Three Italian nuns were raped and beaten before two were decapitated and another murdered in a convent in Burundi. The bodies of Srs Bernardetta Boggia, 79, Lucia Pulici, 75, and Olga Raschietti, 82, were found in their dormitory in Kamenge, north of the capital Bujumbura. Police said three suspects had been detained for questioning as Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Pope Francis’
Presbyterians pick up Papal message on poverty
Friday, September 12th, 2014St Luke’s Presbyterian Church has prominently displayed a big billboard of Pope Francis with his quote, “Inequality is the root of social evils”, in recognition of his leadership on tackling the issue poverty. St Luke’s Presbyterian Church minister Reverend Glynn Cardy, who was behind the often-controversial billboards at St Matthew’s-in-the-city in the past, said they Read more
Pope Francis asked to lead United Nations of religions body
Tuesday, September 9th, 2014
Former Israeli president Shimon Peres has asked Pope Francis to head a United Nations of religions to counter religious extremism. In an interview with Italian magazine Famiglia Cristiana, Mr Peres said religion is a predominant justification used for wars today, whereas in the past nationhood was the main motivation. So he proposed a “United Religions” Read more
Pope Francis and a facelift for the Church
Tuesday, September 9th, 2014
At 64, Cardinal Timothy Dolan is poised to be a force in Catholic life for a long time. In late August, he sat down for a wide-ranging interview about Pope Francis, anti-Christian persecution, the Obama administration, the Church’s sexual abuse scandals, hard choices in New York, and more. In Part 1 of Crux’s exclusive interview, Read more
Archbishop links Europe youth failure with terror recruitment
Tuesday, September 9th, 2014
A top Vatican official at the United Nations has linked the recruitment of young people by Islamist terror groups with Europe having failed its young. The Holy See permanent observer at the UN office in Geneva, Archbishop Silvio Tomasi, said Europe needs to ask itself some hard questions. “Europe should ask itself why it has Read more
A Church for the poor
Tuesday, September 9th, 2014
Pope Francis grabbed headlines recently when he announced that Rome had lifted the block on sainthood for Archbishop Óscar Romero of San Salvador, who was shot dead while saying Mass in 1980. But much less attention was given to another of the pope’s actions, one that underscores a significant shift inside the Vatican under the Read more
Sistine Chapel improvements to protect great artworks
Tuesday, September 9th, 2014A more powerful air-conditioning system is being installed in the Sistine Chapel as breath and sweat from visitors threaten to damage artworks. Since Pope Francis was elected in March, 2013, more than 5.5 million people have been through the chapel. This amounts to 20,000 a day and 30,000 on Sundays, when entrance is free. But Read more
South Africa TV dropping live papal Christmas Mass outrages
Friday, September 5th, 2014Catholics in South Africa are being called to unite against the national broadcaster’s decision to drop live coverage of Pope Francis’s Christmas Mass. An editorial in South Africa’s Catholic weekly, the Southern Cross, states the SABC has reneged on a 2010 promise to broadcast the Pope’s Christmas Mass live every year. This can be seen Read more
Worship congregation head reassigned out of Rome by Pope
Tuesday, September 2nd, 2014
Pope Francis has reassigned one of his predecessor’s key appointments to a position out of Rome. After six years as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera has been appointed Archbishop of Valencia in Spain. Cardinal Canizares told Vatican Insider that he had asked for a Read more