The French Marian pilgrimage site of Lourdes is reopening its baths after they were closed in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Five of the 18 pilgrimage pools for bathing in spring water should be able to be used again from mid-August, the French newspaper “La Croix” reported on Thursday, citing the pilgrimage management. Read more
World
Four alleged religious fraudulently obtain ordination as deacons
Monday, July 29th, 2024Four men in the Nigerian diocese of Lokoja used forged documents to obtain ordination as deacons. The diocese distanced itself from the ordinations conferred by the diocesan bishop in mid-July after it became known that the order to which the men allegedly belonged did not even exist. “At no time were they known to be Read more
Priest sues gay hookup app Grindr over data leak
Monday, July 29th, 2024A priest is suing the gay dating and “hookup” app Grindr after the company reportedly failed to protect his data, leading to his resignation from a top position at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). In July 2021, Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill resigned from his post as the general secretary of the USCCB ahead of Read more
Nigerian Catholics aim to re-evangelise the West
Thursday, July 25th, 2024
The Catholic Church in Nigeria is experiencing remarkable growth, positioning itself as a potential source of revitalisation for Catholicism in the West. Nigeria’s Catholic population is estimated to be 25 million, making up 10-15% of the country’s 220 million people. The country’s population is expected to soar to 350-400 million in the next 20 years. Read more
Munich archdiocese faces revenue drop – forcing cuts
Thursday, July 25th, 2024
The German Archdiocese of Munich and Freising has reported a significant 6.2% drop in church tax revenue for 2023, due primarily to many parishioners leaving the church. Finance Director Markus Reif announced at the Federal Budget Press Conference in Munich that the archdiocese’s income fell by €41 million to €617 million. The German church tax Read more
Rising costs cause sharp decline in Australian birth rates
Thursday, July 25th, 2024
According to a KPMG analysis, birth rates in Australia are dropping significantly due to high living costs and unaffordable housing. The national birthrate has sharply declined since a post-lockdown baby boom in 2021 when there were 315,200 births. In 2023 the figure was just 289,100, marking the lowest annual number since 2006. Urban economist Terry Read more
Young Catholics in Canada defy secularism trend
Thursday, July 25th, 2024
Young Catholics are not copying the Canadian secularism trend which older Catholics are modelling. A recent Cardus Institute study says young Canadian Catholics are twice as likely as their elders to attend religious services at least once a month. Faith’s shifting landscape Cardus’ 2022 report “The Shifting Landscape of Faith in Canada” says religious indicators Read more
Pastor who researches decline in religion sees his own church close
Thursday, July 25th, 2024
In an ironic twist, a US Baptist pastor internationally known for scholarly articles on the decline of religion has just had to close his own church for lack of parishioners. Pastor Ryan Burge (pictured) knows closing churches is common these days. Many US churches close each year. But, given that he has been documenting the Read more
Traditional Latin Mass at National Eucharistic Congress draws enthusiastic crowd
Thursday, July 25th, 2024A mile from the main events of the National Eucharistic Congress on Thursday (18 July), Catholics knelt on the hot surface of an overflow parking lot at Holy Rosary Catholic Church. They received Communion during a Latin Mass, reminiscent of pre-Vatican II traditions. Holy Rosary, walking distance from Lucas Oil Stadium, the hub for the Read more
Regulations block Malaysians from seeing Pope in Singapore
Thursday, July 25th, 2024Soosai Soosai had about 80 eager Catholics signing up with his travel agency two months ago to go to Singapore to attend Pope Francis’ Mass in the island nation. However, half of them pulled out after learning that Malaysia’s some 1.5 million Catholics have to share just 900 seats allocated to them by the Singapore Read more