful for the lives of hundreds of prisoners threatened Read more
Priest urges Church in Nigeria to address needs of youth who are ‘returning to paganism’
Monday, September 16th, 2024While 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 Read more
Catholics must accept the decline of Europe
Thursday, September 12th, 2024
Cardinal Christoph Schönborn has urged Catholics to remain steadfast in their faith and trust in the Church, even as Europe undergoes significant religious and demographic changes. “The Church is alive and will always be, albeit under different circumstances. We must accept the decline of Europe. We tend to gaze at our ecclesiastical navel, but it Read more
Nearly half East Timor population attend Pope Francis’ Mass
Thursday, September 12th, 2024
Pope Francis celebrated Mass before a massive crowd of 600,000 people in East Timor. The turnout represents nearly half the population of the Southeast Asian nation. The remarkable attendance was a testament to the overwhelmingly Catholic Southeast Asian country and the esteem with which its people hold the church. The Mass, held at Tasitolu Park Read more
Taliban’s repression of Afghan women – outrageous
Thursday, September 12th, 2024
The UN’s top human rights official has condemned the Taliban’s repression of Afghan women and girls, calling the situation “outrageous” and warning of its dire consequences for the country’s future. Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the Taliban’s morality laws, which severely limit women’s roles in society, are a form of systematic Read more
‘Sensory Mass’ for neurodiverse Catholics
Thursday, September 12th, 2024
Nativity Catholic Church in Burke, Virginia, launched its first monthly “sensory Mass” on August 11, drawing a full congregation to what is typically the parish’s least-attended Sunday service. The 1pm Mass, designed to accommodate neurodiverse Catholics, featured dimmed lighting, quiet hymns and a range of sensory tools to assist attendees. Volunteers in gray T-shirts greeted Read more
Service – not social prestige – Pope tells bishops and priests
Thursday, September 12th, 2024
In East Timor, a country that is 98% Catholic and where priests are referred to as Amu – meaning ‘lord’, Pope Francis delivered a strong message of service, urging bishops and priests not to seek power or social prestige in their roles. Francis sounded warnings against the dangers of arrogance and power in religious leadership. Read more
African Catholics say synodality is also a call to Christian unity
Thursday, September 12th, 2024As Rome prepares for the denouement of Pope Francis’s long-running Synod of Bishops on Synodality next month, Catholics and other African Christian leaders are exploring the possible implications of the process for closer ties among the various Christian communities on the continent. During a recent exchange known as the “African Palaver Conversation Series,” which concluded Read more